“At the WWII Memorial I sat watching people pass by when a young man grabbed my hand and
began pumping it, saying, “Thank you for your service, sir,” then left as fast as he came. Others came.
There was a history teacher with his class of boys and girls. Small boys stared at the ground, then
dutifully touched my hand with their tiny hands. Husbands and wives, groups of people. I sat up in the
wheelchair a little straighter and smiled back a little bigger.” - Richard Downer, veteran
Charles, “I really was, because all of a
sudden these wonderful people, about 30
of them, were greeting us, and I couldn’t
handle it. I was awestruck.”
Two veterans who might as well
be brothers are former Iowans Leroy
Forehand, Navy, and Edward Bellenger,
Army. “We’ve been working together
about 15 or 20 years,” says Bellenger,
referring to the fact that they both
belong to the same VFW post where
they serve on the honor guard at
funerals and other ceremonies.
“So we got to be good friends,” says
Bellenger. “We fire the salutes, fold the
flag, and so on. Recently we buried one of
our own honor guards who died at 91. You
could say we’ve never stopped serving.”
Forehand, a member of Gardena
Moneta Lodge No. 372 and the
less vocal of the two, nonetheless
had talked his non-Mason buddy
into making the trip. He offers the
information that Edward Bellenger was
awarded a Purple Heart. Asked how
that happened, the latter replies, “It
was real simple – some guy shot me.”
That was the only simple part.
In France, Bellenger was on patrol
behind German lines at 7 a.m. when
he was wounded. He had had to wait
until dark descended upon the field in
Alsace-Lorraine before he could walk,
unaided, back to his base. Bellenger
remembers that as he was lying on his
back in the first aid tent, he heard the
doctor exclaim, “This guy ain’t got
no blood left!” After a week, he was
shipped off to a hospital in England to
recuperate.
and my son, who’s a jeweler, made this
golden ring for me,” Hill says. “What
inspired me to join was a Mason I knew in
the Army, and what a good person he was.
And what a good tribute this memorial
and this trip to Washington, D.C. is for us,
the veterans of World War II.”
Greatest gift for the
Greatest Generation
“See this?” says Kenneth Hill,
displaying a handsome ring with
the Masonic crest. He’s a member of
Woodbridge Lodge No. 131.
“I’m a Golden Mason, joined in 1953,
Editor’s note: Writer John Greenya
joined Operation Greatest Gift veterans
and volunteers on the April 15-17 trip.
Check out additional Operation Greatest Gift photos
on the Masons of California Facebook page.
