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495 membershipeteransBy Loni McKown Tribune staff writerHoward County Veterans of orld War I, Barracks 495, is a windling organization, with only 48 embers. This should not be sur-rislng, because the average age ofhe members is 83.There were originally 157 mem-era listed on the charter, and at its oak the local barracks boasted 185 embers.According to The Torch, the or-anizatfon’s newspaper, there are till 88,749 members nationally, hough there are probably close to a alf million WWI veterans still liv-ng around the country. According o the American Legion News there ere some 4.5 million World War I eterans. Statewide, there were ome 3,888 VWWI members.The local barracks was chartered n February of 1956. Soon after, in une, Its auxiliary was chartered. There are presently 82 members n the local auxiliary. Of the 82, 12 ave husbands who are living andof WWImembers of the local barracks. Of the remaining 7Q, all widows, 64 are members through their husbands’ service, five by means of their brothers* service, and one is a member through her sister’s service.The organizations meet the fourth Monday of every month at 12 p.m. at the Salvation Army for a potluck and regular meeting.Noravene Purcell, 79, whose late husband Harry C. Purcell served in the 325th Field Artillery in the war, is state departmentai secretary of the auxiliary.She explained that It is the auxiliary's duty to “take part in every aspect of Americanism.”They accomplish this though hospital, nursing home and home visits to the sick, mostly to local barracks and auxiliary members —help with the shopping, take them to church or the beauty shop If they are unable to drive.Members also participate in local fund-raising drives to-aid such or-Barracksganizations as the Heart Fund and the American Cancer Society,Through parties, circuses and canteen books, members raise money to donate to the fund at the Marion Veterans Administration Hospital.When there is a death in the auxiliary or barracks, auxiliary members check to see that the family can be taken care of, and provide a meal either before or after the funeral for the mourners.They also contribute every year to the state department president’s project — the Indiana Veterans Home In Lafayette. Over a number of years, the auxiliary has contributed enough to completely furnish a room in the new facility, distributed good used clothing to veterans there, and purchased comfort items for the “supply shelf’ at the home, items like stationery, pans, bath powder, toothpaste and combs.Also, they have furnished folding chairs, wheelchairs, hospital transport carts, collected eyeglasses and.sent them to Eyes for the Needy, and had a representative from the state department in each'VA hospital and state mental institution, with the exception of Logansport.Auxiliary members make lap robes for all veterans at VA hospitals and veterans homes throughout the state.Last year alone the state furnished 648 articles of clothing and 20,364 get-well cards; 355 members volunteered in hospitals and nursing homes. There are currently 3,-699 members in the state auxiliary, and national membership is 73,161.Members of the auxiliary are the wives, widows, sisters, daughters and granddaughters of World War I veterans. Last year there were 10 daughters and 31 granddaughters who signed up to join in the state. InFrom local veteransthe local chapter, there is one daughter who is a member,Mrs. Purcell had just graduated high school in 1917 and got a job as a cashier, at the Isis Theater. Her first husband, who died in 1950, tried to join the service but was not accepted because of a medical disability. Her second husband, Purcell, was a veteran.Jake Fox, 82, is quartermaster of Howard County Barracks 495. He enlisted at age 20, and was sent to Ft. Hayes in Columbus, Ohio, for training. Four weeks later he was sent to Ft. Meigs in Washington, D.C., and two weeks later to Camp Zachary Taylor, Ky.There he worked in the carpenter shop at the base hospital and handled building maintenance for 16-or-so months. Then, he came home anddwindlesworked on his farm for awhile until he got a job at Haynes-Apperson. He stayed there for five years, started a furniture upholstery shop which he ran for five years, and then went into the insurance business for the next 30 years. He is presently retired.He said' the barracks members used to put on parties at the Marion VA Hospital and sold Coca-Cola to fund the parties. However, he said, because of the many deaths and illnesses of barracks members, the group has become less active. This year alone there were 352 reported deaths of barracks members in the state, as opposed to 113 of auxiliary members.Both Mrs. Purcell and Fox keepPlease see Veterans, P 14
Newspaper Details
Kokomo Tribune
Kokomo, Indiana, US
Thu, Aug 23, 1979
Page 39
Full Page
Clipped by
Kokomo-Howard C.
IN, USA 12 Nov 2020
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