September 30, 2009
Tetonia native honored with Freedom Team Salute Commendation.
LEFT: Retired Army Sgt. Harry Crumb pins Tetonia native and World War II veteran Sam Beard with the Freedom Team Salute Commendation last Wednesday. Beard is the first to be honored in Teton County with the recognition that has seen more than 2.2 million honored in the nation since 2005. CITIZEN PHOTO / JEANNETTE BONERSam Beard was 22 years old in 1942. He was working at the family sawmill in South Leigh Canyon and had just started dating Ella Kaufman when the country was on the cusp of the Second World War.
He was called into service in the summer of 1942, being drafted into the Army Air Medical Corp stationed at Pennington, Oregon. Sam smiles a little thinking of the military work into which he was drafted.
“I worked as a surgical technician, and helped with operations,” he said of his service. “I was kind of like a nurse, but I wasn’t a lieutenant. And I went through a lot of classes.”
Last Wednesday, retired Army Sergeant Henry Crumb made a small journey from Rexburg to Tetonia and in front of friends and family presented Beard with the Freedom Team Salute Commendation. Crumb recognized Beard for his service reminding those present that Beard is and will remain an important part of the military family.
Beard served from 1942 to 1945 entering into service as the U.S made its first air strike in Europe. He did not serve overseas, but worked to prepare others for service through medical checkups and examinations. He admits sometimes he enjoyed setting up and breaking down hospital camps more than treating the occasional ingrown toenail.
Ella would eventually travel with her sister who was living in Boise at the time to visit Sam, marry him and travel some of the years with him as they moved from base to base across the west. It was the first time Sam had been away from the valley as he finished his service just after Christmas in 1945.
The Secretary of the Army and the Army Chief of Staff launched the Freedom Team Salute Commendation program in 2005. According to the Army’s web site, the program recognizes U.S. Army Veterans and the parents, spouses and employers of U.S. Army soldiers. There have been more than 2.2 million Commendation recipients since the program began in May 2005. Beard is the first to be recognized in Teton County.
Sgt. Crumb is an ambassador for the Army’s Freedom Team Salute program, and has given out more than 250 certificates to regional veterans including those in the surrounding counties of Madison, Fremont, Jefferson and Clark. Ella said it was a surprise and an honor for her to have her husband recognized in such a way last week.
A family history and tradition of military service, Beard’s two brothers went on to serve during World War II with his son Lavere serving later during the Vietnam War.
Beard kept notes of his service, but admits that the only tangible memory he has left of that time is his uniform that Ella keeps in the family’s cedar chest.
“I don’t think it would fit me anymore,” Beard laughs of the uniform.
He spent 34 years plowing roads for Teton County through the Road and Bridge Department, but still remembers his homecoming just after Christmas in 1945.
He took the train to Tetonia where he was picked up by family and on the way back home had to stop and walk another two miles from Hatch’s Corner because the roads were impassable due to snow.
“I appreciate him and what he did for me,” said Gary Henrie, American Legion Post 95 Commander of Beard. “He gave us our freedom that we have today and sometimes we forget that.”
Every Freedom Team Salute honoree receives an official Commendation package, which includes a certificate of appreciation and a personalized letter signed by the Secretary of the Army and Army Chief of Staff thanking them for their support of today’s Army. The package also includes an official U.S. Army lapel pin and two Army decals.
For those who would like to take a proactive effort in thanking our nation’s Army Veterans and assisting America’s Soldiers in thanking those who support them, Freedom Team Salute sponsors a formal “Ambassador Program” that provides volunteers with tools to reach out to organizations and communities. There are currently more than 500 FTS Ambassadors in the continental United States and overseas.
For more details on Freedom Team Salute, to request materials for an event, or to honor someone, contact Freedom Team Salute online at www.freedomteamsalute.com or via e-mail at info@FreedomTeamSalute.com.
