Tony Young Leaves No Stone Unturned

Jim Williams. Robert Palmer. Edward Courtney. These names appear along with 87 others at Vero Beach’s Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary; but precious little is known about the men behind the names. They were among the original 56 fallen servicemen honored when the sanctuary was dedicated in 1964, after local residents contributed the names of relatives who had given their lives in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.

It was a community effort spearheaded by World War I veteran and Vero Beach mayor Alex MacWilliam Sr. and continued through the Vietnam era.

But it was not until 2003 that a committee was formed to set Memorial Island apart from the regular business of the City of Vero Beach and formalize the process of adding monuments and individual cenotaphs to the sanctuary.

Thus, when retired Army Colonel Anthony W. “Tony” Young, himself a combat veteran, began to untangle the details of the lives behind the sanctuary’s names, not much documentation was available.

Young had retired in 2006 after more than 30 years of service, including stints in the Gulf War, Bosnia, and Iraq; his duties had included flying medical evacuation helicopters and overseeing the deployment of medical personnel and supplies. With a family heritage of community involvement—his grandfather and namesake was Vero’s first mayor and was instrumental in the formation of Indian River County—and with friends on the Memorial Island committee, it was only natural that he would tackle the task of elucidating the histories of our fallen heroes.

In 2010, Young approached the Indian River Genealogical Society, of which he was then president, and the work began in earnest. With the IRGS, he had access to important resources and even some volunteers to help with the early research.

He scoured the internet, library archive sources, military documents, unit journals, and any other records he could get his hands on. It was “a stew of different sources,” he says, and, in keeping with that metaphor, one could say he devoured it.

Over the years, Young has compiled a fairly thorough database of the 90 names now commemorated on the island. Here we can give only a small sampling of what he has learned.

Albert O. Helseth Jr., a member of a pioneer Vero family, was a captain in the U.S. Army, serving in Germany with the 935th Field Artillery Battalion. He died in August 1945 when an ammunition dump exploded. He is interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

James D. Tew Jr., a 28-year-old Vero Beach native with a degree from Harvard, was a great-nephew of B.F. Goodrich. His parents, James Sr. and Elinor, were early Riomar residents, and James Sr. played a major role in the establishment of the Vero Beach Airport. James Jr., a pilot with the Royal Air Force, died in aerial combat over Malta.

Sadly, some surnames appear twice on Memorial Island. For example, James E.
and James P. Loudermilk were half-brothers, born 22 years apart to their widowed-and-remarried father, James P. Loudermilk Sr. James P. Jr. served in the U.S. Marine Corps and died at Iwo Jima in 1945. In 1967, James E. was killed in action in Vietnam, following in the boot-prints of the elder brother he never knew, giving his life for his country on foreign soil at the age of 20.

Robert Harlock, 22, and his brother Charles, 20, were both serving overseas in the U.S. Navy in 1943 when brother Arthur graduated from Vero Beach High School and enlisted. In August, Charles, an armed guardsman on Allied merchant vessels, was killed by a vehicle while on duty in the U.K. between voyages. Just two months later, the USS Dorado disappeared under circumstances unknown to this day, with Robert aboard. In deference to the family’s double loss, young Arthur was reassigned to Naval Air Station Vero Beach.

Young is moved by the impact of his research. Knowing and honoring the fallen inspires pride and offers closure not only to relatives but to their fellow veterans, particularly those of the Vietnam era, who often met with appalling treatment upon arriving home. Some who returned were able to provide valuable information on the fates of other locals they served with who did not come home. Young points out that people like Harvey Arnold, the sole survivor among five young men from Vero Beach High School’s class of 1966 who fought in Vietnam, helped change the mindset of the nation toward veterans, acting as a reminder that, even when the war is lost, their service is not in vain.

“The positive that has come from this work is engaging the families—being able to walk up to a person and say, ‘Your loved one died protecting others and serving our country.’”

When asked if he experiences a surge of joy upon solving a puzzle related to one of the names, Young does not pause: “Oh, heck yeah!” By way of example, he adds, “One that was incredible was Lee—I was just looking through squadron photos and saw his name.” Second Lieutenant Thomas J.B. Lee was a Fellsmere resident serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces. As a member of the 109th Squadron, 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, the 20-year-old made the ultimate sacrifice while flying a P-51 Mustang in March 1945; he is buried at Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola.

The Lee case was not the only time pure happenstance helped solve a mystery. One day, Young was having some painting done in his McAnsh park home, and with military memorabilia about, it is not surprising that the conversation turned to Memorial Island. As it turned out, the painter was acquainted with the family of Joel Keen, one of those for whom Young was lacking information. The painter put Young in touch with some relatives of the World War II flyer, and the database became a little fuller.

“The search is never over,” Young says. “Reviewing the records that are becoming more available, we get greater detail.”

Young puts forth Fred Coleman as an example of “the multitude of sources woven together over the years.” As early as 2011, Young knew that Coleman was listed in the U.S. Rosters of World War II Dead, but he had to be sure he had the right Fred Coleman. Using online obituaries and census records, he was able to confirm the Coleman family in question. Then, consulting Army enlistment records, World War II hospital admission records, and documentation from the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Belgium, he put together the story of a heroic young technical sergeant who stormed Normandy, crossed Belgium into Germany, and was fatally wounded by artillery. He was decorated with a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart.

In 2024, our community saw a powerful example of the progress that can be made, even after many decades. In 1942, Private Robert L.A. Hurst, a 21-year-old local man, was among the American and Filipino troops defending the Philippines—troops who were forced to surrender and then endure the Bataan Death March and brutal captivity in a Japanese POW camp. Hurst died that July and was initially buried in a common grave.

After the war, Hurst and many others were reinterred as unknowns at the Manila American Cemetery. But that was not the end of the story; by 2018, with advances in DNA technology, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency was able to put together the dental, anthropological, and genetic evidence (DNA had been collected from three local relatives). Hurst was officially declared “accounted for” in July 2023. His remains were brought home to Indian River County, welcomed by relatives and grateful citizens, and interred at Winter Beach Cemetery with full military honors.

One lingering mystery concerns Edward Courtney. Young has reason to believe he was among the POWs interned at Stalag IV B in Germany, but additional details have proved elusive.

Robert E. Palmer presents another enigma. Young believes he was an Army private who served in Korea, but he has no date of birth, no information on the unit he served in, and no date or circumstances of his death.

The greatest Memorial Island mystery of all is Jim Williams. All we know is that he served in either World War II or Korea, but with such a common name, pinning down his story is virtually impossible. Making the situation even more curious, Young notes, is the fact that his cenotaph is one that occasionally has items such as flowers left on it.

Young urges anyone connected to this fallen service member to contact him.

In fact, he is always looking to bolster the Memorial Island archive, so he welcomes any facts relatives might wish to provide (awyoung76@att.net).

Referring to Memorial Island, the City of Vero Beach website says, “It has been said that this is one of the most beautiful Veteran Sanctuaries in the Country.”

Indeed, it is unlike any of our other city or county parks, and Young is eager to gently educate people about that fact. We don’t hold picnics there; we don’t skateboard or ride bicycles there; we don’t kick soccer balls there. We walk or sit quietly, reflecting upon the sacrifices made by the members of our armed forces and their families.

As Tony Young puts it, “This is like our Arlington.”