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CONTEST OVERVIEW

Growing up in Columbus in the 80’s, we saw the steady rise of exciting events. Not only did we sustain the vibrancy of many classics like the Jazz and Rib Fest, Picnic with the Pops, ComFest, the DooDah parade, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, sporting events at OSU, the Arts Festival, gallery hop etc, but we also invented many new ones like movies at the Ohio Theater, outdoor film screenings at the Wexner Center, hockey, soccer, and baseball in new stadiums, countless entertainment and convention events in the Arena District, and even things as simple as kids playing in the Easton water fountains.

Events in Columbus inspires this photo competition’s theme. While what makes an event is up for interpretation, the judges for first place give preference the image that encapsulates ‘Columbus’ and ‘organized group action.’

Please Note-
1. You can submit up to three images.
2. The first place prize is judged by MPEX staff and CMH Editors, while public vote determines the second and third place prizes, so be sure to tell you friends and family about the competition.

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BY CAROLE M. AMBER | PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICHOLAS HINSCH

The sweltering center of summer means that it’s grilling time. This July, swing by Trattoria Roma for a bite of summer available to CMH readers upon request and free of charge. When the chef’s food philosophy is “It’s got to be good,” you know that you are in for some tasty bites. At Trattoria Roma, the fare is made-to-order Italian served with a smile. Currently marking its 20th year, Trattoria Roma gives guests plenty of reasons to love it, including frequent wine tasting dinners and live music on the last Saturday of the month.

The Grandview eatery has been lucky to have Chef Matt Prokopchak for the last 10 years. His gastronomic background includes slow evenings spent cooking with his grandmother. He professes that he “loves to eat” and continually expands his palate with unique flavors. Rather than reading about recipes and chefs, his culinary curiosity is piqued by researching the histories and details of ingredients. (Recently, he’s been intellectually devouring Paul Freedman’s Food: The History of Taste.) When it comes to cuisine, Chef Prokopchak champions an open-minded philosophy: “There’s always going to be something new to learn.” Now, he tempts me with a preview of his amuse-bouche by asking, “Who doesn’t like bacon and cheese?” Bubbling and hearty, this one-bite bliss begs to be devoured.

This morsel begins with a soaked rosemary stem that emanates a fresh aroma. Speared on the sprig is a perfectly round cherry tomato with a prominent grill mark. Placed just below the tomato is an oozing bundle. Surrounded by crispy imported Italian pancetta is a block of smoldering, smoky mozzarella where you can still smell the fire from the grill. The skewer is finished with a drizzle of house-made olive oil and basil ribbons. All of this comes steaming off the grill.

After sliding this resplendent array of elements into my mouth, I am bowled over by the rich and salty goodness, which is followed by a juicy sweet pop of tomato. The luscious briny flavor is complemented by the buttery smooth cream of the cheese. The fragrant basil oil and spicy black pepper linger, creating a bite that’s decadent. Hot and gooey, Chef Prokopchak’s amuse-bouche takes care of business (TCB) using a combination of TCB (tomato, cheese and bacon). It’s seriously good.

My guess is that after having one, you’ll want one more. This flash-grilled treat will excite your taste buds and provoke your thirst – something that would be oh-so-deliciously followed by a long swig of Prosecco. Do yourself a favor and take care of business for free at Trattoria Roma this month.

For more on Chef Matt Prokopchak’s creations, visit www.trattoria-roma.com.

EXPLORING THE JOYS OF BASTILLE DAY

BY ALEX KINSEL | PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT CUNNINGHAM

Go ahead and admit it: you probably like a cold green beer on St. Patrick’s Day. The day you flip your calendar to May, you look forward to throwing back a margarita or a few Coronas in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Really, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. As Americans, there are few things we enjoy more than cherry-picking other countries’ holidays and molding them into excuses for us to kick back and relax. What’s amazing, then, is our nation’s widespread indifference toward France’s Bastille Day. You might have a casual familiarity with the holiday, perhaps thinking it resembles our own July 4th. What most don’t know is that throughout France, the 14th of July is a day set aside for revelry that far outdoes our Americanized idea of “holidaying.” My fellow Americans, I have one thing to ask: How did we miss this boat?

Formally called La Fête Nationale (National Celebration), Bastille Day commemorates the Fête de la Fédération in 1790 – a gala held in France to mark the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille. The fabled prisoner uprising and subsequent political upheaval essentially kick-started the building of modern France. Since then, the French annually mark the occasion with a day of celebration that is equal parts July 4th and Thanksgiving.

Bastille Day begins early on the morning of July 14th with a parade marching down the Champs-Élysées through the heart of Paris’ eighth arrondissement. The French president observes this formal parade, which features the militaries of both France and a specially invited guest nation. Post-parade, the president holds a massive press conference in which he reviews the nation’s triumphs of the past year. Following that, Article 17 of the Constitution of France allows the president the ability to pardon criminals – as long as the pardons take place on the 14th. This lighthearted ceremony usually consists of the president clearing the records of a bevy of petty criminals such as minor traffic offenders and jaywalkers. The day closes with the president holding an incredibly exclusive garden party at the Palais de l’Élysée that includes a lavish meal and music performed by acts selected by the president and his administration.

Throughout the country, work is temporarily pushed aside as French citizens gather with friends and family for an evening that consists of elaborate meals, bottle after bottle of chilled wine and amateur firework displays lighting the hills of the countryside. As this holiday unofficially marks the middle point of summer, many view this break in their work lives as an opportune time to schedule family vacations to the coast. Shops plan mid-season sales around the occasion, and the bakeries that dot the picturesque rues of Paris offer pastries only available during the week of the 14th.

If all of this sounds appealing, take heart in the fact that you don’t necessarily have to leave American soil to experience a range of Bastille Day festivities, as some of the major cities do nod to the importance of the holiday. As should be expected, party-loving New Orleans and its historic French Quarter traditionally play host to a vast variety of elegantly debauched Bastille Day-themed events and parades that might skew the original intent of the holiday but keep things entertaining nonetheless. New York City thanks the French for that towering green lady sitting in its harbor by illuminating the Empire State Building in France’s national colors and hosting a Bastille Day block party on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Philadelphia outdoes them all by dressing up its Eastern State Penitentiary as the Bastille, inviting thousands of partygoers to watch Marie Antoinette lookalikes toss pastries from local bakeries over the wall. Let them eat cake, indeed.

Sadly, apart from events in big metros, Bastille Day hasn’t permeated the rest of America. As inventors of “freedom fries,” we apparently just don’t get it – a sentiment echoed by Mandy Black, manager of La Chatelaine on Lane Avenue. “For Americans, it just seems to not apply,” she says. “The majority of us think that since it’s not originally of our culture that it’s not worth celebrating, and that’s a shame.”

Luckily, whether your knowledge of French culture is shallow or you’re a Francophile years in the making, the greater Columbus area has some events catering to prospective Bastille Day partiers. La Chatelaine pays tribute with a menu of specials prepared and served by staff in costume. The list of eats includes vegetable lasagna, pâté de campagne and oven roasted chicken with fries and ratatouille. Over at Alex’s Bistro in Upper Arlington, Chef Alex Gosetto and his crew also offer Bastille Day specialties for both lunch and dinner. Gosetto, a native Frenchman, believes the menu alterations are well deserved. “We were slaves so we kicked out the king,” he says. “We became free. Really, what’s not to celebrate?”

While most of us aren’t natives of the Republic, Bastille Day still deserves our attention. Yes, it may technically honor a trés bloody event, but over the past 200-odd years, the French have turned the day into something that doesn’t glorify violence but rather life and the simple pleasures it brings. In that spirit, gather some friends, raise a glass of rosé, say a few words to good fortune and great summer weather and, most importantly, toast to France.

BEAUTIFUL WOMAN + DISTANT LOCATION = RAPTURE

They say a photograph is worth a thousand words. Well, let’s try this and see. Summer has begun. Summer is light, fun, refreshing. Summer is about lazy weekends, short Fridays, cool drinks, blue skies, sunny days, light meals, racing in the streets, riding around with no place to go, linen clothing, light reading, the beach, the games, the outdoors, girls in soft, summer dresses… okay, you get my meaning. Oh, and rosé. South of France only please. You know I had to get that in.

Who wants to hear me drone on about my concerns, opinions and theories? I sure don’t. So, I am replacing my editorial with something that should be universally appreciated: a photograph of a beautiful woman in a distant location. Who possibly could complain about that? Sadly, I am sure there are those out there that would. Let’s hear it. Your comments and criticisms are welcomed and appreciated.

I would like to continue to give thanks and gratitude to all those people out there who have made CMH Magazine possible. You all know who you are. Again, a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you. Because, without you, this publication would not exist.

Please take a look at my ever-changing Editor-in-Chief photo. The crazy eyed gentleman next to me is none other than Polo. One of the most talented sculptors I have known – look at his work at www.polosculptor.com. We have pieces of Carrara marble in our hands. Yes, Carrara marble. I had the fortune to accompany him to the actual cave from which Michelangelo procured his marble. Can you believe that? I still have a hard time. What an honor and privilege.

Please have a great summer.

Scott Cunningham

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

01 STEPHEN NEWPORT, hailing from Canton, Ohio, attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago before transferring to CCAD in 2005. His disillusionment with the rules, regulations and red tape of higher education coupled with his experiences in the real world led Stephen away from the classroom in search of trial-by-fire learning. Currently steering the ship of a thousand tacks (also known as the CMH studio) while maintaining a hectic freelance schedule, he creates, travels, indulges in world cuisine and builds his novice wine palate in his spare moments – all while still finding the time to rock climb and kiteboard. Visit www.stephennewport.com to see 
more of his work.

02 AMANDA FONDRIEST is a Columbus-based, writer, photographer, communications professional and, most important, a lover of dark roasts and T.S. Eliot. On any given night, you can find her walking around German Village, propped up on a bench somewhere with a library book or listening to live music. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from Ohio University and is currently employed by Columbus College of Art & Design. Learn more about Amanda and her work at www.amandafondriest.com.

03 MICHELLE MOORE, a former Mrs. Ohio, is a Columbus native who has been a model, actress, and a marketing and public relations pro for two decades. She zealously consumes anything having to do with fashion, beauty, life adventures, fabulousness, health and fitness. Catch her every once in a while on MTV’s Made, unless you are a member of the media, in which case you can expect her calls regularly as CMH’s PR director. For the July edition of CMH, she discusses Northstar Café and the Tracey Gardner Method – two local business projects making names for themselves while promoting better living.

04 When LUKE ROBSON was growing up in a small steel town in the Appalachian Mountains, he knew that a more cultured life was calling his name. After a brief stay in Pittsburgh, Luke was accepted to the Ohio State University. With interests straddling many fields, Luke earned a B.A. in Public Affairs Journalism with a minor in textiles & clothing. With his desire for knowledge unquenched, he recently continued his education with a year of biomedical science classes. When not behind a desk, Luke can be found around Columbus singing karaoke poorly, dancing erratically and laughing loudly. In this issue, Luke highlights the talents driving the CCAD 2010 Senior Fashion Show.

05 CAROLE M. AMBER’s lifelong quest is to taste the best food in the world while staying active and having fun. She is a freelance writer, fundraiser and marketing professional with an international MBA. After a successful collegiate athletic career, she gained experience with industry giants such as Nike, Adidas and the U.S. Olympic Committee. Carole then followed her epicurean passions by creating and operating a gourmet dining event company in Chicago. She has been fortunate enough to savor the flavors of every continent and is thrilled to explore and challenge the culinary world of Columbus in CMH’s “One Bite Bliss.”

06 A graduate of Ohio University, ERIC OWENS has been in sales in some form or another since leaving Athens. As the CMH account executive, he’s the one responsible for pounding the pavement to find advertising partners and working alongside them to help reach their marketing goals. When he isn’t hanging out with his spunky terrier Jake, you can usually find him out and about watching sports, visiting restaurants and watering holes, attending concerts, and enjoying the many great events around Columbus – networking all along, of course. To contact Eric about potential partnerships, e-mail eowens@cmhmag.com.

07 REYAN ALI, writer and editor, spent his youth in Karachi, Pakistan indulging in American print media. Returning to the States in his teens, he further pursued writing, going on to major in English lit. at Denison University. Now, he rigorously freelances for alt-weekly newspapers and magazines across the country and is ecstatic to be part of CMH. Deeply fond of Columbus, he spends his weekends seeking out concerts and unearthing new eateries in the city.

08 By the time you read this, TRAVIS NELSON will no longer be with CMH. After spending his youth in Oregon, the Pacific Ocean is calling back to him. He would like to thank the wonderful CMH team and everyone at the events he covered who excitedly (or even begrudgingly) posed with their friends and strangers to have a photo taken. If you make your way out west (Travis says that you should), he would be more than happy to lead you on a hike through the coastal dunes or bring you to a pub to quaff the local brews. If you would like to keep up with Travis, check out www.travisnelsonphotography.com as he produces new work.

09 MEAGAN CAREY has worked in almost every facet of the fashion industry. She earned her degree in Retail Merchandising at Ohio University and spent time in London, Milan, and New York. After graduating, Meagan worked in the Fashion Department at Ocean Drive Magazine in Miami. Now, she’s back in Columbus running her own fashion consulting company, The Fashion Darling, which offers services ranging from personal shopping to closet rehab. Meagan is also the stylist and coordinator for Lane Bryant and spends time in New York each month. In her free time, she loves volunteering, going to the park and spending time with her fiancée and puppy. Learn more about Meagan at www.thefashiondarling.com.

10 JENNIFER HOOD, advertising account executive, was practically born into print media when she began working for her parents’ printing company in Florida at the age of 10. Jennifer has worked in sales and advertising for 15 years, selling everything from business cards and postcards to advertisements for magazines and weekly newspapers. She now calls Ohio home, where she enjoys raising her children in a family atmosphere. She motorcycles all over Ohio and beyond, and she has set her sights on sailing the Atlantic someday. She enjoys meeting new people and making personal connections and loves the thrill of a hard sell. Jennifer can be reached at jhood@cmhmag.com.

11 ALEX KINSEL spends most of his waking hours wandering around the Ohio State University campus, studying English and practicing his handshake for his inevitable political career. He is a seasoned connoisseur of Columbus’ finest breakfast locations but doesn’t really enjoy breakfast foods. Alex has dreamy blue eyes and is woefully agile. Also, for you science types, he is rumored to be working on an invention that will change the course of human life on earth. Recently, Alex has placed his poetry in a few journals across the country, but he doesn’t want to talk about that – he’d rather discuss the Rolling Stones with Scott Cunningham. He wraps up his editorial internship with CMH by explaining why Americans should get in on celebrating Bastille Day.

12 JOHN GALVIN knew he was destined to lead a creative company at the mature age of five. Following a colorful journey that led to film and industrial design school at The Ohio State University, John secured his first job at retail giant RPA. When only 25, he co-founded Integrate, a renowned and award-winning Columbus-based brand design firm. John now provides CMH readers with an inside view of Columbus’ leading creative minds and shares how agencies shape the products and spaces we navigate on a daily basis. Learn more about John and Integrate at www.integrateinc.com.

A CONVERSATION WITH DESIGNER AND CCAD ALUM EDWARD BUCHANAN

BY AMANDA FONDRIEST
PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICHOLAS HINSCH

From observing his grandmother’s seamstress shop to living and working in the fashion capital of Milan, Edward Buchanan has learned how to create styles that emulate his personality: eloquent but relatable, luxurious but not overdone. They are totally individualistic yet remain 
oddly familiar.

Born and raised in Cleveland, Buchanan attended Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD). He then moved to New York City in 1992 to pursue his dream of becoming a professional fashion designer. Since then, he’s worked for luxury accessories lines such as Bottega Veneta and has launched the fashion labels of LEFLESH and, more recently, SANSOVINO6.

CCAD recently named him the winner of the 2010 Alumni Fashion Icon Award at “Origins,” the school’s May 8th senior fashion show. He journeyed back to Columbus for the event, debuting his latest work to an American audience. As he prepares his Spring 2011 lines for the runway, CMH caught up with him in Milan via Facebook chat – the most convenient way to conduct a cross-continental interview.

Working in fashion has always been your plan. Where did it start?

Style was a common thread in my immediate circle. My grandmother was a seamstress and would do this measure service in her basement. I [will] always remember the sign on the door: “Sally’s.” She was a woman of great style – always a hat and a proper heel for church. I was raised in the church and all of the ladies (most of them her clients) prepared for Sunday morning with an amazing look. What impressed me most is that she was able to cut, sew and finish it in no time flat. I was well impressed.

Do you channel your grandmother’s style – or at least something in that vein – with your work?

I think we live in a time when casual is proper. It’s a different day – youth want to wear day-to-night looks. At that time, it was normal to get dressed up on Sundays or when you had to fly. There are women today who will still not wear jeans, but the majority are in jeans and a sweatshirt. I’m more for the combination of both casual and proper wear.

You live between New York City and Milan and have a phone for each city. Does it ever get confusing?

Not really. Strangely enough, the first three numbers 
of both my Italian and New York phone numbers 
are 347. I also have numbers in France and Germany. I am 
so used to traveling that I can organize my thoughts when I 
arrive in each city.

You went to school in Columbus in the early ‘90s and recently came back for a visit. What was the first thing you did when you got here?
I came straight to CCAD to see what the space for my show looked like. I was very excited to see my mom, who I hadn’t hugged in a long time. I was also excited to see my friends who had come for the exhibition. It was a good welcome.

Your clothing – especially the fabric and designs – is identifiably yours. Where do they come from?

My research pool is vast. Almost anything can inspire me: people, places, periods, abstracts, reality. At times, I feel I am a realist, but then, I surprise myself by creating something quite left of center. One constant in my work is that my main focus is to create clothing for an individual to feel at home in – pieces you can own for a long time. I suppose I am a bit Bauhaus in that respect.

Your clothes sell in Milan, Paris, Berlin and Tokyo, you’ve worked with J.Lo and P. Diddy and you just wrapped up shows during fashion weeks in Milan and Paris. Who or what keeps you grounded?

Many things. I was raised extremely well and have been fortunate to work with incredibly inspiring and talented artists. I am constantly learning as I go along [and] know that this learning never stops. [There’s] so much to see, do and learn.

What makes you step back and say, “This is why I do what I do?”

One of the most gratifying things is to see others enjoy what I have created. Even more exciting is to be able to pass on what I have learned to younger artists. I always remember what I was like as a young student. The interaction I had with my instructors was worth miles in my eyes.

Certain things are described as “what dreams are made of.” To you, what makes a dream and what makes it come true?

A dream is having the possibility to be free and happy. Having supportive friends and family is more than I can ask for. I’m living my dream and it changes daily.

You’ve lived in Italy for over a decade. Any advice for us Americans?

La vita è bella! Enjoy it!

A TRIO OF OHIOAN MARINES REFLECT ON THEIR DAYS OF WAR

BY REYAN ALI AND EMMA FRANKART
INTRODUCTION BY STEPHEN NEWPORT
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT CUNNINGHAM AND STEPHEN NEWPORT

In honor of Independence Day, CMH presents the striking accounts of three most remarkable local marines who served in World War II and Vietnam. Although CMH would like to thank them, these men did not fight for recognition, for approval, to be selfless or even because they were forced to do so. All three subjects enlisted by choice, risking their lives out of duty to their souls, to uphold personal ideals and to protect the independence on which this nation was founded. They fought against those who would take away the freedoms we enjoy – to indulge in the finest things in life, to write about them and to disagree peacefully. CMH humbly presents Sergeant George Peto, Sergeant Norm Woehrle and Lance Corporal Bill Eberle to tell their stories in their own words.

SERGEANT GEORGE PETO

Born in 1922, George Peto grew up in Akron on wilderness-heavy land dotted by lakes, swamps and the Ohio Canal. His family owned a farm and raised their own food. Having hunted since he was nine years old, he cites his early experiences with nature as the key reason he was able to survive World War II. At 15, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and went into the Marine Corps at age 18. His stint in WWII ran from 1941 to 1945. He has spent the last 10 years speaking to schools and senior centers in central Ohio, folding and presenting the flag to widows of deceased veterans, serving in honor guards, participating in parades and assisting any other patriotic endeavor that could use his help.

It was the start of World War II so I was a peacetime Marine – a regular at that time. I served until after the war ended. I did a four-year hitch and then they kept me at the convenience of the government for an extra four months. Then, I got discharged. I spent 32 months overseas and did four campaigns. They lasted anywhere from three months to three weeks. In four-and-a-half years, I got one eight-day leave.

[My first campaign] was in Finchhaven, New Guinea. The Australians were taking Finchhaven and we were their reserves. If anything went wrong, we were going to bail them out. We heard some gunfire but were not involved in any action there. After my second campaign in New Gloucester, we went back to Pavuvu to rest and retrain. I had only four months in – just the right amount of time – [and thought that] I was surely going home. I had to do an extra six months because I was the forward observer. My job was to fire the big guns and I had to be with the rifle company in the attack. You can’t fire mortar without observing fire. Whenever one company got relieved, I went with the other.

On my first night [in my third campaign] on Peleliu, I was the observer for the battalion reserve. The Navy had bad information. They said the island was flat, but it was 550 feet high with a mountain right down the middle. They didn’t take account of the guns firing at the beach. It was a formidable offense. The very next morning, of the 235 guys that landed, there were 17 of us left. Everything was a disaster – total chaos. I didn’t think we were going to make it. I said, “Whenever I fire my last round, I’m going to hit a 10-foot drop into the water and swim for the ships.” That was the only time I ever thought that we weren’t going to win. That was about as intense as combat can get.

The last campaign was Okinawa. We were a little beat down. [About one month in,] we started taking casualties. In the 52 days from then on, we never had a second that we were not getting shelled, strafed or attacked. It was constant. We had a lot of mental casualties because it just went on. On the 10th of May, we took a direct hit. When it ended, I was the only sergeant left for the whole damn platoon. We should have had 10. I lost a whole bunch of friends and got kind of bitter toward the end. I figured that if it had lasted another couple of weeks, I probably wouldn’t have made it. I would have ended up in mental. But then, hell, everyone was hanging on by their fingernails.

Making a beach landing against a hostile enemy is like playing Russian roulette. In all those four campaigns in the Pacific, I spent all my time on the line, but I never got a wound and never lost a day. I was sicker than a dog a few days, but I hung in there. One time, the battalion doctor did evacuate me, but I just went back to New Guinea. I could have had a free ride out. I didn’t take it. I had guys I had served with for two years and I would have felt like I was just running out on them.

The conditions we were fighting under were horrible. I was real calm about the whole thing. It didn’t really upset me. Hell, I could have told the doc and he would have shipped me out of there. One time, he gave me a gallon of 190-proof alcohol. We had little shots of brandy for the guys when they were wounded so I said, “Hey doc, we don’t have any more brandy and the guys are getting shot up pretty bad,” so he gave me a whole gallon. Guess what I did? I just drank that son of a bitch myself. [Laughs] I mixed it with Kool-Aid and was carrying two canteens that should have been water. It was mixed half-and-half. I’m ashamed of that to this day. But at that time, any silly notions I had about life disappeared. I became very serious about everything and learned a lot. I was 23 when it ended, but even then, I was probably a hell of a lot older than my years.

My first act as a civilian was to proceed to the nearest bar in downtown Chicago, which happened to be the Hotel Sherman. It took a week to wash away all those bad memories. I was broke so I hitchhiked home and got a job and worked for the next 40 years to help [the government] pay for the war. After about five years, the nightmares ceased and the war became a distant memory.

SERGEANT NORM WOEHRLE

Norm Woehrle was born on the west side of Columbus in 1926 and enlisted in the Marines at age 17. He spent the following few years with a relative – “Uncle Sam.” After entering the Amphibious Command in 1943, he went to a school in California to learn to identify aircraft. That same year, he and 11,000 other men were shipped off to New Caledonia in the South Pacific where he spent two years touring overseas as part of the World War II effort. In 1945, he returned to the States on reserve and wholly completed his stint with the Marines in 1953. He has spent the last 40 years visiting military conventions to reminisce with old colleagues. In his spare time, he paints, travels the country with his wife and volunteers at places such as the Texas State Park and New Orleans, aiding victims of 
Hurricane Katrina.

I enlisted because everybody was going into the service in those days: my brother, my brother-in-law, my friends. There wasn’t anybody home for me. My dad had contacted this printer and wanted me to be a printer’s apprentice. I didn’t want to be [a printer]. My dad had served in World War I and my brother was already in the Air Force, so I thought “Adios!”

We got to New Caledonia in 1943 and the Japanese were still in New Guinea. Their idea was to invade Australia if possible. The Australians didn’t have the resources that we did. Their technological equipment was outdated. The most important thing to remember in those areas was to just try to stall them in the Pacific until we won the war in Europe.
Combat was a daily situation. The Japanese would fly over, and their Air Force at the time was superior. Every day, it was something new. We’d get reports of aircraft in the vicinity. You were always conscious [of the danger]. You would never really put yourself in that circumstance. You always thought it would be somebody else.

For me, it was very difficult to pull the trigger for the first time. I’ll never forget thinking, “How do you psych yourself up? Do you get mad?” I tried that. It didn’t work at all. I was young – very excitable. This old guy next to me put his hand on my shoulder and told me to stay cool. I found out that not getting excited worked better.

In 1944, we went to a little island called Noemfoor. We had our Navy torpedo boats running behind us and were coming in on the landing ship tanks. The Japanese came out of an island called Halmahera. They had a huge force there. The Japanese tried to get behind the folks landing on the beaches. This was in the evening, and it looked like the 4th of July. We were trying to get on the beach, and when we did get up there, someone yells out, “Look out, it’s the Japanese Air Force! They’re over us! ” Well, I looked up. Instead of my eyes going out to see what we called the “meatballs” (the red dots on the wings that meant they were Japanese planes), they only went as far as the wheels. Then somebody yells, “Fire, fire, fire!” And we fired, fired, fired. The sad part about it was that those were American planes. They were never supposed to fly over. We hit about 14 of the 24 or so [American] planes in the squadron.

There were good memories, too. We boarded a cargo ship of some kind and they had powdered milk. It was excellent – it really tasted like milk. Other than that, mail was a really great thing. You were always ecstatic about that. My mother was a wonderful writer, and I had a girlfriend at the time. Those letters were just a connection to home. And when D-Day happened in Europe and they broke radio silence, we cheered. When the war was over, it was the weight of the world being lifted off our shoulders. I thought, “Finally, I’m going home.”

It seemed like my life stopped when I went into the service from what I’d known before: high school, playing football, the whole bit. Everything went into this new life. Then I came back and all of sudden, I’m back where I was when I went in. It makes a big difference on your life. It’s rubbed out years where you could have done something else. Your personal relationships have changed. I came from a very small town, and in our town, you looked up to the people that owned businesses, the mayors and the councilmen, but when we came back, it seemed like there was a bit of jealousy because we were getting all the attention.
I don’t have any regrets. I’d do it again and wouldn’t really change anything. I got a world of experience at 17. I grew up – I had no choice. Today, I realize that the view of war [now] is really different. When WWII came about, we were all gung-ho. It affected the whole world and now, [war is on] a much smaller scale. We’re not gung-ho anymore and I think that just has a negative effect.

LANCE CORPORAL BILL EBERLE

Bill Eberle was born in Barberton, Ohio in 1946. After living there for 10 years, he and his family moved to Alliance, Ohio. After graduating high school, he attended the Ohio State University for a year and a half. Shunning his student deferment, he became 1A (“Available for unrestricted military service”) and enlisted in the Marine Corps. Following boot camp and training in California, he arrived in Vietnam in December 1966. His tour finished in November 1967, later receiving a Purple Heart for the mortar shrapnel that struck his ear. Eventually, he would end up working in a branch of the defense department for 25 years. In recent years, Eberle has taken on a more active role as a veteran by publicly discussing his experiences in combat.

My father gave us good schooling on citizenship and what civic responsibilities meant. I had never felt this notion of privilege that some should go [to war] and others shouldn’t. I could never reconcile that. My father was German and a World War I veteran. He had seen much worse than anything I ever did. He was adamant that his sons would not serve. In his mind, that was the worst thing that could happen. Of course, at that age, anything your father tells you, you take the opposite perspective.

[The decision to enlist] didn’t involve a lot of contem-plation and analysis. School wasn’t working out and I knew I had to do something else. I had friends who said, “Well, if I ever go into the service, I’m going to join the Marines,” and I said, “Well, that looks good to me.” The Marines were drafting at that time and couldn’t fill their quotas through enlistment. I had to take my physical down at Fort Hayes. They’d line us up and count off by fours. “Everybody who is a one, go over here. All you others are going into the Marine Corps.” You see the inevitability of going to a place like that anyway, so why not enlist? I didn’t know what I was getting into but that didn’t scare me.

It was early December [of 1966]. I flew into Da Nang from Okinawa. They had lost my sea bag and I lost my wallet so I had nothing but the clothes on my back. A sergeant who had been in for about 10 years and three or four of us new privates were assigned to the same battalion north of Da Nang up on the DMZ. I was just tagging along and hoped the sergeant would know what to do. It was a total shock going from the States to a foreign country and not knowing much. We went by truck convoy up to Camp Caroll. There was pouring, pouring rain and mud so deep that it’d go over the boots. The first day I went there and saw patrol coming in, I thought, “Boy, they look like wet, beat dogs.” The thought finally struck me: ‘That’s what I’m going to be.’

The first time we got mortared was memorable. It was a baptism. The battalion was out on patrol and engaged a North Vietnamese Army [NVA] division in an operation just north of Camp Carroll. My company commander was killed in action. One of the guys who went through my battalion in boot camp was in Foxtrot Company. I was in Golf Company. He was a very pleasant, popular guy when there was considerable racial tension within the ranks. He was killed in action and that was something we didn’t forget. Somebody just threw a grenade and it landed in a group that was too tightly packed. He jumped on it without hesitation. That was February 1967.

Part of the thing with the military is that you don’t want to get comfortable with where you are because that’s kind of a weakness. It was always search and destroy. If we were out somewhere, we were always on the move. If we weren’t, we’d be on the line at the firebase and then on patrol. There’s always the unexpected. “Is something going to fall out of the sky and explode? Is all of a sudden somebody going to start shooting?” That’s the way it is for 12 months. There wasn’t anything I would call a typical day. You can never get into a groove.

The next most memorable event was the time our platoon was out on patrol and had to set in a perimeter at night. This was around Da Nang. We didn’t know anything aside from an approximate location. We set in a perimeter at night and had listening posts out at the front of the lines. We got overrun and these were not NVA – they were Viet Cong. They snuck inside the perimeter through the lines – maybe somebody was sleeping on watch – and were throwing grenades and satchel charges. There was utter chaos. It was overcast [so there was] no moonlight. You couldn’t see anything other than shadows and you wouldn’t know if the shadow you saw was one of yours or one of theirs. Those who weren’t killed made it out of there. It was a long night waiting for daylight to come and see what the score was.

[My unit and I] didn’t have close relationships with the other people. Rarely, if ever, you knew somebody’s first name. When somebody you’ve known for a couple of months suddenly gets killed, they were removed from the area. They were gone and that was it. You didn’t think about it. You were always looking forward to the day you got on a plane and left.

I saved all the letters I wrote home plus the letters [my family] wrote to me. They were all bundled up and I still haven’t gone through those. It’s something that you know is there and when the time comes, maybe I’ll look at this stuff, maybe I won’t. That may open some doors I’d rather leave closed.

[War is] always going to be really nasty. A lot of that in the past was shielded from the public. Less is shielded now. That’s good from a democracy perspective. Ultimately, we the people are the ones who should audit. It’s hard to [ask me], “What is your opinion of war?” It’s almost a necessary evil. It’s unfortunate that others do it because they want to, and I’d like to think of this country as doing it because we’ve been painted into a corner and have to. With every war we’ve had, we have learned something. I certainly hope we have learned something between Vietnam and Iraq. If there’s one thing it means to be a veteran, it means you have a duty to serve those who are serving now so that their path is better than the path you had. The contrast has proven that it’s dramatic, but there is still room for improvement from where we are now.

What strikes me the most is that in the military – especially in combat – you may be a private (the lowest on the totem pole), but you’ll have more responsibility for your own life and the lives of others than you ever will once you leave. As you go into a professional career, you have moments where you look back and realize that that truism is still there. “I’m responsible for myself and all these other people, but it doesn’t even measure to what I had to do back then.” It’s hard to put that in perspective and acknowledge that to yourself. The whole experience strengthened me in a way that otherwise wouldn’t have happened. It makes you a better person. It stays with you.

THE SUMMER VACATION MAKEOVER

BY MEAGAN CAREY, THE FASHION DARLING
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT CUNNINGHAM

Liz Shirey and Brent Thomas, a happily married couple from Clintonville, may only have met eight years ago, but they both feel as if they have known each other for a lifetime. “I saw him out of the corner of my eye at a Halloween party and he seemed so familiar to me,” Liz recounts. “I had this overwhelming desire to go talk to him and get to know him. So I did!” Coincidentally, Brent too had the feeling of familiarity toward Liz before they even spoke. The two met for a group date shortly after that night and didn’t leave each other’s side for the next four days.

Flash-forward eight years later and Brent is now busy as the co-owner of Custom Image Landscaping. Whether he’s building outdoor kitchens or maintaining property, Brent’s four-year-old Columbus-based business is booming. Meanwhile, Liz recently resigned from her role as the Executive Director for the Ohio Democratic Women’s Caucus and is currently building her career at the Ohio State University as the Alumni & Career Services Coordinator within the John Glenn 
School of Public Affairs.

He’s the outdoorsy type. She’s an intellectual feminist. What do these two have in common, you ask? They’re both crazy kids at heart! Always up for adventure, this young couple will do anything. Be it skydiving, white water rafting or break dancing, they are thrill seekers always searching for a good time. Each is married to their best friend, building a career doing what they love and living together in a beautiful home they worked together to remodel. What else could this young couple need? To be blunt: Style.

With a vacation planned to Avon, North Carolina later this summer, the couple has decided that they finally want to have some pictures they can look back on when they’re old and gray and say, ‘Damn, we looked good.’ As of now, all they’ve got are pictures of their bandana-and-camo-clad selves on trips to hot spots like Playa Del Carmen, 
San Diego and Chicago.

Brent has been relying on thrift store finds to add to his wardrobe and Liz is still sporting clothes from high school because “they still fit.” Even though she’s lucky enough to fit into the same clothes she did as a teenager, that’s no excuse to be dressing like we’re still in the ‘90s. Needless to say, this couple is definitely in need of some grown-up gear for their vacation makeover. “We both need help figuring out what looks best on us,” Liz explains. “We want something nice to wear for a night out on the town [that] won’t be too restrictive when we break it down on the dance floor.” The challenge is staying true to their young, playful spirits while making them look more polished, sophisticated and age-appropriate. Luckily, summer is the easiest time of the year to find casual clothes that function as both 
day and evening wear.

Rather than going for the standard polo and shorts for Brent, I opted to push his style further with easy linen separates from Banana Republic. These are great for guys in the summer because the fabric is very breathable so they don’t have to stress about pitting out under the summer sun. Linen separates are also a perfect vacation choice because they easily pair back with jeans, khakis, shorts and basic tees, making them a versatile packing option. To accessorize the basic linen pieces, I played up Brent’s outdoorsy, rugged vibe with a chunky leather cuff and thorn branch necklace from Collier West and topped it off with a cool straw fedora.

For Liz’s outfits, I wanted to channel her feminine side without going too girly so I dressed her in pieces that had just the right combination of masculine and feminine elements. For example, I paired a sexy low cut silk tank with boyish cargo capris, flat beaded sandals and a bold necklace. She had the comfort she desired while still looking fashionable and attractive. Another option was the chambray shirt dress – a classic piece that every girl should have in her closet. To give it that stylish twist, I cinched her waist with a wide metallic belt, bloused up the dress to show off her gorgeous legs and slipped on a pair of platform wedges to give her some serious height.

The result is a great-looking couple ready to hit the East Coast in style. “It’s so exciting to see that we can really look great together. Everyone should get a makeover to get them out of their wardrobe rut like [this] did for us,” gushes Liz. “We never would have thought to buy these things, let alone pair them together.”