Wisecrack Warriors Visit with Carriage Inn Veterans in Huntsville, Receive Grant

HUNTSVILLE, TX -- The Wisecrack Warriors (WCW) were back in action recently, after having had an emergency meeting to determine if there were different directions other than east and west. WCW President Curtis Cole, consulted with a very smart person, who only gave his initials as A.I., with some believing it may be Albert Ingersol, whom no one has ever heard of him. Despite all that, Ingersol said that there were two more directions, north and south, which totally shocked the WCW, who were always terrible at land navigation. “Ah,” the WCW said collectively, thinking they had just discovered fire. lol. Just kidding.

The Wisecrack Warriors are truly a loving group of Veterans, an off-shoot of the Lone Star Honor Flight Veterans Group (105), and besides being a little wacky, they aim to visit Veterans in assisted living facilities in all directions. The WCW were in Huntsville recently for Korean Armistice Day, or, the day when M.A.S.H. said goodbye on television.

Some may consider the Korean Conflict as a Forgotten War, but for a special few it was a real event, with actual consequences, life changing episodes for many who were there and will take the memories to their waning days. For even a lesser few, an injury or the loss of a battle buddy could yield a lifetime of mental strain. The WCWs mission, to introduce humor into a Veterans life, helps them in a way, relieves some of that mental strain built-up over decades, and incredibly, it works.

Carriage Hill in Huntsville, has a good number of Veterans that bring a sense of pride to the facility.

Jose Maeftas, 93, served in the U.S. Army in Korea for the war years of 1952-1953 as an Infantryman. He had several close calls, and dedicated himself to God. Once returned to Texas, he used his G.I. Bill, and registered at North Texas State Teachers College (now University of North Texas), before transferring to Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary. Jose spent well over fifty years as a minister in the Dallas area, saying he was dedicated to ‘The Word of the Lord,’ and even with some rough patches along the way, he loved his congregation.

U.S. Navy Veteran Glenn Payne, 98, caught the tail end of World War II on his birthday of August 31st, as a 17 year old, having graduated at 16 from high school. With the war winding down in 1945, Payne was stuck in the vacuum between a military that no longer needed men in earnest overseas, and a Navy that was trying to figure out what to do with young sailors that were still entering the service. Glenn had some smarts about him. He taught himself to read at a tender 4. Following his service, Payne started with the Union Pacific Railroad, which became International-Great Northern (I-GN) Railroad. He retired at 56, and traveled the world, visiting 98 countries.

Pete Hilton, 92, not related to the rich and famous, but the poor Hilton’s, was a U.S. Marine, and retired as a Sergeant Major after 30 years. He arrived in Korea after the armistice, before moving onto Okinawa. Pete was later in Vietnam, where he was wounded in action, and spent much of his time in the Quang Tri Province. As a Gunnery Sergeant during a heated moment of a battle, he was in charge of several 81mm mortar squads, and when dropped off on a mountain top with coordinates to fire on when he set up. The only problem was, during the battle, the helicopter dropped him and his soldiers off on the wrong hill. When it came time to fire, he accidentally blew up a South Vietnamese ammo dump. lol. Don’t blame Pete from the mishap, it was the helicopter pilot’s fault.

It was a lovely visit with the Carriage Inn Veterans, who are still in good spirits. And the WCW still had an additional visit at the local Wal-Mart soon after, which donated a $1,000 grant to the Wisecrack Warriors at their Grand Re-Opening ceremony of the store, which added additional retail space to the building. The WCW sends birthday cards and prints newsletters for Veterans who need cheering up.

Each Veteran, no matter of combat or domestic service, are treated equally with the reverence they deserve, not just based on age, but their choice to have taken the same oath to Serve Our Nation, whether in peace time or in war.