Local VFW Post 5206 to pay tribute to county veterans with a Wall of Honor
Having worked at the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery, Hendersonville's Bob Johnson has been a part of the nation's military for a big part of his life.
Now, as a member of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5206, Johnson has started an initiative that will pay tribute to Henderson County veterans. On Nov. 2, a display of the shadow boxes that will honor veterans was completed at the Henderson County Public Library. Each shadow box has the veterans' ribbons and awards he or she received.
"I graduated from Virginia Military Institute, which had a similar display, and I got the idea for this project. These shadow boxes will eventually be on permanent display at the VFW building at Five Points when the building is completed," Johnson said. "The VFW owned the building since 1946. In 2021 we had to sell it. The county bought it and have plans to construct a new building that is supposed to be completed in two years. There will be a big room in there where we will put the shadow boxes on the wall."
Johnson is fascinated with military history and noted that the local VFW (Hedrick-Rhodes) is named after two sailors who perished during Japan's raid on Pearl Harbor.
"When you think about it, it's pretty incredible. About 2,000 sailors, marines, and soldiers from all over the nation died at Pearl Harbor, and two of them are from here," Johnson said.
Johnson said the boxes, which are eight inches by 10 inches, will be for all veterans who are from Henderson County who honorably served in both war and peace.
"We want to ensure veterans will be respected and recognized, and we think this project will do that," he said.
Johnson said this is a way to preserve the veterans' accomplishments forever.
"Sometimes, family members might not know the importance of a ribbon or artifact and throw them away. And sometimes, they might even get lost in a storm. You can see how natural disasters can destroy all your belongings," he said. "If we have these awards in the shadow boxes on permanent display, they are here forever."
Johnson said the shadow boxes will also tell their own stories of each veteran.
"Every veteran has an incredible story," Johnson said.
He served in the US Army to retirement after 20 years in 1995 and returned to serve in Afghanistan in 2008, helping the Afghans build roads and schools. "The Army was providing most of the manpower for the war and ran out of people and went back through the retired ranks, so I volunteered."
"It was peaceful when I was there, but my replacement got killed in 2009, doing the same things I hd been doing," he said. "
The VFW's Bill Manke is a Vietnam veteran who joined the Marines in 1964 at the age of 17. After he was about halfway through basic training, he was told his pinky finger was going to "hinder him in performing necessary actions in combat."
"He went to the doctor and asked if he got his pinky amputated if that would keep him out of the Marines," Johnson said about Manke.
"The doctor told me there was a 50/50 chance, so I got it cut off," Manke said. "Then when I went back to do basic all over again, they didn't even look at my pinky finger. They said my eyes might give me trouble. I had to go back to my local optometrist to have him sign a waiver, saying it was OK for me to go."
Manke served in Vietnam from 1966 through 1967.
"Basically, it was hell," he said. "I volunteered to go to Vietnam, no knowing what I was getting into."
VFW Commander Edward Skrivanek served in the Air Force for 24 years.
"I've been around quite a bit. I did two tours in Korea, one in Japan, one in Hawaii. I was also stationed in Germany and Italy and did a tour in Gulf during Desert Storm. I was in Kuwait... and a lot of places in between," he said.
The shadow boxes will also be available for veterans who are deceased, too, Johnson said.
Any veterans or families of veterans wanting to have a shadow box can contact the VFW 5206 by email at Post5206@vfwnc.com with the subject line Wall of Honor.
There will be a kickoff meeting at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12 in the Kaplan Auditorium of the Henderson County Library. Details about the program will be presented there as well as an opportunity to sign up for the program and ask any questions.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Local VFW Post 5206 to pay tribute to county veterans with a Wall of Honor
