Belle-Scott dinner honors Scott Air Force Base ‘with deep appreciation’
The city of Belleville reminds the community each year of the important role Scott Air Force Base plays in the metro east by hosting the Belle-Scott Enlisted Dinner.
This year’s event, the 69th, took place March 14 at St. Clair Country Club in Belleville.
“The enlisted dinner is Belleville’s opportunity to show our deep appreciation to Scott’s enlisted members for their service and sacrifice,” said Geri Boyer, the Belle-Scott Committee civilian chairman. “This year we hosted 100 enlisted. It is also our chance to honor a few local veterans and tell their stories of bravery and remarkable resilience.”
According to the Belleville Chamber of Commerce website, the Belle-Scott Committee evolved from the “Belleville Plan,” which was created in 1950 by Belleville Mayor H.V. Calhoun; Maj. Gen. Robert W. Harper, commander of the Air Training Command located at Scott; and Col. George W. Pardy, commanding officer of SAFB.
Boyer said her role is to regularly meet with the SAFB commander to ensure positive communication and cooperation between the base and Belleville. She chairs the Executive Committee of the Civilian Component and the Belle-Scott meetings held in Belleville.
“The Belle-Scott Committee was established in 1950 to promote a positive relationship between the local business community and the Base. Belle-Scott was formed because this was not always the case,” Boyer said. “Many veterans we have honored tell us that only recently have they been thanked for their service.
“We want the members of the military and veterans of our community to know how much we cherish and value their sacrifice and service. The Belle-Scott Enlisted Dinner gives Belleville an opportunity to do that in a very personal way. The event starts with a receiving line in which the civilians shake every enlisted member’s hand and welcome them to Belleville and the enlisted dinner. I love to see their shining faces as they experience the overwhelming hospitality and true gratitude our community has for them.”
This year’s outing included remarks from Belleville Mayor Mark Eckert, St. Clair County Board member Rick Vernier (District 9), and Col. Joseph Meyer, 375th Air Mobility Wing commander, as well as an enlisted response given by and on behalf of SAFB’s enlisted members, which Staff Sgt. David Roberson delivered.
“Thank you for showing how much you appreciate us and how much you care,” Roberson said to the crowd.
Roberson and his family were evacuated from Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida due to Hurricane Michael and lost the vast majority of their possessions. However, Team Scott helped them recover, and Roberson expressed his deep appreciation to SAFB during his speech.
Added Eckert at the event: “We’re so proud to have all of you here again. We love our friends at Scott Air Force Base. You are so important to our great nation. And you’re so important to Belleville. We want you to know you’re always welcome in Belleville.”
Meyer said he appreciates Belleville recognizing Scott’s enlisted Airmen, and explained this was the first time many of them have been part of an event thanking them for their service.
“They will be delighted,” Meyer said prior to the dinner. “We couldn’t have a more diverse and dedicate group of young people serving our nation, and it’s certainly an honor for all of us to serve at Scott with such an amazing and supportive community members who have made us feel like family.”
Meyer, addressing attendees at the Country Club, said, “Thanks to the Belle-Scott committee for hosting this dinner This is a military home to all of us. To the community, thank you for supporting our Airmen like you do.”
Honoring local veterans has become a centerpiece of this annual dinner. This year’s honorees included World War II veterans Ralph Goldsticker, 97; Jim Reynolds, 96; and Fred Bruss, 94. They all served in the U.S. Army Air Corps.
Honoring local veterans has become a centerpiece of this annual dinner. This year’s honorees included World War II veterans Ralph Goldsticker, 97; Jim Reynolds, 96; and Fred Bruss, 94. They all served in the U.S. Army Air Corps.
“Their stories of ingenuity and bravery are amazing and will literally bring you to tears,” Boyer said.
According to Terry Foerste, who handles the selection process, Bob Dintelmann would venture into the community, find veterans and then interview them and compose the accounts they told.
Over time, Foerste became involved in Belle-Scott and made his way onto the executive board, where Dintelmann — who received the Golden Eagle award at least year’s dinner in honor of his long term service to the committee — ultimately handed the selection duties to him a few years ago.
Terry Foerste, who inherited the job of finding veterans from Bob Dintelman, said nominations usually come from the families of those who are honored. After a lengthy interview, he composes a biography of the honoree with details of their service.
“I wait for people to call me or I find veterans or someone says ‘I’d like you to talk to my dad.’ If they’re agreeable, I interview them,” he said. “It usually takes 1 1/2 to 2 or 2 1/2 hours. I take the info they give me, and I basically write up portions of their stories because they have a lot of different stories. After I get it written, I go back to them and let them review it to make sure it’s correct. And that’s the story of the veterans people hear at the dinner.”
Through the years, Foerste said he’s interviewed World War II veterans, Korean War veterans, Vietnam veterans and prisoners of war. Foerste himself is a Vietnam veteran, having served 10 years and two tours of duty as a helicopter pilot.
“I have the honor and the privilege to meet these gentleman and ladies, hear their stories and pass them on,” said Foerste, who has lived in Belleville since he left the Army in 1975. “There were 16 million Americans that served during World War II and, at last count, there were less than 500,000 left. So the stories of all veterans, in particular the WW II veterans, are eventually going to disappear. I think it’s important that we record their stories when we can.”
Below is a brief synopsis of this year’s honorees:
RALPH GOLDSTICKER
He was born in October 1921, and enlisted in U.S. Army Aviation Cadet Corps. He became a bombardier on a B-17, and flew 35 missions. On June 6, 1944, during the D-Day invasion, Goldsticker’s aircraft flew two missions totaling 14 hours in support of D-Day.
JIM REYNOLDS
Born in November 1922, Reynolds got into flying because of Barnstormers — pilots who performed aerial stunts. According to Foerste’s interview with Reynolds, one landed on his father’s farm, he got a free ride and fell in love with flying at a young age. Reynolds ultimately became a pilot, and is qualified in 22 aircraft. Reynolds flew numerous VIP missions, including for the vice president of the United States, secretary of the Army, secretary of the Air Force, director of the CIA, and retired Gen. Jimmy Doolittle. Overall, Reynolds ended his career with 9,700 military flight hours. Before he retired from the Air Force, Reynolds was commander of the 375th Aeromedical Squadron at Scott.
FRED BRUSS
Born in 1924 in Belleville, Bruss was a gunner on an A-20 light attack bomber. Foerste explained that aircraft had one pilot and two gunners, and was used mostly for low altitude missions. Overall, according to Foerste, Bruss flew 60 missions from April 1944 to January 1945, usually just 200-300 feet above the ground. Bruss had to bail out once when his aircraft was damaged by anti-aircraft fire, and, on two more occasions, the aircraft sustained damage that required the aircraft to make a wheels-up belly crash landing behind Allied lines. Bruss retired as the Belleville Fire Department’s fire chief.
“I look forward to meeting these gentlemen to tell their stories,” Foerste said. “It’s not unusual for a family member to approach me after a dinner and tell me they’ve never heard that story before. Often times, being a veteran myself, helps because we can somewhat relate and they’ll tell me a portion of their story and say to me ‘You know what I mean.’”
“They are a very impressive group of men,” Boyer said of the honorees.
Foerste said he again cherished the opportunity to share the poignant and momentous narratives all these veterans have to tell.
“Every individual that I interview had a unique story to tell,” Foerste said.
“And I think it’s important that we pass these stories in particular to the young airmen and civilian population who may not know what occurred during World War II ... It’s my privilege and honor to pass on their memories of World War II, the terrors and the triumphs and their individual experiences that they experienced as they served our country.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2019 at 2:27 PM.