Today our walk was dedicated in honor of:
My dad,
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.
We had a great 10.35 Mile walk today. It was a beautiful day for walking. We walked by Holiday Hills Lake and then headed up towards town to the War Memorial Park were we stopped and read a few names on the Memorial Wall. We then headed north till we got to Northside Drive where we walked to Sparta Hwy and then headed home. A lot of tears dropped as I had a lot to talk about. It was a great walk. I want to thank everyone who honked, waved and saluted in helping me honor my hero. We had 234 honks. It was amazing. Thank you.
Army PFC Ernest French Jr will not be forgotten !
