More than just trees

In June of 1945, a grove of more than 20 green ash trees were planted roughly where Hot Springs County Library stands today. While many of the trees are gone, the larger green ashes that remain could be part of that original grove.

However, beyond just adding some greenery to the town, that grove was planted in memoriam of the soldiers from Hot Springs County who died in World War II. Today, the Daughters of the American Revolution Washakie Chapter and VFW Auxiliary, who were instrumental in the original planting, want to put up a plaque in the library recognizing those soldiers.

In a 1945 article from the Independent Record from the dedication ceremony for the tree memorial, C.W. Axtell said, “These, our dead, have made the supreme sacrifice, and their deeds and the deeds of our fighting millions now upon our far flung battle fronts were not for vaunted power of glory, but:

“So none shall power or riches vaunt,

But every man be free from want,

So in the future, year on year,

Their countrymen be free from fear.

So all mankind from pole to pole,

May speak the promptings of his soul,

So through this earth wher-e’er men trod,

All men be free to worship God.”

At the same ceremony, Axtell said, “Their fortitude, their courage, their valor shall not be forgotten, and when future generations of America look upon these trees and the trees which may succeed them, their firm resolve will be that this nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the principle that all men are created equal, this government by the people, of the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth, and the neither the terrors and oppressions of despotism nor the corroding blight of communism shall ever threaten our beloved land.”

Marilyn Strausborger, regent with the Washakie Chapter of DAR, said they want to make sure they have all the names of those killed in the war, who would now be in their 90s or older if they had lived, and make sure they aren’t forgotten. She hopes the plaque is ready to go for Veterans Day, and a dedication ceremony on Memorial Day. The library board, she noted, has agreed to have a plaque put up.

Strausborger found out about the tree grove while going through the old DAR when a sheet of paper felt out. “Scotch tape only lasts for so long,” she said with a laugh. She has been working with library staff to determine what happened with the trees, as some were likely taken down when the library was built while others died off.

Daughters of the American Revolution, Strausborger said, does historical and other community activities.

Among those honored by the memorial of trees are: Sergeant John E. Allen, Private Bertram L. Bent, Private William J. Birch, Staff Sergeant Emory Blakesley, Lieutenant William S. Brady, Staff Sergeant Henry E. Brantley, Private William C. Buchanan, Private Gerald W. Buffington, Lieutenant Gordon Burt, Aviation Cadet Richard F. Dennick, Staff Sergeant Floyd E. Hart, Private Leon S. Hunt, Private Donald R. Huskey, Staff Sergeant Emil Leone, Private Ernest J. Pristavic, Corporal Carroll B. Rettstatt, Sergeant Leonard Short, Private Curtis Sumner, Private First Class Weldon G. Thompson, Master Sergeant Roy Todd, Staff Sergeant John A. Vannoy, Sergeant Rollin Wright and Private Frank Zulevic.