A celebration of the life of Harry Sweet was held on Jan. 21, 2013, at the Windham American Legion Hall.
Harry was born in Aurora, raised in Mantua and is a graduate of Mantua Center School. He was a World War II veteran having served in the U.S. Army.
Harry served his country from Dec. 31, 1942, through Oct. 3, 1945. Harry fought in the battles in Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Central Europe and Ardennes, receiving five Bronze Battle Stars, a Good Conduct Ribbon and No Time Lost Ribbon.
In attendance at the celebration were more than 100 guests consisting of nieces, nephews, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and friends.
Harry's great-great- grandson, Kayden, 4, and great-great-granddaughter, Addison, 2, also celebrated the life of great-great-grandpa Harry.
Howard Furl, chaplain at the Windham American Legion, presented the scripture readings and prayers.
The Windham American Legion Honor Guard shared their respect for Harry.
Special guest Heather Scarlet presented a video of Harry. Heather received her Bachelor's Degree in journalism from Kent State University and is pursuing a Master of Arts degree in public history.
In 2010, Heather interviewed Harry in order to prepare a video regarding his experience as a WWII veteran. The interview was conducted at the Portage County Historical Society in Ravenna.
There are three segments of the video completed and the fourth and final segment will be done in the next several months.
At the Celebration of Harry's Life, Heather presented the videos. As the videos played and Heather spoke about her interview with Harry, the room filled with tears and at times laughter.
The video may be viewed at the Portage County Historical Society website.
Family members shared memories and stories of Harry's life.
One memory shared by his daughter, Connie Leedom, was the love Harry had for his many uses of duct tape.
"The week before Harry's Life Celebration, his great-grandson was installing a subfloor in the soon-to-be Florida room with the help of his son, Kayden, 4," she said.
"The day after the subfloor was installed, my husband and I visited Kayden and family. As we were talking about the Florida room, Kayden said, 'Daddy, you know what we have to do -- we need to cover those cracks in the wood floor with duck tape.' How wonderful that Kayden, in his young little career, has learned another great use for duct tape," she said.
"All enjoyed the Celebration and the memory of Harry's life will be in the hearts of everyone forever," Leedom said.
Comments