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CARVERS' CANES SUPPORT VETERANS -- Michiganders'

labor of love honors those wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

 

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Carvers' canes support vets

Michiganders' labor of love honors those wounded in Iraq, Afghanistan

BY KATHLEEN GRAY
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Harold Green pulled down his magnifying glasses, picked up a chisel and began turning a block of basswood into a scowling, majestic eagle head.

Nearby, Rizal Baysa and John Sabina of Washington Township gripped small wood-burning tools that made the Washington Township Senior Center smell like a campfire, but also made the feathers pop on their already-carved eagle heads.

For them, the carving is a labor of love for the men and women who've risked their lives for their country.

There's a story behind each eagle head and the cane it's screwed and glued into, about a soldier who has been wounded in Afghanistan or Iraq. Burned onto the shaft of the cane are the soldier's name, rank and unit, date of injury and the names of the artisans who made the cane.

About a dozen carvers meet on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the center in northern Macomb County. Around Michigan, about 300 members of the Michigan Wood Carvers Association are donating their time to make the canes. Last week, they were finishing up the 24th cane.

The first cane from the Michigan carvers went to Army Spec. Nick Gunter, 24, of Traverse City. He was wounded in Iraq in February when a bomb exploded while he was on patrol. He's recuperating at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Another is going to Army Cpl. Marshall Heffner, 22, an Allegan native who was wounded in Afghanistan 13 months ago and is finishing up his military service and physical rehabilitation at Ft. Drum in New York. His cane was delivered earlier this month to his father.

"We were ambushed on both sides and shot by RPGs," rocket-propelled grenades. "I took some shrapnel to the stomach, hip and head," Heffner said.

"I've got nerve damage to my left hip. I lost the hearing in my left ear, and I have some pretty bad nightmares. My mobility is not the greatest, but it's getting better every day."

When he gets his cane, he'll be among hundreds of wounded soldiers to get one since the Eagle Cane Project began in Oklahoma in 2004.

Jack Nitz, 77, of Tulsa started the program after seeing a TV program about wounded vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The tradition of giving canes to wounded soldiers dates to the Civil War.

"I've been giving walking canes to friends who got hurt for a long time now, so this was a no-brainer," said Nitz, a Navy veteran who has been carving for nearly 20 years.

The program has spread to 21 other states.

Bill Phillips, 69, of Almont picked up the mantle at a carving seminar in May. Since then, he has enlisted other Michigan carvers to donate their time and talent.

"We put a coffee can in the middle of the room, and the association kicked in $50," he said. "By the time I got through explaining the project, we had more than $400 in the can."

Lumber companies donate scrap wood for the canes and eagle heads. Other donations pay for materials such as the glass eyes used in the eagle heads and shipping costs. Including shipping, the canes cost about $24, but the product is priceless.

"A plain walking stick without any carving can go for $75, but with the carving, it could go for as high as $400," Phillips said. "But if you ask a veteran who has received one of these, it's worth a million."

Phillips got Harold Joseph of Waterford to help and the 20-year Navy veteran carved the cane that went to Gunter. Joseph calls the veterans, their families and friends to get their stories before beginning his work. Besides burning the soldier's story onto the shaft, he affixes decals of the American flag, the Purple Heart and the branches of the military.

He has gone to Walter Reed to deliver five of the canes made by the Michigan group, and he keeps in contact with the soldiers, some from other states.

"I saw every bit of the Vietnam conflict, and when we came back, we were spat upon and called the scum of the Earth," said Joseph, 68. "Whatever the reason we're in Iraq, these people fighting over there are doing it for their county, and we want them to know that they're appreciated by their country."

While some state carving groups will give canes only to soldiers with combat injuries or who have received Purple Hearts, the Michigan association has made canes for military members with noncombat injuries. They also want to honor soldiers who have been killed during the war, though they haven't had any requests yet.

For the carvers, what started out as a hobby has turned into a passion.

"As many heads as they want from me, I'll give them," said Green, 64, of Royal Oak, a retired General Motors Corp. model maker.

"A lot of people don't agree with what's going on over there," added Baysa, 67, of Washington Township. "But that just doesn't matter. They're performing a huge service and taking a lot of risks for all of us."

Phillips said he looks forward to the day "we run out of requests."

"After that, maybe we'll start donating to veterans from other conflicts."

Contact KATHLEEN GRAY at 313-223-4407 or gray@freepress.com.

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Larry Scott  --