Students share veterans' stories in new calendar
<p>Jillian Wynne, 12, left, and Faith Blackaby, 13, pose with a calendar they created featuring photos of veterans and being sold to raise money for the Veterans Food Pantry. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Detail of a desk calendar created by Stillwater Christian students Jillian Wynne and Faith Blackaby after they interviewed veterans throughout the Flathead Valley. The proceeds from the sales of the calendar are going to the Veterans Food Pantry in Kalispell. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
Faith Blackaby, 13, and Jillian Wynne, 12, of Kalispell spent last summer brainstorming on a project to help the community. What the pair learned through the process affected them in a way they didn’t anticipate.
The pair knew they wanted to write stories, inspired by Wynne’s older sister, Julia, who had written and sold the booklet “Shelter Tails” in 2015, donating all proceeds to Flathead County Animal Shelter. So far, the project has raised $1,287.
“We wanted to do something different,” Blackaby said.
The Stillwater Christian School seventh-graders landed on an idea to feature veterans in a desktop calendar to sell with proceeds benefiting the Northwest Montana Veterans Food Pantry.
Blackaby and Wynne interviewed veterans living in the Flathead and wrote stories that encapsulated the personal experiences of military life and war and how that impacted family life and created opportunities.
“We ended up learning a lot more than we ever expected. We had more insight on everything that you can’t really learn in a history book,” Blackaby said.
They wrote about 10 veterans, collected photos and compiled them into a calendar they are selling for $15.
“We were writing three stories over the weekend and during school,” Wynne said. “It was more fun than work.”
The men and women depicted represent the Air Force, Marines and Navy, serving in wars such as World War II, the Vietnam War, Gulf War and the war in Afghanistan.
One of the surprising things the two girls learned about the veterans was how limited communication was between loved ones at home and abroad. Blackaby recalled World War II veteran Don Taylor’s account that sometimes he and his wife had to wait months at a time before hearing from each other through letters and telegrams. Miscommunication was also an issue.
“That makes me think of [Vietnam veteran] Lou Heidel,” Wynne said. “His wife thought he was dead in the Battle of Hue City.”
The battle was one of the bloodiest of the Vietnam War.
The Vietnam War in particular wasn’t popular among Americans and the girls learned that returning soldiers weren’t always greeted with parades.
“Especially with Lou Heidel,” Wynne said, noting he almost lost a leg in the war and received two Purple Hearts. “I’ve heard stories of people coming back from the Vietnam War and being treated horribly. [Heidel] went into depth about that. He was refused drinks at bars and they had to ride in a bulletproof bus coming home because college students were throwing bricks at them.”
The interviews were an emotional experience for both subject and interviewer. Blackaby and Wynne went to interviews with some prepared questions and were nervous as to whether the veterans would be comfortable opening up.
“When we started asking them what they wanted people to know about their service they just did most of the talking and we didn’t have to,” Wynne said.
The difficult part was condensing hours of notes into stories that would fit on desktop calendar pages, Blackaby and Wynne said.
“They had many little stories we’d love to put in, but we had to focus on the main points,” Wynne said.
Both were grateful for the opportunity.
“It definitely gave me a lot more respect for them and just appreciation for all they gave up for their country,” Wynne added.
To purchase a calendar email wynnefamily999@msn.com or call 406-471-1177.
Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.