BRATTLEBORO-Eighty years ago this week, World War II was officially declared over with the formal signing of documents of surrender by Japan on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945.
The ranks of those in uniform that day - and who remember the sense of relief that came with the end of the most destructive conflict in human history - are dwindling by the day. Two such veterans were honored on Aug. 25 at Garden Path Elder Living (formerly Bradley House).
Richard Lesure, 98, and Walter Schwarz, 99, are both residents of the facility. Before a group of family members and fellow residents who filled the dining room, each was presented with a Quilt of Valor for his service.
The morning ceremony was organized by Dr. Robert Tortolani, a Vietnam War veteran who leads the Tuesday Morning Veterans Coffee Group at American Legion Post 5.
The handmade quilts were presented to Lesure and Schwarz by Lynn and Michael Carrier from the Southern Vermont Quilts of Valor program, based in Whitingham.
The program, started in 2003, draws on volunteers to craft quilts that could bring warmth and comfort to active-duty armed forces personnel and living veterans.
A native of Tenafly, New Jersey, Schwarz was oldest of three boys and enlisted in the Army Air Forces in 1945 after his high school graduation. He was in flight training in Mississippi when the war ended.
He still wanted to fly, and he later returned to serve in the newly formed U.S. Air Force in 1948. Qualifying as a bomber pilot, he flew in B-29s during the Korean War.
Tortolani recounted the story of one particularly scary mission Schwarz flew in Korea.
"He was a co-pilot on a B-29 which carried a large radio-controlled bomb. The mission was to destroy a bridge over the Yalu River separating China from North Korea," said Tortolani.
Schwarz's bomber was attacked by MiG-15 fighters, "and before they could be driven off by our fighter planes, the B-29 was hit, taking out one engine and badly injuring an airman," said Tortolani. "Fortunately, the plane was eventually able to land and the airman survived. Interestingly, the bomb struck very close to its prime target, but it did not explode."
Schwarz said he was most proud of his marriage and his family. He married the former Janet West in 1956, and they spent 63 years together in New Jersey and Vermont until her death in 2018. The Schwarzes raised two daughters, Mary Schwarz and Megan Hawthorne, and they have two grandchildren.
Lesure was originally from Stamford, one of 11 children - nine boys and two girls. He graduated from Bellows Falls High School in 1944 and joined the Army.
"Taking advantage of his excellent clerical skills, his job in the Army was as a bookkeeper," said Tortolani. Lesure served six years before going on to become a popular and successful businessman in the area. He was also an excellent skier in his youth, and he served for years as a ski patrolman.
Like Schwarz, Lesure said he was most proud of his family and long marriage. He wed Marjorie Louison in 1947, and they were together 71 years until her death in 2018. They raised one daughter, Sydney Kingsbury.
"I am proud of these two men," said Tortolani, "and so pleased to be able to honor them today."
For more information about the Quilts of Valor program, visit qovf.org.
This News item by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.