A pair of old high school friends from Alabama, Judith Wyatt and Tamara Gebelt, reunited in Ridgefield to pick up their friendship where they left off in 1973 and to honor Gebelt’s father in a special visit last month.
Wyatt, a member of the American Legion Post 44 in Ridgefield, was trying to find Gebelt any way she could for the better part of nearly 10 years after she moved to Ridgefield. Gebelt, a now-retired college professor in Jacksonville, Florida, received a letter in the mail from Wyatt in February of 2021, and they rekindled their friendship over the phone.
Earlier in October, Gebelt made the trip from Florida to Ridgefield to meet Wyatt once again. The trip to reunite wasn’t just about the long-lost friendship, however.
Wyatt had previously discussed with Gebelt that she wanted to honor Gebelt’s father, a fallen Army veteran with a photo plaque on the veteran’s wall at the Ridgefield Post Office.
They honored Gebelt’s father on Oct. 14 at the Ridgefield Post Office, but a surprise ceremony and flag presentation made the occasion even more special.
“It’s a wonderful honor. When Judy and I were first writing and talking to each other on the phone, she mentioned, ‘Would you like to have your dad’s picture on the post office wall?’ And not because he’s a criminal,” Gebelt joked. “But, she explained they were honoring the veterans and I said, ‘That would be lovely.’ ”
Gebelt’s father, Army Capt. Henry F. C. Gebelt was killed in 1963 in a mid-air plane collision while practicing the flight path he and the pilot would take while flying dignitaries back and forth between Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania, she explained.
“So when [Judith] said we’re going down to the post office and you can actually see your dad’s picture on the wall, I said, ‘That’s great,’ but I had no idea that there was going to be a dedication and the flag presentation and all of that,” Gebelt said. “And so, during that, the commander asked if I would like to say anything and so I did. I kind of told my dad’s story … I was in the first grade when he was killed. As I said, it was a mid-air plane collision. It happened July 30th, 1963.”
The mid-air collision occurred when a small private plane came out of nowhere and struck the plane piloted by Major John R. Beler and co-piloted by Gebelt’s father she said.
Wyatt and her father are recognized on the post office wall, as well. Wyatt stressed that any honorable veteran, alive or passed, can be recognized on the veterans wall at the Ridgefield Post Office, 205 N. Main Ave., with a photo plaque.
“Anybody that comes in the post office through one door and goes out the other or vice versa, they’re going to see that wall,” Wyatt said. “It’s of no cost to the veteran or the veteran’s family. It’s in honor of their loved one.”
She added that all a family member or individual needs to do is contact the American Legion Post 44 about the photo wall, and the organization will address the details. People can also honor veterans by sponsoring a flag that is placed throughout Ridgefield during veteran holidays.
For more information, visit centennial.legion.org/washington/post44, or call 564-219-0669, or email ridgefieldamericanlegion@gmail.com.
