Davis: WWII vet's death puts life, work into perspective
This letter, which brought tears to the eyes of staff writer Jessica Cilella, could not explain better why so many of us do what we do in this business. Here are some key excerpts:
Hi Jessica,
You may not remember me but you wrote a beautiful story about my father on September 14, 2014, regarding his World War II Honor Flight. My family and I thought it was important to let you know that our Dad passed away last Friday morning from complications from hip surgery. He had been operated on successfully, and afterward was in therapy doing well for about 1½ weeks when he started to lose his strength.
We will never forget your smile, patience, and kindness toward our Dad during your interview. He really opened up to you, and we learned so much more thanks to you. He truly liked the "interview experience" as he would call it, and I think we all recognized that during the interview. Your printed story gave him a thousand yard smile that rarely ceased. Somehow you had found a key to have him share his experiences, and we will forever be grateful to you.
Thank you again for your attention to our Dad.
Sincerely,
Charles, Becky, Mark, and Keith Lutz
The story that meant so much to the late George Lutz also tells you a lot about the family that would take the time to tell a reporter they'd met once of their father's passing. One especially poignant detail in last year's story was the effort Charles made to ensure his dad got plenty of cards and letters in a surprise "mail call" for the veterans on the return flight home from Washington, D.C. The Honor Flight Network, which provides free one-day trips to veterans to see the memorials of their branches of service, also coordinates the mail call. Its members told Charles the honored veteran typically gets up to 500 pieces of surprise mail.
That was a bit of a concern. George never joined any service groups, didn't belong to a church and most of his friends were gone. So Charles asked Matt Biscan, principal of his daughter's alma mater, Wheaton North High School, if he could ask a few students to write to George. And, just to cover the bases, Charles also contacted a few schools in Lincolnshire, Winfield and Wheaton, plus a Cub Scout troop and contacts in Palos Hills, where George worked as public works director before retiring at age 85.
The result was more than 2,000 pieces of correspondence.
Mostly from young strangers, the mail included crayon drawings of American flags, neatly typed notes, cards covered in patriotic stickers and pencil-written thank-yous.
They were, Charles said at the time, "just the warmest, most beautiful letters you could ever imagine. Not just from the young kids, but from the high school kids - telling my father what their dreams are, what they want to be after high school. They shared a bit of their lives with him."
So maybe it was only natural that George shared a part of a previously untold portion of his life with Jessica, whose beat includes Wheaton. And, yes, Jessica takes pride in that story. But its lasting impact and the Lutz family's thoughtfulness is what brought her to tears.
Of course, she was sad to hear of George's death, but she also notes, "I was so happy I was able to tell another World War II veteran's story before he passed. I love my job because of experiences like this!!"
See what I mean? What's not to love about this business?
jdavis@dailyherald.com