As a boy in Sheridan, Ark., Nelson Mears, now 66, remembers riding the school bus past a patch of swampland down there below the road. That's where the long-neglected little stone monument read:
"At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we shall remember them."
The words were more ironic than accurate. Because those the forgotten monument honored had been forgotten for years, says Mr. Mears, referring to the airmen who went down with their B-17 World War II bomber March 12, 1943.
But finally they will all be properly remembered thanks to Mr. Mears and friends, his local American Legion post, the state's Department of Rural Services and all the folks in Sheridan and beyond who stepped up to contribute their time, energy and complete dedication to building a proper memorial. Which will include a striking replica of a B-17 bomber on the old site, which will become a park to visit and remember.
Think of it. After all those years of studied neglect, all who lost their lives there will be fittingly remembered. Headed from a U.S. Army Air Corps base in Salina, Kan., to another in West Palm Beach, Fla., the B-17 with its crew of nine never made it, crashing March 12, 1943.
What an all-American assortment the names of the crew make to this day: Davis, Turchette, Dolan, Niewolak, Tyler, Ivanovich, Cain, Potter and Secorski. This could have been one of those World War II movies many of us grew up watching.
When the dedication of the new park and memorial is held in October, the daughter of the plane's radio operator, Tech. Sgt. Peter Ivanovich, is due to be there with her family. How good it will be to welcome her to Sheridan, to Arkansas and to our hearts. Or as she put it:
"I know that my dad's ashes are there, that the constellations there are the ones looking down on him. I'm so glad it's in Sheridan, Ark., because these people, they really love their service people. It doesn't remind me of death. I see it as a place of life. I see it as a place where somebody is saying, 'Thank you. We haven't forgotten you.' " And won't. As you honored us by your service and sacrifice, we in Arkansas will honor you.
Editorial on 08/26/2015