Print E-Mail AIM

World War II veteran, 89, shares his vast wisdom with Bonney Lake students, staff

By Avani Nadkarni/of The Herald

An 89-year-old World War II veteran stood next to a 17-year-old who had enlisted early in the United States Military — and a roomful of fidgety high school students were in awe.

Lt. Col. Edward Saylor, a Bonney Lake resident who was part of one of the most famous air raids in the country’s history, was the keynote speaker at Bonney Lake High School’s Nov. 10 Veterans Day assembly. He shared the spotlight with 12th grader Reyessa Viggue, a Bonney Lake student who has a future in the military. It was a striking contrast, but one that proves, said former Air Force pilot and current BLHS campus security officer Antonio Quiming, that the students can still learn from the veterans.

The day before America celebrated its 90th Veterans Day, Saylor stood before students, faculty and a group of his military peers to tell his story.

He enlisted in the Air Force two years to the date before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In April of 1942, months after the bombing, he joined 80 other soldiers — called the Doolittle Raiders — who boarded 16 airplanes and went for destinations unknown to them. As Saylor recalled, he didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to his wife.

As it turned out, the unknown destination was Japan and the mission was to attack. Calmly, Saylor relayed the 67-year-old events to the BLHS students.

“They told us we were going to bomb at night and land at dawn (in China),” Saylor recounted. “It didn’t work out that way. We had to take off at 9 a.m. It was a daylight bombing and a night landing.”

The night landing happened on an island, from which Saylor and his comrades had to climb onto a raft, which subsequently became punctured. Saylor, who couldn’t swim, made it ashore by clinging to a rope hanging from the raft.

His wife later saw a picture of him getting an award for an his actions while she was at the movie theater. It was the first she learned of his mission.

Decades later, Saylor assured the students that he wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. As one of just nine remaining from the Doolittle Raiders, Saylor advised the students to find their passion and stick to it.

“Find something you really like to do and work hard at it,” he said. “It’ll pay off. I did, and 13 promotions later … I retired. They say you should be able to be all you can be. I think I came pretty close.”

After Saylor received a standing ovation from the students, Quiming encouraged the students to “make a call to someone (who served) tomorrow.”