Mar 25, 2003 By Frances Borsodi Zajac 8 min read

The last time Virginia McCann of Masontown saw her son, Donald Fenton, she talked to him about the members of the Masontown Senior Citizen Center who had relatives serving in the military in the Mideast. Army E-6 Staff Sgt. David Fenton, 30, of Masontown, who is stationed in Iraq, was home in late January on leave for a family funeral. He suggested the senior center display the photographs of those servicemen.

The result is a patriotic exhibit in the front window of the senior center called “Let Freedom Ring.’ It’s filled with red, white and blue decorations highlighted with yellow ribbons that surround a gallery of about a dozen photographs of servicemen who have family in the area. More are being added every day.

McCann, president of the senior center, has placed David’s photograph in the window along with her two grandsons, Private First Class Donald Fenton, 21, of Carmichaels, who is a medic in the Army serving in the Middle East, and Charles “Buddy’ George, 27, also of Masontown, who is serving with the Navy in Virginia and “waiting to go.’

Of the three, David has the most time in the Middle East. He is a member of the Third Brigade, Third Infantry Division.

“He’s a tank commander. He’s been in Kuwait three times in five years. They just sent him back. He’s on the road to Baghdad,’ reported McCann, who noted David is the youngest of her 11 children.

Before he left for the Mid-East, David gave his mother a necklace that resembles a serviceman’s dog tags. The front reads: “United States of America: One Nation Under God’ and the back contains a biblical verse from Joshua: “I will be strong and courageous, I will not be terrified or discouraged, for the Lord, my God, is with me, wherever I go.’

“I have a map of the Middle East and I know where my son is at. I’ve had it with me for over a year,’ said McCann as she traced his recent assignments in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and now Iraq.

McCann’s daughters Pamela Jenkins and Judy Lawrence, both of Masontown and employed at the senior center, created the patriotic display. In addition to their brother, Jenkins has placed photographs of her nephews Shawn Ryeczek, 26, of Masontown, who is with the 101st Airborne Division, Third Brigade, and Sgt. James Yakubec of Carmichaels, of the 83rd Airborne, in the gallery. Jenkins said they are also in the Mid-East. Fenton and Ryeczek were home for the funeral of Jenkins’ husband, Donald Stabile, who died in January. That’s the last time the family saw them.

“I know they’ve got to be over there and do what they need to be doing,’ said Jenkins. “But I hate that I have all these people over there.’

Shirley Rhodes of Masontown, another member of the senior center, also has a son and grandson in the Middle East.

Her son is Phillip Rhodes, 41, who grew up in Ronco and is now a resident of the state of California.

“He got out of the service Nov. 3 and he had the same job as he had in the military: an inspector on airstrips. They called him and said they needed more men and he volunteered to go over there,’ she said, noting her son left in February and now has the rank of general with the Marines.

“He called my daughter Leslie yesterday. It was five o’clock in the morning. He was saying how amazing things were. He sounded happy to be able to work with them again. That’s what he did with his life. He spent 22 years in the service. That’s all he knows.’

Rhodes also has a grandson Joseph Rhodes, 21, of Reading, Pa., who’s in the Army in the Middle East. She said her sister’s son, Don Lee, of Texas, who is in the Army, is also in Kuwait. In addition, Rhodes has a son-in-law, Walter Williams, 41, who is in the Marines and has been stationed at Andrew Air Force Base in Maryland for four months. Rhodes believes her son-in-law missed going over to the Mid-East because of recent eye surgery because the company he previously served with in Arizona has been deployed. She is not certain of his future. Rhodes also has a cousin Marcie Burden of Leckrone, who is now in the service in New Jersey, waiting to go overseas.

Rhodes, who has six children in the service in every branch at one time, said. “I feel this should have never happened. They could have done something else. Too many young ones are fighting. They’re in God’s hands. I let him take care of them. I pray for them daily. It’s what my son wants, and I have to go with him.’

Louise Ziemkowsky of Uniontown showed off a photograph of her grandson, Lance Cpl. Wesley Hull, 20, of Triangle, Va., who is with the Marines in the Mid-East. Dedicated to the service, Hull served in the Junior Marines while in high school. He was sent out in late January from California. Hull is a machine gunner.

“I hate to think of him being over there and those boys being killed,’ said Ziemkowsky.

But she believes it is important to remove Saddam Hussein from power: “He’s starving his people. He needs taken care of – that man – and his sons, too.’

Ziemkowsky remembered the last time she saw her grandson. It was in October before he left for his assignment in California: “He kissed me a dozen times and said, ‘I’ll see you, Grandma, but I don’t know when. He gave me a medal that said ‘I’m proud to be a U.S. Marine.”

Hull phoned his parents once he arrived in Kuwait, Ziemkowsky reported.

“He said he was alright and to keep praying for me,’ Ziemkowsky said. “I pray for all the boys over there – especially for him, but for all of them. He’s in Iraq now.’

Ziemkowsky shared a letter from her grandson to his parents that included his address, a recent photo and his authorization of power of attorney to his parents.

“It made us cry,’ said McCann.

Mary Springer, of Edenborn, who is secretary of the senior center, has a cousin, E-4 Cpl. James Anthony Sager of Prattsville, Ala., who is serving with the Army in the Mid-East.

“His mother told me he was going to write and let her know where he is. She’s a wreck,’ said Springer.

Springer also has a neighbor, Floyd Gladman Jr. of Edenborn, who is in the Army and is in New Jersey on standby. She has a girlfriend, Doris Fleming Thomas, who’s son Jamal is on standby and on the prayer list at Antioch Baptist Church where the Rev. Solomon Dotson is pastor.

Betty Shaffer of Masontown, who also works at the center, reported her son, E-4 Airman Shane Lubish, 27, also of Masontown, just came back from Turkey with the Air Force. He is now a student at California University who hopes to graduate in May with a degree in computer science and electrical engineering. Shaffer noted her son’s plans could be disrupted, however, if he’s sent back to the Mid-East.

“I don’t like it, but he said ‘Mom, you said (when her children were growing up) every young kid should have to serve in the military,’ Shaffer noted.

The women are sometimes surprised to find out how many people they know are in the Mid-East.

“Billy Warman from Martin – he and his brother, Kenny, are both there. Billy and I went to school together. He’s 52 years old. He’s over in Kuwait,’ said Shaffer.

With the war on, the women are trying to stay abreast of the latest information. That includes watching the war on television.

“I go to bed with it on and wake up with it on,’ said Shaffer.

But television is difficult for some to take.

“I don’t watch it. I cry when it’s on,’ said McCann.

“I watch a little,’ said Rhodes, “and then I have to turn the channel. It’s nerve-racking. You do get upset because you wonder if your child’s there.’

Asked what they think of the prisoners of war and those who have been killed in action, McCann said, “That goes along with war. But you don’t like to hear about it.’

“Now you’re trying to figure out how they’re treating them,’ said Rhodes.

“We are saying some prayers,’ said Shaffer.

“We have a lot of people praying for our sons besides us,’ noted McCann.

Springer commented, “We’ve been given a great land of milk and honey – a great inheritance. To whom much is given, much is required. This is our country. Our families have met that responsibility. And I’m so proud of everyone here because they decided to put up the window. It’s a fantastic idea.’

The camaraderie at the center also helps keep up the spirits of these women.

“I think we’re doing pretty good, but we’re a bit depressed,’ said McCann. “We get together and laugh but, at home, we’re depressed. I think when we get together we’re cheerful and pick each other up. It’s a little bit of strength to lean on.’