Today our walk was dedicated in honor of:
Army PFC Ernest French Jr, Age 85 of Thorntown, IN.
Died Feb. 15, 2013
WWII Army Veteran Private 1st Class Ernest French Jr, Age 85 of Ladoga, IN.
Died Feb. 15, 2013 in Indiana and is burried in Ladoga, IN. in his home town.
Dad was born in Ladoga, Indiana. He was drafted into the Army on July 30, 1945. He served 1 year and 5months.
He was assigned to the 2101st area service unit. He was a Private First Class and was assigned to the Seperation Center at Fort George G Meade, MD.
His Military Occupational Specialty was Finance Clerk and he was qualified on the MKM M-1 Rifle. His awards included the World War II Victory Ribbon and Lapel Button issued for no days lost under AW 107.
When dad got out of the Army he worked in the oil fields in California for a little while before coming back home to Ladoga, Indiana to work on the farm with is dad. He worked in a factory (Detroit Diesel Allisons) in Indianapolis, IN for 30 years.
After retirement he moved to Crossville, TN. Lived there for several years before moving back to Thorntown, Indiana.
Dad loved to grow fruit trees and he loved his garden. When we lived in Colfax, Indiana he had a big garden the size of three city lots. He supplied vegetables to a lot of the older folks in the area who could not get out.
It was a great honor to walk 16.69 miles with Ernest French Jr, My Father today. We first walked by Holiday Hills Lake and then headed towards Lantana road. It was so nice out. We got to listen to the birds waking up. It was a little cloudy but we still got to see some of the sun coming up. Once we made it to the Cumberland Mountain State Park we took a little break and walked down by the lake. Dad use to eat at the resturant their in the park sometimes. He enjoyed going to the park. My father was a walker. He walked a lot for his health. Spent some time in the park and then headed out to 127 where we headed back towards town. We made a stop at the VFW and American Legion to get some photo’s and then once we made it back to town we stopped in at the Veterans Memorial Park where we read all the WWII names on the Memorial Wall. We then headed back towards the house. It was amazing walk. The clouds finally left and the sun was shining. I want to thank everyone who honked, waved, and saluted in helping me honor my dad today. We had 767 honks. It was amazing.
Thank you
Army PFC Ernest French Jr will not be forgotten !
