HUMBOLDT – — Time was, every 18-year-old male in Allen County knew Viola Staley.
Staley was the Selective Service director who oversaw the conscription of young men into the armed services.
If alive today, there’s a good chance Staley would remember her encounter with Pat Fink.
The day Fink turned 18, he arose bright and early and headed to Staley’s office in downtown Iola.
“I was waiting at the door,” he said, when Staley arrived.
Fink said he wanted to enlist in the Army because he had no stomach for either sea or air duties.
Fink spent two years in South Vietnam, deploying in January 1965 — the height of the conflict.
He was involved with special forces operations, some of which were so classified that to this day Fink is reluctant to hint at what they involved.
He isn’t reluctant, though, to express his love of country and thinks veterans should be honored at any opportunity.
Monday morning he had a dry run for a display he will put out on his lawn at 715 Sycamore St. early Wednesday morning for Patriots Day, a remembrance of the terrorists attacks on Sept. 11.
Included are flags of each branch of the military, U.S. flags, a pup tent and a soldier’s cross, a M-16 no longer in firing condition positioned upright with a pair of boots at the bottom and a Boonie hat on top.
“It’s all there to respect veterans, all veterans, not just me” Fink said, saying he is troubled that so few people take time and effort to put out national banners on days when the military and veterans are honored.
In addition to Patriots Day, Fink flies his flags— on staffs held upright by PVC pipe buried in his lawn — on Flag Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day.
The display started small, but has grown as friends and neighbors have become aware of his fervor.
“I’ve had several of the flags given to me, as well as the pup tent,” he said.
A patriot, heart and soul
