Greensburg, Southwest Greensburg honor 'the very, very best of our community' with banners

Cindy Anderson can only imagine what it was like for her mother to watch three of her sons leave at the same time to serve in the military during World War II.

“The three oldest all went off to war at the same time,” said Anderson, of Greensburg, “which is a scary thing to think about.”

Anderson and her brother spent their childhood years on four Air Force bases — in South Dakota, Virginia, California and Japan — as their father, Frank Palmer, served a 20-year career in the Army Air Corps.

“The war veterans didn’t really tell us too many of their stories,” Anderson said, “because I think it was so traumatic. They were so young serving and carried that with them all their lives — what they saw.”

That’s why Anderson and her family decided to honor her father and two of his brothers, James and Ralph Palmer, with Hometown Hero banners, which will be displayed for a year throughout Greensburg and Southwest Greensburg.

Anderson’s family was among the crowd that lined the metal bleachers of the Robertshaw Amphitheater in downtown Greensburg’s St. Clair Park on Saturday morning as 68 Hometown Heroes — including military veterans and first responders — were honored with banners.

“These Hometown Heroes are the very, very best of our community and the United States,” Greensburg Mayor Robb Bell said. “These are men and women who to go work everyday to keep our families and residents safe.”

Joseph Dreskler Jr. purchased a banner — a project organized by the Greensburg Community Development Corp. — for his father, Joseph S. Dreskler.

His father didn’t talk much about his service to the Army Air Corps during World War II. But Dreskler remembers following his father to Memorial Day ceremonies with VFW Post 33.

“They would go around to the cemeteries and they would have the celebration of his colleagues who passed away,” Dreskler said. “As a child, I would go with him. … It was moving. And a childhood memory that — unless you’re a veteran or someone who dealt with that type of thing, you wouldn’t have experienced it.”

Louise Henry purchased a banner to pay tribute to one of Greensburg’s founders, William Jack.

A volunteer and reenactor at Historic Hanna’s Town, Henry came across Jack’s name while reading the parish charter of her church, Christ’s Church in downtown Greensburg. The last name piqued her interest.

“Part of the (Historic Hanna’s Town) tour is a story about Captain Matthew Jack and how he, on the day of the attack in 1782, went around and alerted the folks in the area — Hempfield Township, Hanna’s Town,” said Henry, of Hempfield.

“I thought, ‘I wonder if this Jack is a relation.’ ”

Henry’s suspicion was correct. The William Jack who signed her church’s charter is Matthew Jack’s nephew.

William Jack Sr., Matthew’s brother, served in the Westmoreland County militia and donated land for a courthouse — located in the same place as the modern Westmoreland County Courthouse along Main Street.

Jack’s Run and Jack Street in Greensburg are both named after him.

“Nobody knows about William Jack,” said Henry, “and he was one of the founding men of Greensburg. … I just wanted to highlight that.”