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Iwo Jima sniper one of 21 veterans honored by Quilts of Valor
BAINBRIDGE – World War II veteran Marion Saucerman thought he was coming to Bainbridge to hear some music Saturday at Lifespring Church.
Instead he was one of 21 Putnam County servicemen awarded Quilts of Valor in an annual ceremony conducted by the ladies of the One Stitch at a Time quilt club.
The 93-year-old Saucerman, a Cloverdale product who now resides near Monrovia, not only received a standing ovation from the audience for his heroic service as a World War II Marine, but was also thanked and acknowledged by a number of veterans whose turns at the microphone followed Saucerman’s Saturday afternoon.
Cpl. Saucerman joined the Marines at age 17 in 1944. Assigned duties as part of an elite scout sniper platoon, he soon found himself aboard a ship headed to the island of Iwo Jima where some of the fiercest fighting in the Pacific Theater took place over a 37-day period in 1945 (Feb. 19-March 26).
“Cpl. Saucerman was shot three times and still carries one of the Japanese bullets in his leg,” program emcee Tim Tillotson said in introducing the World War II veteran.
“I appreciate what the ladies have done here,” Saucerman said. “I had no idea. I came here to listen to some music.”
Instead, he found himself relating his war stories, noting that he enlisted soon after high school graduation and was sent to Paris Island, where all Marines of that era got their training.
Saucerman boarded a ship on New Year’s Day, setting sail for Iwo Jima, a place etched in American memory by the iconic photo image of six U.S. Marines raising the American flag stop Mount Suribachi.
The goal of the American invasion of Iwo Jima was to capture the island, which included the three Japanese-controlled airfields that the U.S. saw as a potential staging area for future attacks on the Japanese main islands. Before that happened, however, the five-week fighting resulted in more than 20,000 American casualties with 6,821 killed and nearly 20,000 Japanese soldiers dead or missing.
“Out of 33 men, 10 of us were able to walk back,” Saucerman said of his sniper unit.
“I was very fortunate to get out of there. If you were in the wrong spot, you didn’t make it.”
Meanwhile, David Vermillion told of a varied 20-year Army career that began as a 17-year-old in 1962. Three years later he went to jump school and became a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division.
With four tours of duty in Vietnam, he returned from his first in 1968, heading not home, but to Fort Benning, Ga., to become an Army Ranger. On his second tour of duty in Vietnam, he learned to fly helicopters, leading to two more tours and 20 years of service overall.
“I came back from Vietnam in 1970, and I’ve been waiting 37 years to say this … thank you to all U.S. veterans,” the 74-year-old veteran said. “We were not treated correctly when we returned. I remember a time when we could not wear our uniforms when we got off work. We could not go to the store (in uniform). Now I see military personnel everywhere.
“There’s a lot of ups and downs in the military but I can tell you it’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” added Vermillion, who came back from Oklahoma for the program.
“I grew up in Greencastle, a very poor family and I remember living in a garage with a dirt floor. So we were dirt poor.”
Vermillion recalled getting in trouble during his sophomore year of high school and being expelled from school.
“But it wasn’t the end for me,” he added, noting that in “74 years of existence on this earth, I feel like I’ve done pretty well.”
Joining Saucerman and Vermillion in being honored Saturday were:
• William Keyt, a Korean War veteran who was drafted in 1951, fought in three major campaigns and was shot five times.
• Lloyd Fortune, who joined the Air Force in 1959 and served in Guam as part of his six-year hitch.
• Scott Cramer, who joined the Air Force in 1988, serving eight years, including a stint in Turkey in 1990 in support of Operation Desert Storm.
• Kenny Turner, a Vietnam War combat medic who was drafted into the Army in March 1968.
• Robert Delp, who enlisted in the Air Force in 1947 and helped guard bases in Texas and Illinois.
• Galen Fourman, who joined the Army in 2009, serving eight years with time in South Korea.
• Curtis Richardson, who was drafted into the Army in October 1972 and served as a driver in the Canal Zone.
• Don Voyles, who joined the Air Force in 1951 and served in Korea as a tail gunner, including 30 missions flying from Japan to Korea.
• William Gray, who joined the Army in 1951 and was sent to Korea where he worked directly with Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.
• Charles Gilley, who joined the Army in March 1961 at age 21. He had a brother who lost his life in Korea.
• Wayne Harmless, who joined the Air Force in 1959, completed one tour and then joined the Navy before finally getting into the Air Force where he became a master welder. He retired in 1979 after 20 years of service.
• Dick Wade, who joined the Army in 1966 at age 19. Sent to Vietnam, he was assigned to aircraft crews and eventually became a crew chief of his own aircraft.
• Vic Reffet, who joined the Marines in 1972 and served on Okinawa until deployed in support of Desert Storm. He retired in 1992 after 20 years service.
• Frank Coverdale, who joined the Navy at age 19 and served 10 years, including five years at sea.
• Raymond McCloud, who was drafted into the Army in 1971 and did his basic training at Ft. Knox, Ky.
Also honored were William Long, Adam Pence, Tony Hughes and Lonnie Deal.
As each of those veterans came forward to receive his quilt, he was wrapped up in the quilt by Anita Custis, Claire Winings and Cindy Carter.
Tillotson himself received a surprise quilt at the end of the ceremony, telling the audience, “My goal was to see every veteran in Putnam County get one of these before me.”
The group also heard from Mike Faust, pastor of Fillmore Christian Church, who said that what “veterans have secured for us cannot be replaced, only treasured.”
“Without the U.S. military, there would be no United States of America. Our debt to these heroes can never be repaid.”