VFW chartered in 1924, named in honor of George Ray Goudy

Apr. 24—It was March 1917 when a young high schooler from Kokomo named George Ray Goudy enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.

At that time, America was on the cusp of what then-President Woodrow Wilson called "a war to end all wars."

A few weeks later, on April 6, 1917, the United States did in fact enter World War I, sending Goudy and thousands of other young men like him into battle.

U.S.M.C. Private Goudy eventually joined an automatic gun crew and even participated in the battles of Belleau Wood and Chateau-Tierry in the summer of 1918.

In September 1918, the U.S. led an Allied offensive attack in Saint-Mihiel, France.

Goudy, a year-and-a-half into his military duties, was there.

And on Sept. 15, 1918, while carrying water to a wounded comrade, Goudy was killed in action.

He was 18 years old.

Six years later, a group of 33 Howard County veterans became the first chartered members of a new Veterans of Foreign Wars organization in Kokomo.

They ended up calling the VFW "George Ray Goudy Post 1152," after the man who paid the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

And during a special ceremony held last week, dozens gathered to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the post, located at 920 N. Washington St., as well as to honor the man it was named after all those years ago.

In attendance at Friday's event were local dignitaries and other members of the VFW family and the Kokomo community.

But according to VFW Post 1152 Commander John Meeks, the ceremony was made even sweeter with the presence of 18 of Goudy's family members who still reside around the Howard County area.

"It was just an idea that was brought up," he told the Tribune, referring to inviting members of Goudy's family. "I think you can make the connection now because here's this man's family. His morals and what he did, no question, he was a great man. And I hope that they (Goudy's family) are as proud of us carrying his name as we are to have it.

"The name will never change either," Meeks added. "I don't think you could have picked a better man for the honor than George, who was only 18. The big thing is, I think it's important for our members to know who he is. I want them all to know who he is because that makes it more of a complete story."

George Balog is Goudy's nephew, and he also spoke at Friday's event.

But before doing so, he also spoke with the Tribune for a few moments and said he grew up always knowing his uncle was a "war hero."

"We're all real proud of him," Balog said. "We grew up with the stories, and we used to go and fix the grave. ... People like him are what has made our country what it is, and I think he'd be proud (to have his name on the organization). I think he wouldn't believe they kept his name there for 100 years. That's pretty fantastic. There's not too many institutions that have stayed around for 100 years with the same name."

But while Friday's ceremony was an homage to Goudy, it also served as a tribute to the men and women who have made the VFW what it's been now for the last century.

"Something that I didn't learn until many years in is that it's not the brick and mortar that holds this place together," Meeks, the organization's 66{sup}th{/sup} commander, said. "It's the members. You develop a closeness and a comradery here."

The VFW also has a special place in the Kokomo community, Meeks added, from its military rites team to its Little League sponsorships and even helping to spearhead the campaign for Jackson Street Commons, a housing complex for homeless veterans near downtown that's getting ready to celebrate its 10th anniversary next month.

"It's our community too," Meeks said. "And that's what I wish maybe the public knew more about. The public is welcome here any day of the week. If they want to come in, they're more than welcome to come in and stay a while and see what it's like. Because we're really just one big family here."

And perhaps few know that better than Alice Baldwin, whose father William Walker was one of the post's charter members.

Baldwin joked with the crowd Friday that she was "born in the VFW."

But though that wasn't the literal truth, Baldwin told the Tribune it might as well have been.

"I don't know if I can put this place into words," she said. I've come here ever since I was knee high to a grasshopper, and I've always been involved in some way. It's just an awesome place.

"I guess you can kind of look at it like a church," Baldwin added. "A church building is just that, a building. But the church is the people who are inside it. And I guess that's what the VFW is too. It's the people that have made this place special."