WATERVILLE – Twenty Waterville-area veterans, ranging in age from 75 to 100, will lead this year’s Roche de Boeuf Parade, set to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19.
“With this being the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence, we thought it would be a fitting tribute to honor our area veterans this year,” said Michelle Smith, executive director of the Waterville Area Chamber of Commerce, which is hosting the day-long festival.
The veterans, listed below by dates of service, include 100-year-old Richard Feusse, a World War II Navy veteran who has called Waterville home since 1990. Read more about his story here.
Dale Johnson was drafted into the Army and served from January 1952 to December 1953, ending his service as a corporal. He and his wife, Jeanne, were married in 1951 and will soon celebrate their 75th anniversary.
Ferd Seipel of Waterville was living in Springfield, Ohio when he enlisted in the Marines in 1953, rising to the rank of sergeant before his service ended in 1957.
Lee Thomas, a lifelong resident of Providence Township who attended Whitehouse School until Anthony Wayne Local Schools was formed in 1952, joined the Army two years after graduation.
“The draft was still going. A lot of kids from Whitehouse were getting married and buying houses, but we decided to sign up and get on the head of the list before they decided to take us – so in a sense we were drafted,” said Thomas, who joined along with his friends, LeRoy Lashaway and Gene Walters.
Thomas spent 16 months of his two years in service stationed in Nuremberg, Germany, where he was housed in a former SS Stormtrooper headquarters. He drove an armored personnel carrier and then a truck hauling gasoline, ending his service as a specialist.
“I took advantage of my service and traveled twice to Amsterdam on vacation, then Paris and England – and the Angel’s Nest in the Alps,” Thomas said.
When he returned home, Thomas married Joyce within a year, settling in a home on Heller Road where his ancestors settled in the mid 1800s. He no longer has his Army uniform.
“My mom tore up my dress uniform and made it into rags in the kitchen,” he said.
Robert Hires, of Waterville Township, was attending Ball State Teachers College in 1953 when he decided to attend an Air Force officers training college to become a pilot. He served as an F-100 Super Sabre fighter pilot for 25 years.
“My last assignment was as the Air Force advisor at the 180th Air National Guard base,” said Hires, who was a lieutenant colonel when he retired in 1978.
“It’s a great honor to be a grand marshal in the Roche de Boeuf parade,” Hires said.
Walter Wiewiora, of Waterville, was living in Barnesboro, Penn. when he enlisted in the Army in 1955, serving for four years. He achieved the rank of specialist second class. His daughter, Dawn Bialecki, said her father was often noticed for his resemblance to Elvis Presley.
“They were born the same year and both served in Germany, but never met,” she said.
Darryl “Bud” Bauman of Swanton was living in Whitehouse when he joined the Ohio Air National Guard in 1957. He was almost deployed for the Berlin Crisis in 1961. He achieved the rank of airman first class before he finished his service in 1962, returning to operate Whitehouse Motors.
Adrian Montanaro of Waterville was living in Ashtabula when he enlisted in the Ohio Army National Guard in 1960 and achieved the rank of sergeant first class before completing his service in 1967.
Rodger Green, a Toledo resident who lived in Whitehouse for 50 years, enlisted in the Air Force three months after graduating from West Unity High School in 1962. He served through 1966 and achieved the rank of Airman First Class. Being a part of the group of veterans riding on the Roche de Boeuf parade is a fitting way to show his pride in the military and support for all service members, he said.
Dené Helwig, of Whitehouse, was 18 when he joined the Air Force in 1968 and ended up serving for 20 years. For eight years, he was a life support specialist, preparing the survival gear for troops jumping out of planes – like helmets, oxygen masks, gravity suits and parachutes. For 12 years, he was a maintenance analyst, maintaining data on aircraft and missles. He ended his service as a technical sergeant. Now he belongs to the Whitehouse American Legion, serving as a member of the honor guard during home football games and parades.
Jack Petree, of Waterville, joined the Marines in 1966 and was assigned to the 1st Marines Division, K battery 21st Marine Regiment, serving in Vietnam. He rose to the rank of corporal before his service was complete in 1969.
Diana French, of Waterville, has served in both the Navy and the Army. After graduating from St. Vincent School of Nursing in Toledo in 1966, the war in Vietnam was heading up. She was commissioned as an ensign with the Navy and promoted to lieutenant during her two years of active duty and four years in the reserves.
In 1983, French joined the Army Nurse Corps reserve and did a combination of active and reserve service before retiring with the rank of colonel in 2005. Her final duty assignment was as a commanding officer of the 256th Combat Support Hospital, USAR.
Garry Snyder, of Whitehouse, joined the Air Force in 1966. He served in California before shipping off to Bien Hoa Air Force Base in vietnam from 1968-69. He completed his service as a sergeant.
Tom Shadle, of Waterville Township, joined the Air Force in 1963 – just two years after graduating from Anthony Wayne High School. He served as a missile systems analyst and rose to airman second class while serving as part of the Strategic Air Command ( SAC) 17th Missile Maintenance Squadron at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.
Service was part of the family, Shadle said, explaining that his brother, the late Robert Shadle Jr. (Bob), was a 1958 AW graduate who served in the Air Force as part of the Air Defense Command. Their father, Robert Sr. was a 1935 Whitehouse School graduate who was in the Army in the Philippines during World War II.
“Dad was the rural mail carrier out of Whitehouse for 40 years. While he was in the Army, my mother delivered his mail route,” Shadle recalled.
In 2024, all three Shadle names were added to the Anthony Wayne High School Military Wall of Honor. In June, Tom Shadle participated in the Flag City Honor Flight to visit the nation’s capital.
Having the veterans be recognized during the Roche de Boeuf parade is a special occasion, he said.
“I appreciate that veterans are being recognized for their service to our country – this wasn’t always the case,” he said.
Chris Matheny of Waterville agrees, noting that this will be his first parade where he will be part of the procession. He was living in Stony Ridge in 1970 when he was drafted into the Army and sent to Vietnam. While he was trained as a combat mechanic, he wasn’t needed in that role. Instead, he worked in supply, rising to the rank of corporal.
“I was in charge of toilet paper,” he laughed.
Also joining the parade are veterans Thomas Hahn and Jim Howard, as well as others to be announced.
