Thornton "Dares to Soar"
John Thornton, a life member of the BVA Rocky Mountain Regional
Group, won the "Dare to Soar" Inspiration Award this
past April at the 17th Annual National Disabled Veterans Winter
Sports Clinic.
The award was presented to the participating veteran whose efforts
and personal drive most inspired the other participants, volunteers,
and onlookers. In addition to a certificate, the honor rewarded
him with the opportunity to participate in the event next year
with all expenses paid, courtesy of Challenge Aspen, a Winter
Sports Clinic sponsor.
"It was the greatest experience of my life," John said
of the sports clinic. "As a first time participant, I came
away with a complete change of life and an appreciation for the
things that I have in my life."
John is a 77-year-old World War II veteran who served in the
Navy Air Corps as a bombardier on a patrol bomber seaplane from
1945 to 1948. He has been visually impaired for about five years
with macular degeneration. He had not been on skis for 50 years
until he decided to give it a try at the sports clinic. With a
little confidence, he decided to try as many other activities
as he could—scuba diving, snowmobile events, archery, etc.
Having taken a fall and tearing a ligament in his knee just a
month before the sports clinic, John was convinced that he would
not be able to downhill ski again. With the help of his guides
and volunteers, however, he proved himself wrong.
"They convinced me that it was possible to sit-ski and do
just fine," he said. "After the second time and a couple
of minor falls, it was really a ‘miracle on the mountain’."
John made his living as a commercial artist and portrait painter.
He attended the Southwestern Blind Rehabilitation Center in June
2002 and again last December for computer training. He most recently
participated in the National Golden Age Games in Maine.
Carol Gillispie Leads Parade
Carol Gillispie represented her late husband, blinded veteran
George M. "Buck" Gillispie, as grand marshal of West
Haven, Connecticut’s Memorial Day parade June 1.
The parade, originally scheduled for May 26, was moved to its
scheduled rain date of June 1. The only problem was that June
1 brought still another day of showers to West Haven.
"It was a messy day, but I was able to wear a clear plastic
rain jacket, and I survived," she said.
Carol led the procession of veterans, dignitaries, and marching
bands along the one-mile route that comprises southern Connecticut’s
oldest and largest Memorial Day parade. The event also featured
a flyover by Air Force National Guard jets and a vintage World
War II T-6 Texan. It included entries by the local American Legion,
AMVETS, Daughters of the American Revolution, Jewish War Veterans,
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America, former
prisoners of war, Pearl Harbor survivors, and Iwo Jima survivors.
As the parade ended at the West Haven Veterans Memorial, Carol
was called on to follow remarks by West Haven Mayor H. Richard
Borer, Jr. with a brief impromptu speech of her own.
"Only in America do individuals with disabilities have equal
opportunities for employment and education," she said. "I
am proud to represent my husband and the citizens of West Haven
in paying tribute to our nation’s veterans."
Buck Gillispie was a technology sergeant in the Army’s 756th
Tank Battalion on January 28, 1945, when he was struck by a German
mortar shell in war-torn Colmar, France, that left him blind and
two of his comrades dead. He devoted the rest of his working life
to serving fellow blinded veterans through BVA and the Eastern
Blind Rehabilitation Center (EBRC).
Buck, who passed away in 1995, was BVA’s executive director
during 1961-63 and served as national president in 1961. He received
the Major General Melvin J. Maas Achievement Award in 1979 and
the Irving Diener Award in 1963. He was named chief of the EBRC
in 1969 and chief of all VA blind centers nationwide in 1976,
where he served for three years. The EBRC, which comprises a wing
of the West Haven VA Medical Center, is named in his honor.
"America is free today because of people like Buck, said
Mayor Borer. "His valor under extraordinary conditions, united
with his wholehearted devotion to our country and our city, reflects
the true attributes of the grand marshal."
Carol Gillispie was diagnosed and blinded with retinoblastoma
at age 1. Like Buck, she has worked with the blind for much of
her life in a variety of professional and volunteer capacities,
specializing in counseling and rehabilitation. She is also a longstanding
volunteer of many service clubs and organizations for the blind.
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