Sometimes stories weave in and out in surprising ways, and thus tell a story that is even bigger and more beautiful. In fact the definition of a tapestry is “an intricate or complex combination of things or sequence of events.”
This is a tapestry of two West Virginia boys with a love of baseball and WVWC who both went to Normandy: one on D-Day itself, and both who had been to commemorate that event in years to come.
First of all is the interesting story of Franklin Clay “Hank” Ellis.
- Standout athlete at WVWC
- WVWC Class of 1943
- Landed on Utah Beach on D-Day as the Commanding Officer of USS LCT 710
- Masters degree at WVU in 1947
- Member of the U.S. Olympic Basketball Committee (1947-50)
- Coach, Professor, Mentor (1950-1986)
- WVWC Athletic Hall of Fame 1994
- West Virginia Athletic Hall of Fame
- Went back to three D-Day Reunions (20th in 1964; 50th in 1994; and 60th in 2004)
- WVWC Baseball Field was named for him in 1986.
Then comes the story of Matthew J. Kuhn
Matt was on the baseball team coached by Hank Ellis his very first year of coaching, and by his senior year was elected captain of that team.
- (Also) Standout Athlete at WVWC
- Captain of the Baseball team in 1952 (played for Hank Ellis)
- WVWC Class of 1952 – majored in music
- Played in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league organization
- Masters degree in Music from WVU 1954
- Drafted into the U.S. Army, served 1954-56
- Taught music out west 1957-61
- Damascus High School, Damascus, MD 1962-1993
- Twice representing the United States at the 35th and 40th Anniversaries of the World War II Normandy Landings in Europe. In 1979, the Damascus High School band was the only non-military band to be invited to Europe to celebrate the 35th Anniversary
- In 1984, the Damascus High School Band was invited back to Europe to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Normandy Operation, a return trip highlighted by a performance at Normandy with President Ronald Reagan in attendance.
As I was reading about Matt Kuhn, I came across his obituary. He died on February 6, 2020.
Matt is remembered as a highly disciplined, loyal and dedicated teacher, mentor, and leader.
It turns out that “A Celebration of Life event will take place from 12 to 5 p.m. Saturday June 13 at the Damascus American Legion, with a short formal opening ceremony from 12:30 to 1 p.m.
That is how I came to discover this tapestry of two West Virginia boys with a love of baseball and WVWC and who both went to Normandy: one on D-Day itself, and both who had been to commemorate that event in years to come.