The Kiwanis Club of East St. Mary recently adopted Julia B. Maitland Elementary. Present for the picture are Kiwanians Brandon Monceaux, Emily Berry and Angela Kraemer, Maitland Principal Tonia Verrette, and a host of students.
M C Bank recently made its annual Adopt -a- School donation to J. S. Aucoin Elementary. Accepting the donation was Charlene Patureau, and presenting the donation were Jason Bailey, Sadie Rankin and Harold Smith with M C Bank.
Submitted Photos
Thursday was the Thanksgiving meal at M. E. Norman Elementary School. The special guests, invited to interact with the students, included a state trooper, police officers and firefighters.
LAFAYETTE (AP) — Forever 20. That’s how Gene Walters remembers his fellow U.S. Army soldiers in the Vietnam War.
Just weeks after arriving in Vietnam, Walters survived after every other medic in his battalion was killed. They were all in their 20s.
Walters once treated a soldier seriously injured by a booby trap. A nearby helicopter landed in a field of mines and exploded.
Six soldiers lay wounded. Like Walters, they were in their 20s.
Fifty years later, Walters and those soldiers are still just a few years removed from high school.
“I think of boys I knew who were killed,” said Walters. “I have that mental picture of 20-year-olds."
On Veterans Day 2017, Walters looks back on those Vietnam years with display cases filled with military honors. A medic with the 101st Airborne from 1967-69, Walters has three Purple Hearts for combat injuries. Two Bronze Stars, one Silver Star, an Air Medal and other commendations are also a part of his decorated service.
Walters was shot in the knee while caring for a fallen soldier. Exploding grenades left shrapnel in his nose and scalp during two other rescues.
Walters downplays the injuries. But formal declarations from his superiors detail emergency medical care while the world exploded around him.
A Bronze Star announcement from September 1968 states how Walters ran through a “maze of hostile fire” to reach two wounded comrades.
“Exposing himself to the rocket propelled grenades and automatic weapons fire, Private First Class Walters continued to move among the wounded men treating their wounds and directing them to safety. Many times during the ensuing battle, he had to use his M-16 rifle to place accurate burst of fire to cover their evacuation.”
Walter’s Bronze Star announcement from 1969 said he swam a river and “proceeded through one hundred fifty meters of booby-trapped terrain” to reach a soldier in distress. A medical evacuation helicopter landed in the area, detonated a series of mines and injured six other people.
“Disregarding his own pain, he moved among the wounded and with a great deal of professionalism and unsurpassed devotion to duty, he systematically treated all of the wounded. Only after insuring that each man had received all the attention he could give and that they were all as comfortable as possible did he concern himself with his own wounds.”
“It all happened so quick, anytime you got into any kind of skirmish,” said Walters.
Walters said Vietnam was not all combat and rescues. He remembers long treks through hot jungles, walks that could take two weeks to reach a new location.
He fondly recalls swimming at the beach in his underwear, barbecues with Spam steaks and friends who, years later, called him to be the best man at their weddings.
After 15 months in Vietnam, Walters returned to Lafayette to the funeral home job he left behind.
Parasites from contaminated stream water reduced his 6-foot-5 frame to 135 pounds; a local doctor helped him regain his weight.
But Walters said he encountered no Vietnam protesters, flashbacks or other disturbing events.
“I came home, changed clothes and went to work. It was no big deal.”
2017, Walters directs his own funeral home, which opened 2010. Phyllis, his wife of 46 years, and their children, Cecile and Ross, all work in the family business.
Life is filled with work, grandchildren and veteran causes. But every now and then, the phone rings.
It’s one of those 20-year-olds from Vietnam, looking for “Doc Walters.”
“Sometimes I get calls like, ‘Doc, I’m having problems. I have a sore throat.’ I said, ‘Dude, I’m a funeral director. I just played doctor.’”
Peyton Grizzaffi and Jordan Percle of Morgan City High School Bass Fishing Team qualified for the Louisiana High School Bass Fishing State Tournament after placing 16th out of a 223-boat field during an Oct. 28 LHS Bass Fishing qualifying tournament out of Stephensville. Their catch of 9.04 pounds clinched the qualifying berth. This is the first year MCHS has fielded a team. The state tournament will be held in Toledo Bend April 27-28, 2018.
Morgan City High School boys basketball and Central Catholic High School girls basketball teams came away with wins on the road Nov. 16.
MCHS 59, Terrebonne 46
The MCHS Tigers (7-4A) took a commanding victory over the Terrebonne Tigers (7-5A), 59-46, Thursday on Terrebonne’s home court in Houma.
Leading the local team in scoring was Jared Singleton and Ke’Sean Francois, each with 11 points. Taaj Daniels tipped in 10 while Tywaun Walker put up eight.
Morgan City will be back in action at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 28 when facing West St. Mary (7-2A) on the road in Baldwin.
CCHS 62, CH-NI 33
Central Catholic High School’s Lady Eagles (7-1A) easily surpassed the Catholic High — New Iberia Panthers (7-2A), 62-33, in a Thursday night contest on the road.
The Lady Eagles were led by Aalayia Poole who pounded out 20 on the board. Also knocking down big points were Yani Johnson with 17 and Lay Bertrand, 13. Lexi Landry added eight.
Central Catholic will be home Monday when it faces Central Lafourche (7-5A) at 6 p.m.
Screaming Eagles Taekwondo Academy competed in Moon’s College Taekwondo Championship on Nov. 4 in New Orleans. Kneeling from left are Kelly Aguilar, first, forms and sparring; Cooper Lagarde, first, forms and sparring; and Jaydon Ward, first, forms and second, sparring. Second row from left are Drake Carter, second, forms and sparring; Taylor Sauce, first, forms and third, sparring; and Miguel Deliva, third, forms and first, sparring. Third row from left are Jude Bergeron, second, forms; Brian Ladday, first, forms and sparring; and Sheila Valdez, first, forms and sparring. Last row from left are Instructor Grey White, Brock Bergeron, third, forms and sparring; Raven Sauce, first, forms and sparring; and Eddie Gray, third, forms and first, sparring.
The second annual Spirit of Homes Tour will be held Dec. 2 with proceeds benefitting St. Mary Outreach.
Tours will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and tickets are $20. Tickets are available from St. Mary Outreach, Alumni Shop and Wildflower Boutique, all in Morgan City. Participants may drop off their ticket (until 5 p.m. Dec. 2) at Latin Corner in Morgan City following their tour of homes for a chance in the door prize drawing.
Homes included in the tour include:
—Stephen Hebert and Mark Hebert at 618 Grove St. in Morgan City.
—Kim Hayes at 616 Grove St. in Morgan City.
—Craig Pontiff and Andrea Bourgeois at 1101 Federal Ave. in Morgan City.
—Marion Collins at 620 Federal Ave. in Morgan City.
—Eddie and Angela Anslum at 616 Federal Ave. in Morgan City.
—Trinity Episcopal Church at the corner of Second and Greenwood streets in Morgan City.
—Carter and Colleen Askew at 600 Techeview Drive in Berwick.
—Marianna McIntyre at 411 Renwick Blvd. in Berwick.
— Tiffany and James Stansbury III at 503 Avalon Court in Berwick.
Funds raised will help St. Mary Outreach, a private, non-profit emergency agency, to help residents in need from Calumet to Amelia with temporary emergency assistance.
St. Mary Outreach provides food, hygiene and cleaning products, clothing, and baby items such as formula and diapers. When funding is available, St. Mary Outreach also helps with rent, utilities and life-sustaining medications.
Clients are carefully screened and must meet the agency’s guidelines for service.
For more information about St. Mary Outreach, call 985-385-0525. Donations of the above items and monetary contributions are always welcomed.
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BATON ROUGE — The LSU AgCenter will host its annual poinsettia show and sale from 8 a.m. to noon on Dec. 1 at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden, located at 4560 Essen Lane near I10 in Baton Rouge.
Visitors may purchase fresh poinsettias from a wide selection of varieties on display for $10 to $12 per plant.
Visitors also will have the opportunity to take a survey and rate several poinsettia varieties. The Botanic Gardens is one of the nationwide trial locations for new and classic poinsettia varieties.
“We rely on our visitors to take part in the evaluation process to help poinsettia breeders decide which poinsettias hit the shelves next Christmas season,” said Jeff Kuehny, resident director at the Botanic Gardens at Burden.
Admission is free and open to the public. Proceeds from the sale go to fund educational programs at the Botanic Gardens. For additional information call 225-763-3990.
Franklin Banner-Tribune
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Phone: 337-828-3706
Fax: 337-828-2874
Morgan City Review
1014 Front Street, Morgan City, LA 70380
Phone: 985-384-8370
Fax: 985-384-4255