Peoples Bank honors Vietnam veteran Jim Gorman as a Hometown Hero
Lead Summary
By
Rory Ryan-hcpress@cinci.rr.com
U.S. Army veteran and Highland County resident Jim Gorman has received the 2017 Hometown Heroes award from Peoples Bank.
Amanda Hall, branch manager of the Hillsboro and New Vienna banks, made the presentation along with members of the Highland County Honor Guard Monday, Jan. 30 at the Hillsboro branch.
According to Hall, Gorman was nominated for the honor by a local veterans organization. The nomination was made on Veterans Day 2016, Hall said.
“The Hometown Heroes award recognizes veterans, service members, police, fire, EMS and teachers,” Hall said.
Gorman is the first Highland County veteran to receive the award.
According to the bank, “To show our appreciation and respect for the sacrifices they make, Peoples Bank has created a banking program for our ‘hometown heroes.’ This exclusive program is designed specifically for active U.S. military service members and veterans, current and retired law enforcement, firefighters, Emergency Medical Technicians and teachers in our communities. This is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to those who give so much for our community. This special program is an add-on to any Peoples Bank personal checking account and is loaded with great benefits and features.”
Gorman, 69, who is retired from the Hillsboro Post Office, served in the U.S. Army Infantry, 1st Cavalry (Airmobile) Division, A Company, from 1969-70. He was severely wounded on March 8, 1969, “on my wife’s birthday,” Gorman said.
“I was in the Air Cav infantry on patrol,” he said. “Another soldier and I were set up at night, and ‘Charlie’ (Vietcong soldiers) started lobbing Claymores at us. He went one way, and I went the other. I got hit from the foot to the neck. He got his backside plastered. They took three body bags out the next morning. We lost three captains in 17 days.”
The 1st Cavalry Division was ordered to Vietnam beginning on July 28, 1965. Known as the “First Team,” it was the only American division to fight in all four corps tactical zones in Vietnam. The bulk of the division began departing Vietnam in late April 1970, but the 3rd Brigade remained until June 1972. The 1st Cavalry was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. First Team soldiers won 25 Medals of Honor, 120 Distinguished Service Crosses, 2,766 Silver Stars, 2,697 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 8,408 Bronze Stars for Valor and many thousands of Purple Hearts.
After being wounded, Gorman said he was flown – with fatigues, a T-shirt and one boot – first to Saigon and then on to Japan. He had multiple surgeries. He was later flown to Korea, and according to Gorman, “that’s where the Army lost me.”
“They actually lost me for two months,” Gorman laughed. “I never even got paid. The paymaster would give us $20 a month, and that was it. There was a breakdown somewhere, so I wrote a letter to Congressman Bill Harsha (of Ohio’s Sixth District at that time) and explained my situation. The next day, the CEO said, ‘I want to see you now.’ When he got done with me, the colonel chewed me out for not following the chain of command – but I got my back pay.
“Then, they lost my shot records from the time I entered the service, and to get home, I had to have all my vaccines again. I’m well-immunized to this day.”
In Vietnam, Gorman was based out of the Bien Hoa military base.
“They flew us into one firefight after another,” Gorman said. “You really didn’t know exactly where you were at any given time. The choppers didn’t even land. They just got close to the ground and you jumped out.”
Gorman said most of the time “We were afraid to close our eyes because you didn’t know if you’d wake up the next morning.”
Gorman saw considerable action for the first three months, until he was injured. Since leaving the military in 1970, he has had numerous operations on his foot and leg related to his service. He still has metal plates and pins in his legs and feet. A recent fall left him with a new rotator cuff injury.
Gorman said he was told he received a “million-dollar wound” in Vietnam, because of former President Nixon’s policy that after one Purple Heart, service members would not be sent back into combat.
According to Highland County Honor Guard Trustee Gerold “Buzzard” Wilkin, who was present for the ceremony, along with Honor Guard members Bill McCarty and Dwight Reynolds, Gorman should not have been drafted for military service as he was the sole surviving son and the lone supporter for his family.
After the death of his father, William Gorman, in 1965, Gorman worked the family farm on Mount Washington Road and also worked night shift at Moore Drop Forge in Hillsboro. After he was drafted, his mother, Margaret Catherine Gorman, went to work for the telephone company to support the family.
• In addition to honoring Gorman, Peoples Bank also presented a $500 check in his name to the Highland County Veterans Honor Guard.
Gorman said he decided to donate to the Highland County Honor Guard because it represents all veterans, and they can use the money to help offset their expenses.
“When the bank called and told me there was a $500 check, and I could do what I wanted with it, I thought of all the veterans’ organizations that might need help,” Gorman said. “The Honor Guard has to fund themselves for all the transportation and related expenses. They can use the money.”
On behalf of the Honor Guard, Wilkin thanked the bank and Gorman for the donation, noting that the Honor Guard does represent every one of the veterans’ organizations.
Gorman is a member of the American Legion, VFW and Disabled American Veterans. He also has been a volunteer driver for Highland County Veterans Services for many years. Last year, he was recognized by the Veterans Administration for more than 1,500 hours of volunteer service.
He jokes that Veterans Service board member Ray Alexander had him drive from Hillsboro to Chillicothe in order to pass his test to become a driver for area veterans. Gorman has transported veterans to (and from) facilities from Cincinnati, to Dayton, to Columbus, Chillicothe and Huntington, W.Va., wherever they needed to go.
As Wilkin pointed out, the drivers also serve as the direct contact person for the families of the veterans they are transporting, so they spend the same amount of time in the hospital as does the veteran receiving medical attention.
Gorman, Wilkin, McCarty and Reynolds all praised the nurses and doctors for their service to the veterans.
Asked about receiving his Hometown Heroes award, Gorman said: “There are a lot of heroes out there. I was just lucky.”
Mostly, though, Gorman was grateful and appreciative to everyone else. He said he lives life trying to do something to help others, and that’s what’s most important.
“I enjoy doing the driving for the veterans, I’ve just been laid up for a while,” he said. “I enjoy our conversations on the road.”
Gorman also talked about the Jim and Linda Gorman Century Farm and his love of toy tractors and trucks.
He is a founding member of the Southwestern Ohio Farm Toy Collectors Club, which is celebrating its 31st year this summer. The club offers traveling displays to veterans homes, libraries, county fairs, historical societies and other organizations.
Gorman, Don Kelley, Charlie Walker, Jim Walker and Randy Minzler founded the club in 1986.
For much of his life, Gorman has collected and restored antique tractors and farm machinery. He also builds miniature (to scale) farm toys and agriculture equipment. He has won numerous trophies and awards in national competitions, including the National Farm Toy Show in Dyersville, Iowa and the Gateway Toy Show in St. Louis, Mo.
Many of his farm machinery collectibles are based on his farm, including a barn diorama entitled Precious Memories.
“It’s just something to help people,” Gorman said. “We’re not in it for money. We have a roof over our heads. I consider myself lucky. If you don’t laugh and enjoy life, you’re in trouble.”
For a video of Jim Gorman at the 2014 National Farm Toy Show, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYZPl2adm_E.
For more on Peoples Bank, go to http://peoplesbankheroes.com/.
Amanda Hall, branch manager of the Hillsboro and New Vienna banks, made the presentation along with members of the Highland County Honor Guard Monday, Jan. 30 at the Hillsboro branch.
According to Hall, Gorman was nominated for the honor by a local veterans organization. The nomination was made on Veterans Day 2016, Hall said.
“The Hometown Heroes award recognizes veterans, service members, police, fire, EMS and teachers,” Hall said.
Gorman is the first Highland County veteran to receive the award.
According to the bank, “To show our appreciation and respect for the sacrifices they make, Peoples Bank has created a banking program for our ‘hometown heroes.’ This exclusive program is designed specifically for active U.S. military service members and veterans, current and retired law enforcement, firefighters, Emergency Medical Technicians and teachers in our communities. This is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to those who give so much for our community. This special program is an add-on to any Peoples Bank personal checking account and is loaded with great benefits and features.”
Gorman, 69, who is retired from the Hillsboro Post Office, served in the U.S. Army Infantry, 1st Cavalry (Airmobile) Division, A Company, from 1969-70. He was severely wounded on March 8, 1969, “on my wife’s birthday,” Gorman said.
“I was in the Air Cav infantry on patrol,” he said. “Another soldier and I were set up at night, and ‘Charlie’ (Vietcong soldiers) started lobbing Claymores at us. He went one way, and I went the other. I got hit from the foot to the neck. He got his backside plastered. They took three body bags out the next morning. We lost three captains in 17 days.”
The 1st Cavalry Division was ordered to Vietnam beginning on July 28, 1965. Known as the “First Team,” it was the only American division to fight in all four corps tactical zones in Vietnam. The bulk of the division began departing Vietnam in late April 1970, but the 3rd Brigade remained until June 1972. The 1st Cavalry was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. First Team soldiers won 25 Medals of Honor, 120 Distinguished Service Crosses, 2,766 Silver Stars, 2,697 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 8,408 Bronze Stars for Valor and many thousands of Purple Hearts.
After being wounded, Gorman said he was flown – with fatigues, a T-shirt and one boot – first to Saigon and then on to Japan. He had multiple surgeries. He was later flown to Korea, and according to Gorman, “that’s where the Army lost me.”
“They actually lost me for two months,” Gorman laughed. “I never even got paid. The paymaster would give us $20 a month, and that was it. There was a breakdown somewhere, so I wrote a letter to Congressman Bill Harsha (of Ohio’s Sixth District at that time) and explained my situation. The next day, the CEO said, ‘I want to see you now.’ When he got done with me, the colonel chewed me out for not following the chain of command – but I got my back pay.
“Then, they lost my shot records from the time I entered the service, and to get home, I had to have all my vaccines again. I’m well-immunized to this day.”
In Vietnam, Gorman was based out of the Bien Hoa military base.
“They flew us into one firefight after another,” Gorman said. “You really didn’t know exactly where you were at any given time. The choppers didn’t even land. They just got close to the ground and you jumped out.”
Gorman said most of the time “We were afraid to close our eyes because you didn’t know if you’d wake up the next morning.”
Gorman saw considerable action for the first three months, until he was injured. Since leaving the military in 1970, he has had numerous operations on his foot and leg related to his service. He still has metal plates and pins in his legs and feet. A recent fall left him with a new rotator cuff injury.
Gorman said he was told he received a “million-dollar wound” in Vietnam, because of former President Nixon’s policy that after one Purple Heart, service members would not be sent back into combat.
According to Highland County Honor Guard Trustee Gerold “Buzzard” Wilkin, who was present for the ceremony, along with Honor Guard members Bill McCarty and Dwight Reynolds, Gorman should not have been drafted for military service as he was the sole surviving son and the lone supporter for his family.
After the death of his father, William Gorman, in 1965, Gorman worked the family farm on Mount Washington Road and also worked night shift at Moore Drop Forge in Hillsboro. After he was drafted, his mother, Margaret Catherine Gorman, went to work for the telephone company to support the family.
• In addition to honoring Gorman, Peoples Bank also presented a $500 check in his name to the Highland County Veterans Honor Guard.
Gorman said he decided to donate to the Highland County Honor Guard because it represents all veterans, and they can use the money to help offset their expenses.
“When the bank called and told me there was a $500 check, and I could do what I wanted with it, I thought of all the veterans’ organizations that might need help,” Gorman said. “The Honor Guard has to fund themselves for all the transportation and related expenses. They can use the money.”
On behalf of the Honor Guard, Wilkin thanked the bank and Gorman for the donation, noting that the Honor Guard does represent every one of the veterans’ organizations.
Gorman is a member of the American Legion, VFW and Disabled American Veterans. He also has been a volunteer driver for Highland County Veterans Services for many years. Last year, he was recognized by the Veterans Administration for more than 1,500 hours of volunteer service.
He jokes that Veterans Service board member Ray Alexander had him drive from Hillsboro to Chillicothe in order to pass his test to become a driver for area veterans. Gorman has transported veterans to (and from) facilities from Cincinnati, to Dayton, to Columbus, Chillicothe and Huntington, W.Va., wherever they needed to go.
As Wilkin pointed out, the drivers also serve as the direct contact person for the families of the veterans they are transporting, so they spend the same amount of time in the hospital as does the veteran receiving medical attention.
Gorman, Wilkin, McCarty and Reynolds all praised the nurses and doctors for their service to the veterans.
Asked about receiving his Hometown Heroes award, Gorman said: “There are a lot of heroes out there. I was just lucky.”
Mostly, though, Gorman was grateful and appreciative to everyone else. He said he lives life trying to do something to help others, and that’s what’s most important.
“I enjoy doing the driving for the veterans, I’ve just been laid up for a while,” he said. “I enjoy our conversations on the road.”
Gorman also talked about the Jim and Linda Gorman Century Farm and his love of toy tractors and trucks.
He is a founding member of the Southwestern Ohio Farm Toy Collectors Club, which is celebrating its 31st year this summer. The club offers traveling displays to veterans homes, libraries, county fairs, historical societies and other organizations.
Gorman, Don Kelley, Charlie Walker, Jim Walker and Randy Minzler founded the club in 1986.
For much of his life, Gorman has collected and restored antique tractors and farm machinery. He also builds miniature (to scale) farm toys and agriculture equipment. He has won numerous trophies and awards in national competitions, including the National Farm Toy Show in Dyersville, Iowa and the Gateway Toy Show in St. Louis, Mo.
Many of his farm machinery collectibles are based on his farm, including a barn diorama entitled Precious Memories.
“It’s just something to help people,” Gorman said. “We’re not in it for money. We have a roof over our heads. I consider myself lucky. If you don’t laugh and enjoy life, you’re in trouble.”
For a video of Jim Gorman at the 2014 National Farm Toy Show, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYZPl2adm_E.
For more on Peoples Bank, go to http://peoplesbankheroes.com/.