During its Veterans Day observations Monday, the Cathedral of the Pines marked the occasion with the traditional presentation of colors, honor guard and gun salute. This year, however, the ceremony had extra significance, as the Cathedral accepted the donation of a Purple Heart medal, which will be added to its collection of military artifacts housed in the Peter J. Booras Museum.
Mark Wisan of Peterborough donated the medal, which belonged to his uncle, Private Milton Wisan, and was awarded to him for injuries sustained during a campaign in North Africa during World War II.
The Purple Heart, when it was originally created, was given for great valor in combat. However, when it was revived after World War I, its meaning was changed and it is now given to any member of the armed forces who are wounded or killed while serving.
Milton Wisan joined the war in October of 1941, months before Pearl Harbor. He wasn’t alone, with his brothers enlisting as well.
The fight was personal for the Wisan family. Milton’s mother, Lena Wisan, had come to the United States as a young child, when her family was fleeing Lithuania, which was under Russian control at the time, to escape the pogrom – the killing of Jewish people by the Cossacks.
In 1941, the entire Jewish population of Lena’s village was eliminated under Adolf Hitler, along with an estimated 91 to 95 percent of Lithuania’s Jewish population, the highest casualty rate of Jews in any nation.
Hitler referred to the United States as a “mongrel nation.” Wisan said that sentiment “disrespected” the core values of the American people.
“We were being disrespected for what we are, and what makes us great as a country,” Wisan said. “And, well, they say mongrel dogs are the nicest and the healthiest anyway.”
While the United States is often referred to as the world’s melting pot, Wisan said he preferred the metaphor that it was a “stew” – with different cultures containing their individual characteristics and flavors, but still contributing to the whole, and working together to create a single dish.
Milton Wisan was 29 when his contingent landed on a beach in North Africa. He was a gunner in one of the army’s Sherman tanks.
Milton later told his family that he remembers seeing a German tank in his gun sight and taking aim. But he never got to take the shot, as his tank was hit by an explosive – likely shot from another, unseen German tank – and shattered.
Milton survived, but at first, no one knew it. He was left for dead by the first sweep of medics, and he was not recovered until American troops came to claim the bodies of the dead. He was shipped to a hospital in England, but his dog tags were either damaged or lost, and he was unable to speak.
His family in New York was informed that Milton was missing in action. It was a status that would linger for more than a year before they learned he was alive.
“My uncle used to say his mother was the real casualty of that situation. She lost a lot of her energy, and she never really recovered from it,” Wisan said.
Milton was eventually able to return home to New York. While sailing back, he was guarding Nazi soldiers, and told Wisan of the satisfaction he felt when they saw the skyline of New York, intact and undamaged, despite the Nazi propaganda of the time claiming the city had been destroyed.
After the war, Milton became a police sergeant and worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Wisan said he’s been the caretaker of his uncle’s medal, but felt it should be in a place of honor, where his family – scattered across the country – and the public can view it and hear his uncle’s story. He approached the Cathedral of the Pines several months ago about donating the medal to the Peter J. Booras Museum, which is located in the Cathedral’s Hilltop House and is available to the public during the Cathedral’s open hours.
Wisan said he’s going to continue to research his uncle’s military history, including the exact location of the beach in North Africa where he was injured, to accompany the display.
“It’s an honor and a privilege,” Cathedral of the Pines Executive Director Patricia Vargas said following Monday’s Veterans Day observances, where she accepted the medal from Wisan. “It will be displayed as a symbol of one of the greatest sacrifices our veterans give for our freedoms.”
The Cathedral of the Pines was founded by Sibyl and Douglas Sloane III, originally intended to be property for homes for their four children. During World War II, two of the Sloanes’ children, John “Jack” Sloane and Sanderson “Sandy” Sloane enlisted in the Army Air Corps. Sandy was killed when his plane was shot down over Germany in 1944, and the couple held a memorial service on the land in the place that was originally intended for Sandy to build his home.
Vargas said the families of veterans often choose to hold memorial services at Cathedral of the Pines, or to have remains interred in the cemetery on the grounds.
“It’s an honor to be there for those families, and to speak with them,” Vargas said.
The public can view Milton Wisan’s medal and other artifacts at the Peter J. Booras Museum during the Cathedral of the Pines open hours during the months of May through October.
For more information about the museum or the Cathedral of the Pines, visit www.cathedralofthepines.org.