Two veteran guests shared some of their heartfelt contributions to the community Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 11, during the annual Veterans Day ceremony at Indian Lake High School at the school auditorium, which followed a lunch for dozens of local veterans and their guests served by ILHS Key Club members.
Indian Lake Villa resident Donald T. Willis, aka “Sky Dog,” a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and master-rated skydiver, was the guest speaker for the program. He detailed for the students some of the pivotal moments of his life story and encouraged them to keep trying to find their passion, offering a quote by Mark Twain.
“The two most important moments in your life are — the day who were born and the day you find out why.
“Keeping trying everything, until you find what you love.”
After completing his undergraduate degree in structural engineering, Willis said he served as a certified architect and then went to an Ivy League college for his master’s degree.
While he enjoyed working as an architect, he said he really found his stride after leaving the private sphere and entering the military, first serving as a nuclear engineer.
Then during the 1980s, he ran a number of marathons, and that’s where he met the man who would later become his colonel. The colonel convinced Willis he should join the U.S. Army Special Forces.
The West Virginia native spent time as a Green Beret in El Salvador and also fighting cartels in Columbia.
Now in his retirement from the military, a new accomplishment with the support of an Indian Lake High School teacher and two ILHS graduates has him particularly excited, even a little emotional.
“I’m going to be a published author very soon,” he told the crowd toward the end of his speech, while pausing and wiping away a few tears.
His first book, “A Guide to Calculus,” is slated to be published in December via Spines Publishing. It will be available on Amazon and other sites, Willis said.
ILHS advanced math teacher Alexis Scheiderer and recent ILHS graduates Creek Wischmeyer and Heidi Hoffman assisted Willis with the project, with Wischmeyer and Hoffman providing services to digitize the book for the Indian Lake resident and accomplished veteran.
Also during the ceremony, Logan County Commissioner and 1973 ILHS alum Joe Antram presented his classmate, Army veteran Garis Pugh, with the U.S. flag that flew over the Logan County Courthouse during the month of August.
A Vietnam War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, Pugh worked for many years at the Logan County Pollution Control Sewer District.
He served active duty in the Army from 1967-1969. His other awards and commendations include training as an artillery survey specialist at Fort Sill, Okla., along with receiving the National Defense Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, Marksman and Sharp Shooter Qualification Medals, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Overseas Service Bar, the Purple Heart and several other honors.
Pugh now resides at Shawnee Island at Indian Lake. His wife Ginny and his friend Bill Hempker, fellow Army veteran, accompanied him to the ceremony.
ILHS students expressed their appreciation to veterans through song as well. Chorale member Owen Kaser sang the National Anthem during the ceremony, assisted by Blake Johnson.
As the program continued, ILHS students Gavin Spring and Matthew Culp explained the significance of the folds of the flag and trumpeter Maddie Leiss-Breakey played “Taps.”
The ILHS Chorale concluded the ceremony with a rendition of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
