Ottawa ? Two uncles were killed in World War II. A third died during the Korean War. A cousin fell fighting in Vietnam. Her son fought in the first Gulf War and two of her grandsons are in the Marines.

One could say Sherry Wright’s family has a tradition of military service.

The names of her four relatives killed at war are engraved in the wall of the Franklin County Veterans Memorial in downtown Ottawa.

“That wall has healed our family and become something we can communicate and pass on to our children and our grandchildren,” said Wright, 56.

Her family’s sacrifices inspired Wright to join with Harvey Nicholson 10 years ago to take the initial steps to get the veterans memorial built. The memorial was completed in 1999.

In addition to the uncles and cousin killed in combat, Wright’s grandfather, John Ball, was an Army veteran of World War I. Her son, Darik Schmoe, was with the Marines in Iraq during 1991’s Desert Storm.

Two grandsons are now Marines. Sgt. Buck Bradley recently returned from Haiti after having served in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Middle East. Lance Cpl. Levi Bradley is to be deployed to Iraq in the fall.

Parades and rallies

In 2001, Wright and Nicholson organized the Ottawa Veterans Day parade. She still serves on the parade committee. The event, which had just five entries in 1993, has since grown to include as many as 140 entries, making it possibly the biggest Veterans Day parade in Kansas. Other Veterans Day activities have been added, including battle re-enactments, food and crafts booths, and military vehicle displays at Forest Park.

Sherry Wright's family is full of veterans from every major conflict from World War I to the Gulf War. She also has grandsons who are currently in the Marines.

In April 2003, shortly after the United States went to war in Iraq, Wright, with help from her husband, Larry, organized a “support the troops” rally and parade in Ottawa.

Several members of Larry Wright’s family also are serving or are veterans. A second rally earlier this month included a special tribute to area soldiers and Marines who had been killed in Iraq.

“Larry and I feel we need to do all we can to keep the morale of the troops up as well as their families,” Sherry Wright said. “If it (war) is still going on there will be another rally next summer.”

Nicholson noted that Wright worked on getting the memorial even while she was battling ovarian cancer. Wright survived the cancer after doctors at one point had given her about a month to live.

“She’s always had the drive to honor the veterans,” Nicholson said. “She’s very proud to be an American and very proud of what her family has done.”

Wright was born June 14, which is Flag Day. She has earned her own special recognition from some groups such as the Wellsville American Legion Post 194, which gave her an appreciation certificate. She and her husband also have received plaques for the troop support rallies.

Hard on family

When Wright was a child, she saw the photographs of her dad, Marshall Ball Sr., and his three brothers, Roy, Aubrey and Duane. The pictures were on a wall, showing them in military uniforms. She also knew that two of her uncles had been killed during war.

“My dad’s story was right out of ‘Saving Private Ryan,'” Wright said of the Academy Award-winning movie from 1998. “When I saw that movie, I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh! This is what my family went through.'”

Duane Ball later entered the Air Force and was killed during the Korean War. But little was said by family members about what happened to the other Ball brothers. Her dad never talked about the war until years later.

“It just knocked everything out of him,” Wright said. “He felt guilty because he was going back home when others still had to stay and fight. He felt like he should have to stay there.”

Holiday closings announced American soldiers killed during the invasion of Iraq

Marshall Ball, now 80, said there came a time when he decided he needed to tell his family about the war.

“It was hard, but it just seemed like it was time to let it all out,” he said.

Keeping positive

In 1968 Wright’s cousin, Marine E-2 Gary Hendrickson, was killed in Vietnam.

“I was very close to my cousin,” Wright said. “I still get very upset about how the Vietnam veterans were treated and what people said about them.”

Wright worries that the same thing might happen again because of growing disenchantment over the Iraq war.

“I’ll do anything to stop that,” she said. “It’s already hurting the boys over there. My pledge is that as long as I’m breathing, if there is anything I can do to help show support for our troops and their families; and try to keep a positive image on the situation, then I’m going to do it.”