Yellow Trail offers Veterans Day recognition

Veterans and their families are invited to a free social event and lunch at the Yellow Trail Museum starting at 10:30 a.m. Monday.

For more than 10 years, the Yellow Trail Museum has offered the event, which serves as a unique opportunity for veterans to visit, share and record stories from their time in the service, says Barb Johnson, Yellow Trail Museum board member and volunteer.

“I think, more than anything, it is another opportunity for us to honor them,” Johnson says. “And we certainly want them to know how much we appreciate what they did for their country. It is also an important opportunity for them to share stories that otherwise we will lose.”

Over the years, veterans have shared a plethora of stories and experiences, Johnson says.

Johnson recalls one event when a World War II veteran shared a story shortly before leaving.

“When walking toward the door, the gentleman said, ‘Oh yeah, you are looking for stories,’” Johnson says.

Little did she, or the family members who had accompanied him, know the gravity of what he was about to share.

The gentleman spoke of a day in early August 1945 when he and his fellow service members were given orders to load the Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 bomber that carried the first atomic bomb, which would be subsequently dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

Johnson says the gentleman said neither he nor his fellow service members knew anything about the cargo they were loading or its destination.

“He said no information was relayed,” Johnson says. “Except the instructions to the pilot to fly higher during the bombing and that they were to fly out around the targeted area, which the service members thought was strange.”

Visibly shaken and, understandably in awe, those present simply looked around at one another and shrugged unsure of what to say, Johnson recalls.

She says she asked the veteran if his family knew about his involvement. He simply answered, “They do now.”

And it is stories like that that Johnson says really open one’s eyes to the experiences and sacrifices of our veterans and those who are currently serving in the Armed Forces.

Yellow Trail Museum Manager Lizzie Flora echoes Johnson when it comes to the importance of the event.

Flora likewise believes the event is a great way to give back and honor the veterans and their service to the country.

“Most of the food is donated from various community members, like a potluck, and is a way for the museum and the community to give back to the veterans,” Flora says. “We are also able to build stories of our soldiers from the past. So far, we’ve been able to get a lot of oral histories, especially from World War II, which is very exciting.”

The free event is open to all past and current service members, Johnson says.

“It is a social event as much as anything,” Johnson says. “Those who attend are welcome to stay as long as they like.”