August 30, 2012 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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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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Page A-8 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012