Ceremonies pay homage to area's veterans

SANDPOINT — For Col. Larry Tassie, part of World War II meant combing the islands of Okinawa in search of rogue Japanese soldiers holed away in caves.

For George Hirshcamp, it meant four years of hellish conditions as a prisoner in a brutal Japanese POW camp.

These are just a few of the countless stories the nation’s living veterans have taken from their service to the country. And part of observing Veterans Day is not only honoring military members’ service and sacrifice but also listening to those stories.

“We have freedoms to protect, and that’s why we put the uniform on,” said Tassie.

Students across the community had opportunities to do just that Tuesday, with Veterans Day events scheduled for most schools around the county. One of the largest occurred at Sandpoint High School, where hundreds filled the gym to hear from Tassie, a World War II veteran. At age 18, he entered the U.S. Army, where he participated in the invasion of Okinawa and searched for Japanese hiding away in caves. He later served in the Korean War as a forward observer and worked for the general staff at the Petagon, where he helped determine who received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Tassie encouraged students to visit Washington, D.C., at some point to experience all the nation’s capital has to offer.

“Do it before you get too old to walk around,” he said.

Tassie himself had the opportunity to revisit Washington, D.C., in 2011 when he participated in an Honor Flight trip to the World War II memorial. As a part of a project to fly veterans out to see the memorial for themselves, Honor Flight has a local presence in Sandpoint High School, where students raise funds to pay for the travel expenses. Club members have raised $7,000 in total, enough money to fund trips for seven local veterans.

Headed up by Sandpoint High School teacher John Nitcy, the club also coordinated with a classroom in France to lay wreaths honoring Bonner County soldiers on the beaches of Normandy, where the D-Day landings took place.

In addition to honoring people like Tassie and Hirshcamp, Nitcy extended thanks to Vietnam veteran Bill Stevens for his help in setting up events and for devoting extensive volunteer efforts to veteran services. Stevens had himself a busy day between morning ceremonies in the bitter cold and a host of school activities. After gathering in the morning, local veterans split up to take part in the elementary school ceremonies and presentations. According to Stevens, it’s a pleasure to engage local youth, whose future is a big part of what military servicemen and women aim to protect.

“They don’t realize it, but they’re our replacements in life, and not just in the military but also in the community,” he said.