Heroes
Inducted 2012
Evert D. "Sarge" Carter Jr.
Evert D. “Sarge” Carter Jr., began his military service when he turned age 16 and joined the Merchant Marines and then the US Army in December 1942 at 17 years of age. Sarge spent 31 years total service and retired with the rank of First Sergeant. He was a combat infantryman through three wars: WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War. During WWII, he served with the Bushmasters Infantry 158th Regimental Combat Team also known as General MacArthur’s Jungle Troops. Over the years, he served with 6th Army Infantry, 101st Airborne (The “Screaming Eagles”), 1st Missile Battalion, 67th Artillery, as well as other outfits.
Additionally, Sarge was a ski instructor for Survival and Rescue in the Arctic, teaching arctic survival to the troops. While stationed in Alaska he received the Skiing Award 100 Miles-Cross Country in 1958 and the Skiing Award 250 Miles-Biathlon & Cross Country in 1959. Sarge has continued to serve his community and fellow Veterans by volunteering as an Honor Guard at the Tahoma National Cemetery and escort at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System – Seattle Division for a total of 8,908 hours.
He also has devoted over 3,310 hours of his time to the USO Puget Sound Area. Sarge is a life member of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and the American Legion.
Inducted 2012
Preston D. Scheid
Preston Scheid entered the US Army Air Corps on August 11, 1942 at Fort Lewis, Washington and after basic training was sent to England where he served as a radio operator for the 8th Army Air Force, 361st Fighter Group.
He managed the homing beacon for P-51 Mustangs returning after escorting heavy bombers on their missions to Germany. He also played the string bass in his unit’s band named “The Mustangs.” On May 8, 1945, VE Day, “The Mustangs” played in Piccadilly Circus, in the heart of London to celebrate the end of the war with the British.
For his service during World War II, Mr. Scheid was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal, the American Theater Service Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal. Staff Sergeant Preston D. Scheid was honorably discharged from the military in 1945. Like most other returning servicemen, Preston continued to serve his fellow Veterans by joining a Veteran Service Organization.
He was recently awarded a 60-year Continuous Membership Citation from the American Legion. In 1990, Preston and his wife Isabel started volunteering at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System – Seattle Division. At the last Voluntary Service Volunteer Recognition Award Luncheon, he received recognition for 22 years of service and to date has recorded 8,712 volunteer hours.
Inducted 2011
Lemanuel "Lee" Jones
Lemanuel Jones served in Vietnam as a sergeant and squad leader with the first Cavalry Division in 1965 and 1966. He fought in multiple engagements with enemy forces including the fierce Battle of the Ia Drang Valley that was memorialized in the book and movie “We Were Soldiers.” He was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, the Vietnam Service Medal, and Air Medal. Upon leaving the military, he attended St. Martin’s College in Olympia, Washington and earned a BA in Counseling from Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington. He then went on to serve Veterans as a counselor at the Seattle Vet Center. Lee soon was promoted to Vet Center Team Leader (Director), the first African American to achieve this position in the Western United States. In 1984, many African American Veterans with PTSD were prevented from adequately benefitting from participation in therapy groups with predominantly Caucasian members. Therefore, he started an African American Veterans PTSD Group that facilitated culturally sensitive and open communication, education and therapeutic interactions among its members. The Group was a success and continued to meet at the Vet Center until Lee retired in 1995. That year the new Chief of Psychiatry at VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Murray Raskind, MD, joined the Group along with David Hoff, PA-C, to provide additional medical support. The Group was fortunate to convince Lee to return as leader of the newly-named African American Stress Disorders Program, which has continued to meet at VA Puget Sound to the present. From modest beginnings, this nationally unique program has grown to include hundreds of African American Veterans. It has been of great benefit to Veterans and to the community. None of this would have been possible without the leadership, therapeutic skills and compassion of Lemanuel Jones for his fellow Veterans. Mr. Jones passed away in 2010.
Inducted 2011
Marvin Glenn Shields
Marvin Glenn Shields born December 30, 1939 in Port Townsend, Washington, enlisted in the Navy in January 1962. He served with Mobile Construction Battalion 11, and was with Seabee Team 1104 at Don Xoai, South Vietnam, June 10 1965 when a Vietcong regiment attacked. After being wounded, Shields continued to carry up ammunition to the firing line, and after receiving a second wound, insisted on helping a more severely wounded soldier to safety. Now greatly weakened, he again exposed himself to enemy fire, volunteering to help knock out a machinegun which had the entire camp pinned down. Shields died from wounds he received after he and others “succeeded in destroying the enemy machinegun emplacement, thus undoubtedly saving lives of many of their fellow servicemen in the compound.” He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. He was the first and remains the only Seabee to receive the Medal of Honor.
Inducted 2010
Steve Wilbur
The great strategic and economic importance of South Vietnam's extensive inland waterways made it clear from the beginning of the war that the Navy would be in the front rank of the allied forces. With 3,000 nautical miles of rivers, canals, and streams, the Mekong Delta was home to a majority of South Vietnam’s population. Because road and rail systems were unreliable, waterways provided ready access to the most important resources, and among those defending these vital passages was Stephen Patrick Wilber. Stephen Wilber enlisted in the Navy in March of 1965 and served three tours in Vietnam on the PBR River Boats Section 521. Service aboard River Boats was dangerous work, as her sailors carried out day and night ambushes, hit and run raids, reconnaissance patrols, salvage dives, and special intelligence operations. Stephen voluntarily extended his enlistment to serve the third tour, and survived an attack that resulted in a shrapnel injury. Stephen started working for the Seattle VA in 1984, serving 24 years as a scheduler, where he became well known for his dedication and compassion. He became a member of the United States Amputee Soccer Team in the late 1980’s. In the 1990’s he became a member of the Gamewardens of Vietnam, a Veterans fraternal organization founded to honor Naval Veterans who protected the Mekong Delta. He volunteered as a photographer for many Veterans functions, including the Wheelchair Games, American Lake golf course tournaments, the Fisher House groundbreaking, and would indeed likely be here today with camera in hand. After a long battle with cancer, Stephen passed away on April 1, 2010. His heroic life of service is an inspiration to all, and it is fitting that he is named among the heroes on this wall.
Inducted 2010
Sonny Alvarez
Sonny Alvarez joined the Army Reserves while still in high school, serving as a mechanic with Company D, 192nd Support Battalion. He went active duty in 1966, and after transferring to Fort Lewis, went to Vietnam serving in the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Black Lions, 1st Infantry Division , where he sustained an injury that earned him a Purple Heart. After his discharge in 1969, Sonny pursued education, marriage, and family, and returned to Washington. In 1975, he joined the Washington State Guard as a 1st Lieutenant. During his Guard career, he served as Platoon Leader, Company Commander, and ultimately Brigade Commander, and retired in 2006 as Colonel Alvarez. Sonny has served as a volunteer at the VA Seattle campus since 1975, is active in the VAVS Committee, and is Commander of the Veterans of the Vietnam War.
Inducted 2009
Dennis Wolden
Mr. Dennis Wolden, a native of Gonvick, Minnesota, was a decorated Korean War Veteran who served in the U.S. Army from 1950-1952. Mr. Wolden was a corporal trained as a combat medic. Most notably, he provided care for many of his comrades in the famous “Bloody Ridge” and “Heartbreak Ridge” battles while enduring his own combat-related injuries. As a result of this combat experience, Corporal Wolden received two Purple Heart medals and his unit also received the Distinguished Unit Citation. Mr. Wolden passed away in 1956 at the age of 31 due to dysentery contracted during his service in Korea.
Inducted 2009
Claude Owens
Mr. Claude Owens was a decorated WWII and Korean War Veteran. Claude was part of the unit that stormed the beaches at Normandy and had many stories to tell. As a volunteer at VA Puget Sound, Mr. Owens was best known for roller skating around the medical center greeting patients, escorting them to their appointments with a smile. He was known for attending memorial services at Tahoma National Cemetery and visiting Veterans at home and in the medical center to lift their spirits. In addition, Mr. Owens was named the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Outstanding Health Care Volunteer of the Year in 2004. Mr. Owens passed away in 2007 at the age of 90.
