COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — The sound of the seven tolls of an Honor Bell can evoke strong emotion at a veteran’s funeral. But, it’s a sound that was missing from many service members’ burials in southern Colorado.
Now, the tone is changing. A new Honor Bell is being cast, and it holds the stories of 12 brave men and women who served our country.
This past weekend, two Honor Bell guards began the distinguished transfer, escorting the veterans’ medals and artifacts to the Netherlands where they’ll be melted into the new bell.
Nancy Pfander saw the medals off on Sunday, June 1. It's the last time she'll see her son's Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
"I feel him every day. I just know he's with me every day... I'm grateful for every day we had, but it's never enough," said Pfander.
Pfander lost her son, Corporal (Cpl.) Kyle Powell, in 2006. The proud Marine was only 21.
"And it was really hard initially, because, as his friends would, you know, get married, or they'd have kids, or they, you know, would graduate from college... (it's) all the things that you know could have been in his future that you miss."
Pfander, who served in the Army, says her son was on his third deployment to Iraq when he and a fellow combat engineer were killed in an IED attack while clearing the road ahead of a convoy full of soldiers.
Cpl. Powell earned a Purple Heart for his last act of bravery. It is that precious medal along with the Bronze Star he earned a month before his death that Pfander applied to donate to become part of southern Colorado’s new Honor Bell.
"I thought he had a pretty good chance. He was born at Fort Carson. He's lived his whole life in Colorado. And, you know, you kept your fingers crossed, but you didn't know how many others that were going to be applying," she said.
Cpl. Powell’s medals are now in the hands of fellow veterans. Larry Peterson sits on the board of the Honor Bell Foundation. He has spent the last five years in pursuit of this goal; to raise funds for a new bell and bell carriage.
"In 1972, I was flying gunships in Southeast Asia, AC 130s, and we lost 44 aircraft and 40 crew members in '72. That's why I do it, to honor them and the rest of them we lost in the war. So, that's why it's personal to me," Peterson said of the time he's committed to the project.
Earlier this year, Peterson helped decide which 12 of the 42 veteran applicants would be part of the project. He explained how the following would become part of the Honor Bell:
- medals
- wings
- piece of the USS Arizona
- a dress button
- a challenge coin
- a ribbon rack
- sub dolphins
- an eagle
- globe and anchor
- a rank insignia
- a Silver Star
- a shell fragment
- a dog leash from a beloved K9
- other artifacts
"They’ll be taking each artifact off the board, six at a time, and placing it in the ladel. Then the foundry worker, will take it over and put it in the molten bronze. Then, we're going to have something special. One of the original honor coins we give the family plus, the wings of the US Air Force Academy will become a part of the bell," he said of the final additions.
Those honored and what was donated:
- CSM Joseph L Annello, US Army, personal challenge coin
- BMC John V Harris, US Coast Guard, dress button
- Cpl. David M. Sonka & MPA Flex, US Marine Corps, ribbon rack and dog leash
- P02 Donald G. Stratton, US Navy, piece of the USS Arizona
- PV2 Floyd K Lindstrom, US Army, Purple Heart
- CW2/SSG David L Coberly, US Army, pilot wings
- Col. Carol Anne Glancy-Nuss, US Air Force, senior flight nurse wings, USAF Aeromed Evac coin
- MM2 Richard "Dick" L. Meyers, US Navy, sub dolphins
- MGYSGT David P. Streed, US Marine Corps, eagle globe and anchor, rank insignia
- Maj. Paul J. Weaver, US Air Force, Silver Star, 105mm high explosive shell fragment
- Cpl. Kyle W. Powell, US Marine Corps, Bronze Star and Purple Heart
- Maj. Lawrence "Dan" Hall, US Army, major rank insignia
Currently, there is only one Honor Bell in Colorado, which is shuttled around the state for veterans' funerals. But often, they occur at the same time and services are left without the Honor Bell. It is stored at Fort Logan in Denver.
After seeing the impact it has on the families, friends, and loved ones at service members’ funerals, Peterson said he cannot wait until the new bell is in town and the veterans of southern Colorado no longer have to share.
"And the family is elated to see the involvement of the bell in their service, in their veteran's service. And it really hits them when that bell tolls. It goes through them, even when they fire the rifle volleys, the bell will sit there and sing to us with a percussion. It'll sing," said Peterson.
Knowing Cpl. Powell's highest honors will be a part of other veterans’ memorials for years to come comforts his mother.
"Kyle can be at every service from here on out. And when I die, he can be the bell that will be rang at mine out at Pikes Peak National Cemetery, you know. And I just felt like that was an honorable thing to do with his medals," said Pfander.
The bell will be complete at the end of the month and then shipped across the Atlantic. The Honor Bell Foundation is hopeful the bell will be in Colorado Springs by Veterans Day.
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