Decorated WWII Veteran Recognized by Commissioners
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Jordan Fouts-
Lawrence “Bud” Sawyer says the Bible his church gave him before he was shipped to the Western Front during World War II helped him through some tough times. He read it while recovering in a hospital in England, with wounded German prisoners of war as his bunkmates, after being shot in the knee during the Battle of the Bulge. The 91-year-old Milford resident is now on his 76th reading of the Good Book. Sawyer was recognized as the Veteran of the Month this morning during the Kosciusko County Commissioners meeting. County Veterans Affairs Officer Rich Maron shared a few highlights of Sawyer’s career, from being drafted into the 45th Infantry Division to his experience in the German offensive of December 1944 to his honorable discharge with a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. After recovering from his knee injury, Sawyer was sent to guard the gates of the Dachau concentration camp after its liberation, as bulldozers dug trenches to bury the camp’s victims. Back at Camp Swift in Texas near the end of the war, Sawyer was part of a survey asking if troops favored using a weapon that “could end the war.” Two weeks later, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. Maron and the commissioners thanked Sawyer for his service, and he thanked them for the honor. Also this morning, commissioners voted to request a donation from the county Convention and Visitors Bureau for the second Warsaw Air Show Aug. 15 and 16. Alan Hoover, Historic Flights Foundation event organizer, requested $10,000 from the county toward the expected $35,000 to $40,000 cost of the expanded two-day show. Commissioners noted that the visitors bureau has money it could use for such a purpose, which Hoover estimated could bring twice as much in tourist dollars to Warsaw. Hoover said they hope to honor veterans and inspire kids to be interested in aviation this year, and noted highlights including races, plane rides, hot air balloons, more planes – they plan to stage a drop by the “Candy Bomber,” a C54 Skymaster that dropped treats to children during the Berlin Airlift – as well as a concert and beer garden the first night. “I think it could easily be the largest air show in Indiana this year,” he told commissioners. “According to the (Federal Aviation Administration), it was the best first-time air show they’d ever seen” last year.
