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Sonner: ‘We needrecognizeand remember the veterans9► Continued from A1As a Sullivan County councilman and one who lived through the Great Depression, wasting resources is not part of who he is. But, to really understand how serious he takes the combination of respect and recycling, you have to see how he and his wife, Joann, work together.The processEight days earlier, the weather is unseasonably hot and humid for this time of May. Under the shade of their driveway’s carport, Son-ner and Joann work in tandem to take care of the symbols of respect that will soon adorn the graves of the county’s veterans. Sonner works over a foldable silver metal table. His task is to clean each grave marker flag’s stick and he does so with some good, old-fashioned elbowTribune-Star/Joseph C. GarzaFound it: American Legion Post 139 member Ron Moreland plants a grave marker flag into the ground near the grave of a veteran Saturday at Center Ridge Cemetery in Sullivan. Moreland and fellow post members Jerry Smith and John Parris were working together to plant a flag into every veteran's grave in an assigned section of the cemetery.grease.As he holds down a half-dozen flags, Sonner wets the end of the wooden rod with water from his gardenhose and then gives the end of the earth-stained pole a good scrubbing with a white small brush, which removes pieces of dirt and mud.After the sticks have beenwashed, Sonner piles the flags at the opposite end■VV’r.v•mamiV-jSi-kwmm dmm'-hiamim1£f3jg*a i*#**-SZT~ ; VPhoto courtesy of Sonner FaughtDays of service: Sonner Faught believes he posed for this photo in 1943 near the train station in Sullivan.later at Center Ridge. “We will have been married for 42 years this spring and she’s gone along with all of my doings,” he said with a chuckle. “She’s been very active in the auxiliary.” As Sonner pulls more miniature flags out of a cardboard box marked “Center Ridge” and places them on the metal table, Joann patiently works overcan be heard.Act of respectThe importance of Son-ner’s and Joann’s efforts and the meaning of the small flags aren’t lost on the volunteers, especially for one fellow American Legion member, Ron Moreland. Moreland was one armed with a drill (the one drill that wanted to keep losing its bit) and a handful of flags on Saturday. After he and two fellow members finishedttheir first section, Moreland sat in his red van for a break.“I fought for the country in Vietnam and some offlags out for did the same thing and died for the country,” Moreland said. “So, I'm doing what I can to help them out. Respect, mostly.” As Sonner watches thevolunteers back on Saturday from where he stands, he is reminded of Memorial Days from the past. “Hugh Giles Sr. would park a flatbed truck right here,” said Sonner as he stood at the top of a hill in the northeast corner of the cemetery. ‘The cemetery would be full of people and speeches would be given from the flatbed. A Civil Warthese guys we’re putting theveteran named Henry Hines would be on the flatbed also, but he usually didn't say anything. He lived on Broad Street. We would marchof the table. The wooden rods dry briefly and then are picked up by Joann.For Joann Faught, this pre-Memorial Day chore had become a tradition for her and Sonner since he became a county councilman. “She’s pretty patriotic,” said Sonneran ironing board. She meticulously unfolds each flag with her hand and then runs a steam iron over the stars and stripes. The two concentrate on the task at hand and not much is said. Only the escaping steam of the iron and the splatter of the water§»? ?©introducing an invisible hearing aid you can afford.f •lt;v \ \Indiana Hearing Aid Companyf\lJii ui: l.500 E. Springhill Drive #C • Terre Haute • 812-237-0099Every flag:Joann Faught uses an iron to press grave marker flags May 18 at her and her husband's home in Sullivan.Tribune-Stsr/ Joseph C Garzafrom the old American Legion home to the cemetery. I once marched as aBoy Scout in 1934 or 1935 behind my father, Amos Faught, and his fellow World War I veterans,” Sonner said. “He could still fit in his World War I uniform.”As a group of volunteers returns to the truck for a new section map and more flags, Sonner pulls out a bundle of stars and stripes secured with a rubber band and hands it over with a binder that contains a list of names in the new section. After a brief break, they walk off in the direction of their new section.“I think this is a holiday we all need to celebrate,” says Sonner as he watches more volunteers return for more flags and another list. “I hope it never gets towhere we don’t do anything or don’t decorate the graves. It needs to be done. We need to recognize and remember the veterans.”m Itv Sis , \ • •-JCv 2 • /*Because fffice MatMrW'.Voted.*VAfBest Gift Shop 201i«Sby.»v/ y ¥/Tribune-Star ReadersrM9 f4A Hadley Pottery■it® Holly Yasfti »Mud and WillowiM v* \felt/ VfK 'lyi'.WHI 2 B. 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Newspaper Details
Terre Haute Tribune Star
Terre Haute, Indiana, US
Mon, May 28, 2012
Page 16
Full Page
Clipped by
Larry G.
USA 12 Feb 2019
Other Publications Near Terre Haute, Indiana
Western Register and Terre Haute Advertiser
Terre Haute Wabash Courier
Terre Haute Tribune Star
Terre Haute Tribune
Terre Haute Star
