Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 2006)
Veteran *s Day November 11 Finding the forgotten soldier 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 a 1 1 1 V1 1 •• 11 • V 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Morrow County unofficial Election Results Page 5 Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library University o f Oregon Eugene. OR 97403 Lorraine American Cemetery near St. Avoid, France. There are 10,489 Americans buried there, including Guy Sykes. HEPPNER imes VOL. 125 NO. 45 10 Pages Wednesday, November 8,2006 Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon New youth center to open in Heppner Teens play air hockey at a special preview of the new youth center A love of kids and a desire to give them a safe place to hang out prompted Heppner native Bobbette Lovgren to open a new youth center in Heppner. Opening is scheduled for Wednesday, November 15, at the former Napa Auto Parts. 148 E. Center St. “There has been a need for y e a rs ,” said Lovgren. “People have tried before, but now the timing must be right. This will be a place where kids are wanted and welcome.” The youth center will be open from 3-9 p.m. weekdays and noon to 11 p.m. S aturdays. Private parties are also available any day of the week. The center will offer arcade gam es, such as h unting, Pirates o f the C arib b ean and driving games, a basketball hoop, air hockey and additional games for younger kids, such as the alligator game. The center will feature a special room, the “Stable of Youth", for the younger kids, featuring a bar with cowboy saddle seats. For the older kids, a stage will be available for jamming and dance nights will be scheduled. Vending machines offering candy and drinks will be available and Lovgren says that a snack shack is coming soon. The center, for school-age children up to 18 years old, will be supervised at all times by adults. continued page 2 Stroll Heppner on November 30 Stroll Heppner and the 10th annual Parade of Lights will be held Thursday, Nov. 30. People may “stroll” Heppner all day and visit businesses, view Christmas trees and gingerbread houses, visit the Heppner City Hall open house and listen to carolers. Pictures with Santa will be taken at city hall from 4:30-6 p.m. The Christmas tree lighting will be held on Main Street at 5:30 p.m. The Parade of Lights starts at 6 p.m. Individuals, families, businesses and out- of-town entries are invited to enter the parade. Entrants will line up at 5 p.m. at the Green Feed and Seed store. The parade will go through town twice. Prizes will be awarded for the following: best community float. $75; best commercial float. $75; best individual float. $75; and best school float, $75. The Pioneer Memorial Home Health and Hospice/Heppner Chamber of Commerce tree auction and raffle will take place immediately following the parade. Tree raffle tickets are one for $1. six for $5, and 30 for $20. Remembrance Day to be held at HHS H eppner High School will hold their annual V eteran's R em em brance Day on Monday, Nov. 13, starting at 10:30 a.m. in the Heppner High School Gym. H eppner High School invites all veterans to attend the program to honor them for their service to our country. H eppner High School also invites the public to come to this program. A lunch for all veterans and their spouses will be provided after the program. ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. became curious. I asked my waited for a reply, but did not father and m other more want to get my hopes up. about him before they died, Then I receiv ed the and was told nothing new. following email: Several years ago I began PFC Guy Beverly Sykes checking books at the book “David, E d ito r's note: store and library with names “As luck would have Veteran's Day, our day o f o f war dead, h o ping to it. 1 caught Darrel! Todd at national remembrance, is maybe see him listed there. I home when I telephoned. November 11. Following is found nothing. D a rrell w as a tank a story o f remembrance. It A couple of years commander in C Company, is also a story about my ago 1 began using the and remembers your uncle uncle, Guy Beverly Sykes, a Internet, and then one day Guy. He is more than happy soldier killed in war. out of nowhere after lots of to talk with you, and can Guy, my fa th e r 's searches, lo and behold. 1 probably put you in touch younger brother, was killed found something. with others in his unit that in WWII. Until recently this There it was, on a might remember Guy. Just was virtu a lly all I knew single Internet page, so you will know, Darrell about him. Following is not dedicated to an American becam e a tank ‘a c e .' by only a story about my efforts cemetery in France, was his d estro y in g fiv e G erm an to learn more about this name in big block letters. I tanks during the war, two or forgotten soldier, but also a stared almost in disbelief. three o f them at H atten- story o f how he fought and That page told me more than Rittershoffen. died fo r his country and fo r I had ever known about him. Best Regards, Jim. ” our freedoms. It told me he is buried at the Thinking there was / write this not to Lorraine A m erican som eone still alive who glorify my uncle, as there are Cemetery near St. Avoid. knew my uncle was exciting many who have also fought France. I was fascinated. His and fascinating to me. It and died, but more so that body had never been brought somehow seemed almost too his, a n d a ll v e te r a n s ’ home. The page told me he good to be true. Again, not sa c rific e s, w ill be had been a private first class wanting to get my hopes up, remembered. serving with t h e l 4 Ih I w aited to hear from Armored Division, 48"' Tank Darrell. By David Sykes Battalion. And it told me he Then one day not 1 was born five years died Jan 12, 1945, a date 1 long after on a Saturday after the end of World War had never heard before. m orning the call cam e. II. I am a baby boomer. This was more Darrell Todd from California G row ing up it information than I ever had, was on the line. Yes he said seemed as if all the adults 1 and at that point 1 began to he did indeed know my knew had served in WWII. fill in the blanks about a man uncle. He told me Guy was My mother and her sister I knew nothing about, but a hard worker and a quiet served in the Women’s Army was connected to by name and dependable man. He said C orps together, an o th er and blood. I was determined he and Guy were in the same uncle served in the army, to now find out more, and I tank company. There were another in the navy and my dug deeper. five Sherman tanks in C father also in the navy, I looked up Company and Darrell was fighting the Japanese in the inform ation on the 14"' the c o m m an d er o f tank South Pacific. A rm ored D ivision and number 1 and Guy was the I remember visiting learned they fought bravely loader in tank number 3. This my cousin’s home and there against the G e rm a n s ’ was amazing information. was army gear, helmets, counter offensive called He went on to say canteens and gas masks all operation Norwind in the that my uncle was killed in over the garage. We had fun winter of 1944-45. 1 also the battle o f H atten- dressing up. At my home in learned they were Rittershoffen. a large tank the back yard was a large nicknamed the "Liberators" battle near two small towns rubber raft my sister and I because of the 200.000 allied in northern France. The would fill with water and use troops they later liberated battle raged from Jan 9- 21 as a swimming pool. Later I from German prisoner of and was one of the largest learned it was my d ad 's war camps. The division also tank battles of WWII. It w as U n d erw ater D em olition liberated a Jewish death overshadowed, and did not Team raft he used on two cam p after entering receive as much publicity as island invasions. The Germany. 1 found out there the Battle o f the Bulge, remnants and memories of was a book written on the which was going on at the war were everyw here. history of the 14"' Armored same time. We had many family Division. It is out of print, I listened as this man g ath erin g s when I was but with the Internet I am I had never met told me more young, and everyone was still searching. about my soldier uncle than there, all the veterans- Then one day last I had ever heard before. everyone except my uncle month I came across an Darrell said Guy's tank was Guy Sykes. Growing up I Internet site that virtually hit January 11. 1945, in the had heard stories about Guy. broke the dam. It was the turret by a shell from a I heard how he liked to camp home page for the German Tiger tank, and that at Yosemite park, and how asso ciatio n o f the 14"’ out of the five crewmen, Guy his family all went to Mexico Armored Division, and there and two others were killed and got lost. But I never was a name and an email (Guy died the next day on heard anything about his address on the web site. The Jan. 12). Darrell told me that army service, or his death. name was Jim Lankford, because of the high For whatever reason, neither National H istorian and casu a ltie s, my uncle, a my father nor my editor for the “Liberator", private first class, had been grandparents ever talked the web site and official promoted from a loader to about him. All I knew was n e w sle tte r o f the I4 'h tank co m m an d er, and that he was killed in a tank Armored. I quickly wrote actually had a lieutenant as som ew here in Europe Jim an email asking for any driver working under him information he could give me when he was killed. “during the war". O ver the years I about my unknown uncle. I continued page 2 Au.TU.fVN $T’TLCTAL % % M orrow C o u n ty G rain G row ers Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396 For farm equipm ent, visit our web site at www megp net
