NIles Historical Society pays homage to veterans
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"Honoring Our History: A Special Veterans Program" remembered those who served to those curious to understand Niles' connection to the military with an event Saturday at the Niles Historical Society's Westenfield Room.
On display were artifacts mainly from World War I and World War II along with more recent conflicts such as Operation Desert Shield.
"We would really encourage people to come down and take a look at the display because they may be able to find information about grandfathers, grandmothers, their father, and others," said Anna Marie Beagle, president of the Niles Historical Society.
"We have quite a collection, but we would like to gather more information about our more recent veterans, which we are lacking. If people have photos or articles or they’d like to tell a story, we’d like to have that information.".
Along with the photographs, newspaper clippings, personal letters and other items chronicling the city's servicemen, guest speaker Chaplain John Chittock, senior yeoman of the United States Coast Guard Cutter Campbell (USCGCC), spoke to attendees and answered about his service during Vietnam War and post-military career as a member of American Legion Lake Milton Post 737.
He served from 1965 to 1971, four years active duty and two years as a reservist.
The Warren resident explained that while he grew up in Niles and lives in Warren, he joined Post 737 because it was the first American Legion to answer the phone when he was seeking to join a local veterans organization.
His ship had a long, storied history that included ramming and sinking a German U-bot as well as being used during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. Commissioned in 1936, it was finally decommissioned on April 1, 1982, and later sunk as a target ship by the U.S. Navy on Nov. 29, 1984.
Chittock discussed his military career, which involved monitoring the North Sea as well as training at Guantanamo Bay.
He recalled that he'll never forget his first day on the USCGCC, Nov. 9, 1966.
"It was the Great East Coast blackout," he said. "That’s the night I reported on board my ship. The United States and Canada, the whole East Coast was out."
Chittock had a scrapbook filled with photos, patches and citations during his service as well as his post-military life in Post 737. It included a photo of him in a small boat next to a glacier that had broken off and during lighter times, shots of him and other crew members with the model representing Hurst Defenders Armed Forces Club.
"When we were in the North Atlantic, you had man overboard drills. You had to be over in that small boat and have them out of the water in three minutes because water was so cold."
For drills they used an international organ dummy that the crew members named Oscar to put in the water. "I put my arm in [the water] and when I get it up it would be frozen by the time I got it back in the small boat because the salt and water separated. We liked doing that because the captain would take us in and we’d get a shot of his best brandy after we come back on board."
Besides visiting veterans and attending/leading services honoring their military background, Chittock and others annually visit Jackson-Milton High School and Elementary School to enlighten them about those who served.
"Some of these kids don’t have a clue," he said.
He explained that during the programs, they place the colors and answer questions.
"We show them what we do at a funeral. We fold a flag and present the flag to one of the teachers. We go through the whole thing of what we do. So, when somebody says, 'Thank you,' it makes it all worth it."
Beagle added that those interested in the area's history can learn more online. "We do have a newsletter that we publish, and we would like to have personal stories that anyone from Niles who can add to our history."
The Niles Historical Society's website, https://nileshistoricalsociety.org/, has stories, photos and more on it.
She concluded, "There’s a lot of information out there, and a lot of people don’t even know we’re here. They’ve never been here. We encourage people to come. We have a lot to share with them."