Supporting vets wounded at war: For wood carvers, canes a labor of love to honor sacrifices in Iraq

Supporting vets wounded at war: For wood carvers, canes a labor of love to honor sacrifices in Iraq, Afghanistan
Kathleen Gray
August 31, 2007 3:12 AM
MCT NEWSFEATURES
Detroit Free Press


DETROIT - Harold Green pulled down his magnifying glasses, picked up a chisel and began turning a block of basswood into a scowling, majestic eagle head.

Nearby, Rizal Baysa and John Sabina of Washington Township, Mich., gripped small wood- burning tools that made the Washington Township Senior Center smell like a campfire, but also made the feathers pop on their already-carved eagle heads.

For them, the carving is a labor of love for the men and women who've risked their lives for their country.

There's a story behind each eagle head and the cane it's screwed and glued into, about a soldier who has been wounded in Afghanistan or Iraq. Burned onto the shaft of the cane are the soldier's name, rank and unit, date of injury and the names of the artisans who made the cane.

About a dozen carvers meet on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the center. Around Michigan, about 300 members of the Michigan Wood Carvers Association are donating their time to make the canes. Last week, they were finishing up the 24th cane.

The first cane from the Michigan carvers went to Army Spec. Nick Gunter, 24, of Traverse City, Mich. He was wounded in Iraq in February when a bomb exploded while he was on patrol. He's recuperating at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.


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