Wars seem to surround us today, but this has been the case since the founding of our country and our industry. While we are troubled by today’s calamities, we should stop and reflect on those who have fought these wars, especially on this coming Veterans Day, November 11.
Take the case of Cal Jureit, founder of Gang-Nail, who was born at the end of World War I, and during our nation’s worst pandemic, which killed, on a percentage basis, about twice as many Americans as Covid. Jureit, the son of bakers, chose to interrupt his education and join the Navy’s Seabees, spending two years in a construction unit in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He had to be inspired by his unit’s motto, “We Build. We Fight. Can Do!”, which is he what he did for our industry after his war service and after he finished his engineering education at Georgia Tech. Just as Jim Adams did, founder of J.D. Adams, who flew 50 missions, serving during most of that war. As did Bob Mort, founder of Interlock Steel, who served with an American unit alongside the Australian Infantry. These men literally dodged bullets, so starting a business couldn’t have been as stressful as their wartime experiences.
Soon after these heroes came home, another group of Americans left for the Korean conflict, including the colorful Charlie Vaccaro, later of Alpine, who received 2 bronze stars and the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB). This Badge is a particularly noteworthy distinction, indicating that Vaccaro led a unit in combat in this brutal conflict. Surely, he was shaped by this tough tour, and took the motto of the Seventh Infantry Division to heart, “Trust in Me,” as attested by John Herring, who founded and still runs A-1 Roof Trusses, and so many others.
Then there came the most divisive war in our history in Vietnam, that took 58,220 American lives, and had to influence all of us in the truss industry. Yet so fleeting is this memory that we need to make a conscious effort to recall it and remember its impact on so many lives. Of the almost three million men and women who served during this period, unfortunately I can only cite a few who have touched this industry and me. Dick Marriot, former President of MiTek and Navy Pilot, landed at 150 mph on the pitching deck of an aircraft carrier. Wayne Stouffer, long-time truss designer and technical rep, experienced the trauma of the Tet Offensive and was “scared every day.” The father of Marc James, MiTek VP, was a helicopter pilot who lived through one of the highest mortality jobs during that war. And so many others served their country during this period, including former MiTek CEOs Gene Toombs and Tom Manenti.
Fortunately, our industry recognizes our veterans in an incredibly wonderful way via Operation Finally Home. The dues we pay to SBCA and our local chapters have made possible several donations of brand new, mortgage-free homes to wounded warriors. And what a moving site it was to see one of these in Culpeper, Virginia, in 2020, due to the dogged determination of the local chapter president (and future SBCA President) Gene Frogale. This, I believe, is the best thing our industry does, and hopefully will keep doing.