September 19 , 2024 The Beacon • 15
Blue Star Mothers host third annual veterans picnic
By Marianne Austin For The Beacon
Coshocton Blue Star Mothers hosted its third annual veterans picnic at the American Legion on Sept . 14 . President Sharon Burns said 64 people attended , and that is more than they have had in the past .
“ We do the picnic every year just to thank our veterans for their service to this great country ,” Burns said . “ Our older veterans need to hear thank you and that we appreciate what they did for this country . Our goal is to get younger veterans more involved . Many of our younger veterans don ’ t believe that they deserve the honor . I think
they feel that what they did was not as important as what the guys who served in World War II , Korea and Vietnam did , and that is not true . Every one of them signed on the dotted line that they would give their lives for this country , and if they didn ’ t need them to do that , they still said they would do it .” U . S . Army veteran
Irwin “ Gibby ” Gibson will celebrate his 100th birthday on Jan . 10 , 2025 . “ I have all kinds of stories ,” he said .
Gibson , who was in the 34th Infantry , was wounded in Italy on Jan . 7 when he was 18 and celebrated that birthday in the hospital .
Actor Humphrey Bogart was visiting wounded soldiers there . He reached down and patted Gibson ’ s shoulder and said , “ Happy Birthday son .”
Joe DiMaggio also visited the troops . “ He sat down on my bed and said , ‘ Do you follow baseball ?’ And I said , ‘ No , I don ’ t follow baseball .’ The USO brought them in ,” Gibson said .
“ No matter what , we all put on a uniform to serve our country . And don ’ t think that one is higher than the other . We all are in the same boat . I thank you men from my heart .”
Irwin “ Gibby ” Gibson
Gibson still carries a bullet visible in his wrist and got five in his leg while fighting the German forces in Italy with Company Red Bull .
Overseas for two years in Italy , they went into an olive orchard , swam into a river and came out to machine-gun fire that cut the weeds above him . He laid there until they quit firing and got up when they were just reloading . He got beneath his vehicle but was hit in the shoulder .
“ We climbed up a mountain . Over halfway up , we came to an opening , and that ’ s where three of us went down ,” Gibson said . “ That ’ s where they hit me . I dug my elbows down in the mud , and they rolled me over in the ditch . We started to take the hill again . They opened fire again , and I felt two bullets . I was laying there , and a German soldier was coming up the path . He had a machine gun over his shoulder , and the ammunition was dragging the ground .
“ My hand was up in the air , and I said medic . He dropped down on his knees , and I said medic again . He got back up and said , ‘ Your comrade is coming . Stay . Stay , they come .’ They had tablets to clot your blood , and I ate 16 during that time because I was all shot up and it takes a while before they get to you .”
He was in the hospital for three months and became a firefighter because at that time they didn ’ t send the men home .
“ No matter what , we all put on a uniform to serve our country . And don ’ t think that one is higher than the other . We all are in the same boat . I thank you men from my heart ,” Gibson said .
A collection of patches from World War II are in
Marianne Austin
Caitlyn Williamson Daugherty , 2024-25 Mrs . Hometown Hearts , talked with Army veteran Irwin Gibson .
a permanent display at the American Legion , donated by Danny Graham . “ I know our older veterans are going to love this because we are only missing a few ,” he said . “ They are from all over the world .”
Karen Mills , Legion Auxiliary president , said , “ A lot of our veterans were in awe when we got this . We also inherited the Wall of Fame from the Army Navy , and we will be putting that up .”
Veterans Helping Veterans supports the Blue Star Mothers .
“ Every year we cater 15 families ’ Thanksgiving meals for the veterans , and we help nine families with Christmas shopping ,” Director Brian Hawkins said . “ We are a local nonprofit for Coshocton County . Our mission is to help veterans who come upon hard times , whether it ’ s help with bills or emergency repairs on their home . We take families Christmas shopping , provide some Thanksgiving meals and other things . This is our eighth year . We are a licensed nonprofit .
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“ This year we are doing our ruck hike , and we are selling T-shirts to fund this event . On the back of each shirt is the name of a veteran , in memory of or in honor of , or you can just buy a T-shirt . This year our shirts will be black and gold , representing the Army . We have different colors each year to represent different branches of the military , and in the spring , we have a golf outing fundraiser .”
The eighth annual ruck will be Friday , Nov . 8 , beginning at Newcomerstown High School and ending at Ridgewood High School ( 8.8 miles ). Proceeds support military heroes and their families .
Caitlyn Williamson Daugherty , 2024-25 Mrs . Hometown Hearts , attended the event and visited with the vets . “ We are a community service title based in Baltimore , Ohio . We represent our own hometowns , and I was born and raised in Coshocton . My great-grandfather was a World War II vet . He was a tank gunner and stormed the beaches of Normandy .”
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