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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
August 30, 2012     Shelton Mason County Journal
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August 30, 2012
 
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Grant Wolfkill, left, and his wife Barbara listen as his friends and family tell stories about the life they have shared with him since his release 50 years ago from a communist Pathet LaD prison in LaDs in 1962. Journa ohoto by Natalie Jonnson Freedom Continued from page A-1 to be Alive," in 1964. In the book, he describes an initial week-long hike through Laotian jungles to get from the crash site to the first of several prisons. Recently recovered from a bout of pneumonia, Wolfkill was weak and credits his survival through that first experience to Shore and Mc- Morrow. On that trip, poorly made boots caused extensive dam- age to Wolfkill's feet, which bothered him through much of his imprisonment. While being held in makeshift prison cells, with doors nailed and tied shut with ropes, the men were fed starvation rations of cold and fly-covered rice, and constantly battled the risk of infections, dysentery and other illnesses. At the prison where they spent the most time, the men went through a long pe- riod of time confined by their legs to stocks built into the cell floor each night. While in prison, the men added one prisoner to their ranks - Sgt. Robert Balleng- er, the only one of the prds- oners who was not a civilian. After 15 months for Wolfkill, Shore and Mc- Morrow, and several more months for Ballenger, the four were released on Aug. 17. 1962. President John F. Ken- nedy awared Wolfkill the Medal of Freedom on Oct. 9, 1962. in recognition of his fellow prisoners' testimony that Wolfkill's leadership kept them alive through their captivity. The Medal of Freedom is one of the highest honors available to civilians. Fifty years after his re- lease almost to the day, his friends and family threw a party on Aug. 18 to celebrate Wolfkill's release and years of freedom at his home in Mason County. "It's a friendly community and everybody pitched in," said Tim Carroll, a neigh- bor and family friend of the Wolikill's. Xinh Dwelley of Xinh's Clam and Oyster House ca- tered the event. Four ma- rines showed up to honor Wolfkill for his accomplish- ments. The event was supposed to be a complete surprise, but Woltkill said his wife Barbara was unable to keep it to herself and told him early on. Located on Hwy. 101 between Shelton & Olympia 360.426o47 3 Call For Details and Pricing to Other Areas www.kennedyr:reekq~ar~°, c~m ~'~ "The only one in my fam- ily who can keep a secret is me," he said. However. Wolfkill said the scale of the event was still a welcome surprise. The party was full of fun- ny stories and laughs, but also strong emotions from Wolfkill's family and chil- dren, born after he was re- leased. "What I learned to un- derstand is I grew up with extraordinary parents." said Wolfkill's daughter, Kiki. "I feel so fortunate because it gave me a confidance that I got because of what they had experienced." Woltkill spent time early in the afternoon telling the marines about his experi- ences as a marine in the Pa- cific theater of World War II. He credits his experience and,training as a marine with his survivial in the Pathet Lao prison. Although he now lives full-time in Mason Coun- W, about five years ago, Wolfldll traveled back to Laos with long-time friend Dennis Fill to try to find the prison where he spent so much time. Fill told a story about their trip at the party. "We drove probably 200 miles toward the Vietnam- I MON-FRI 7:30-4:3 ese border, which was where the prison was," he said. They found a village in approximately the right spot, and started wander- ing around asking questions about the old prison. It didn't take long for local police to arrive and detain them. They went to the police station and were asked to pay a small fine, then were set free. Fill and Wolfkill left the area and at a hotel that night, asked about the pris- on again and explained their earlier arrest. The man told them that after Wolfldll was released, B-52 bombers destroyed the prison, and a police station was built in its place -- the same police station that Fill and Wolfkill sat in that very day. After he was released and returned back to his normal life. NBC offered him jobs in Chicago, New York and Tokyo, but Woltkill refused them all, opting instead to continue reporting the news in Southeast Asia. "I enjoyed the life I was leading, but for the little in- terruptions," he said. "I had a home in Hong Kong and that's where I wanted to be." SWAT responds to call STAFF REPORT pr(a~nasoncounty.corn The Mason County Multi-Jurisdictional Spe- cial Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT), responded to a domestic violence call near Belfair on Aug. 21. At 9:30 a.m on Aug. 21, 37-year-old Jennifer A. Mounts called 911 from the 100 block of Northeast Tiger Cove Lane to report that her live-in boyfriend, Wayne F. Schlieker, 52, had assaulted her, then shot at her with a firearm when she attempt- ed to leave the area. Mason County Sher- iffs deputies arrived to find her rtmning down the street. They took her to a safe location, where Mason County Fire Dis- trict 2 medics treated her for bruises. Mounts did not have any gunshot wounds. The SWAT team re- sponded and closed the area of Northeast Tiger Mission Road and Ta- huya-Blacksmith Road while deputies and K-9 units conducted a man- hunt for Schlieker. SWAT members served a search warrant and found the suspect, who was hiding m a motor home on Tiger Lake beachfront property. Schlieker was taken into custody without further incident and transported to the Ma- son County Jail in Shel- ton. Schlieker also had a Washington State De- partment of Corrections Secretary's Warrant. Once Schlieker was apprehended, the area was opened up for all res- idents to return to their homes. Detectives inves- tigating the scene found firearms and ammunition on the property. County Continued from page A-1 removed. The county held a public hearing to discuss budget reduction on April 14, 2009. "Ttmaing to the em- said. "There were a lot of things there that we never discussed." The PERC board ruled that the county had to ratify the original con- tract. The county appealed the PERC decision to ployer's argument that Thurston County Supe- it was not aware of the rior Court. On July 11, magnitt~le of the im- pending financial crisis during bargaining, this argument is not sup- ported by the record," the decision states. "Com- missioner Lynda Ring Erickson testified that Martin kept the board of county commissioners in- formed about the state of negotiations." Ring Erickson told the Journal that there were parts of the agreement that the board of commis- sioners was not aware of until the last minute. 'Tee didn't see ~n actual copy of the con- tract until the night be- fore the meeting," she Judge Lisa L. Sutton gave her oral opinion on the appeal. "I am finding that there is substantial evi- dence to support PERC's findings here," she said. "l]ae order simply re- quires the employer {Mason County) to stand by the terms and condi- tions of employment that were negotiated with the Union already." Ring Erickson said the board of commissioners is working with the Team- sters during executive ses- sions to come to an agree- ment over a contract. "I'd like to see it get re- solved," she said. 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Gig Harbor, Centralia. a Page A-8 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012