GALION — Veterans Dennis Easterday and Don Rinehart took a lot of pride in Galion’s football game on Friday night at a damp Heise Park.
The duo were asked to raise the flag as the Tigers’ marching band played the national anthem, before Friday night’s 40-12 loss to Marion Harding.
The game was subtext in the grand scheme of what these two veterans have seen. Rinehart started his military service in Korea in 1953.
“Just after they had signed the treaty. They knew I was coming. That’s the reason they signed the treaty,” Rinehart joked.
He then was stationed in Hawaii for four months.
Easterday too began his military career in Korea, but in 1965. After “Keeping the peace” over seas, he worked in Arizona in the Signal Corps.
“I was very proud to serve,” he said.
Both men belong to the Scarborough Legion Post 243 in Galion.
“We were glad to welcome all the people. We had male and female veterans,” Easterday said. “It’s nice for us to be recognized — that we did something for our country.
“We are still on the forefront of people’s mind; we’re not forgotten.”
Easterday said he remembers too well returning from his deployment, in the midst of the Vietnam War.
“I came back and actually experienced a lady stepping out of line at the airport and spit on me because at that time people did not like the war and anything going on with the United States.”
Today it’s different.
Veterans from both stands were asked to stand at attention for the flag and be recognized. The crowd applauded as the Galion band began to play and the veteran men and women sang along.
“It’s finally gotten to the point where they are welcoming Vietnam veterans back, and I really appreciate that,” Easterday said.
The game itself was tight for a half.
Marion Harding and the Tigers were tied at 12-12, but the Presidents controlled the second half.
Galion quarterback Chase Cooke fired a 43-yard pass to receiver Elias Middleton for a Tigers highlight. But Harding tied the game just 30 seconds before intermission, and that seemed to sap the home team’s momentum.
“Our coach (Matt Dick) wanted us to come out strong and get momentum,” Cooke said. “We were doing really good. At halftime, our team thought we had honestly already won.
“I don’t know, we had a lot of missed tackles. We have to improve this week.”
Harding’s Titus Douglas blew through the defensive line for multiple bursts of 15 and 20 yards. He scored the Presidents’ fifth consecutive TD to put the game away.
“It seemed like they replaced their (defensive backs). They got rid of the slants, they started blitzing a lot more,” Cooke said. “We couldn’t keep up.”
Despite the final score, Dick said he was excited for how his team played the first two quarters.
“Pretty exciting to go into the next half up there fired up. We just couldn’t keep up,” the coach said. “The holes got a little bit bigger, and he just bounced right through them. Their athletic ability took over.”
