Let the good deed be your award and don’t worry about accolades, his father told him.
Wireman, 65, a 1977 Lemon-Monroe High School graduate, has tried to live his life that way.
”Not one of those pat-me-on-the-back kind of guys," is how Wireman described himself.
So when Wireman, who served in the U.S. Army from 1977-81 achieving the rank of sergeant, was selected to serve as grand marshal of Middletown’s Memorial Day Parade, he reluctantly accepted following encouragement from his children.
“There are a lot more deserving people. I honestly believe that,” said Wireman, whose military service included two years with the 8th Infantry in Europe and two years with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell. Ky. “But I’m very humbled and honored.”
As a member of the Middletown Combined Honor Guard for eight years, Wireman has participated in more than 700 funerals and marched in numerous Memorial Day parades.
On Monday morning, during the two-mile stretch from Smith Park to Woodside Cemetery, Wireman was asked to ride in a Corvette, a traditional vehicle for the grand marshal.
He’s more of a Ford truck guy, he told parade organizers.
So Wireman will ride in his truck with his four children, John Wireman, Melissa Wilson, Ashley Riley and Marah Wireman. and three grandchildren, Jaclyn Riley, Ronan Riley and Major Harm.
He knows as the parade route nears Woodside Cemetery and he sees the iron gates and the white crosses in the veterans section, he will become emotional.
“I still get chocked up,” he said Tuesday morning during a phone interview.
He considers Woodside Cemetery, where his parents, Ova and Mary, and his wife, Nina, and hundreds of fallen soldiers, are buried, sacred ground.
Memorial Day is a time to remember those heroes, he said.
“It’s not about hamburgers, hot dogs and picnics,” he said. “It’s about honoring men and women before us.”
He worries about how today’s generation and future generations view American history and its impact.
Some young people don’t believe the Holocaust or the Civil War existed, he said.
He said those people should spend 30 minutes at the Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center and see veterans, some missing legs and arms, sitting in wheelchairs.
“That will catch you up real quick,” he said.
Other casualties aren’t as visible.
Wireman said he was an alcoholic, dependent on his daily beers. Then one day, during a normal physical at the Dayton VA, doctors delivered this sobering news: Keep drinking and you’ll be dead in one year.
He was barely 50 at the time.
His liver looked much older.
He and his father were attending God’s Lighthouse Church in Middletown, when his father, who Wireman called his “hero,” echoed the same sentiment as the doctors.
“My pops never gave up on me,” he said. “I told him I’d stop drinking and I didn’t want to disappoint him.”
That was 11 years ago.
He hasn’t drank since.
“I just quit,” he said. “The light went on.”
During his last check-up at the VA, he was told his liver was in perfect condition.
“God’s hands have guided modern medicine,” said Wireman, who has been medically retired from Lebanon Plastics since 2017.
A licensed chaplain, Wireman often visits veterans. He offers spiritual advice and listens as they share their military experiences.
There are tales and tears.
“Sometimes it just takes one kind word,” he said when asked about his interactions.
On Monday, Memorial Day 2025, it’s all about three words: Freedom isn’t free.
Journal-News Columnist Rick McCrabb writes about local people and events every Sunday. If you have an idea for a story, contact him at rmccrabb1@gmail.com.
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