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A tale of valor
(by Sue Hoffman - November 23, 2011)
A tale of valor
By SUE HOFFMAN
When Pearl Harbor was bombed nearly 70 years ago, on Dec. 7, 1941, Michael J. Schick, of Cleveland, was serving his second four-year tour of duty with the U.S. Marine Corps as a supplies sergeant in Shanghai, China. With the outbreak of the war with Japan, he and fellow American soldiers were taken prisoner.
He was a prisoner of war for 45 months, the longest of any soldier from Cleveland during World War II, his daughter, Melinda Redding, an instructional aide, told all classes of sixth-graders at Chagrin Falls Intermediate School as part of a Veterans Day observance.
"As a result of his dealings as supplies sergeant, they wanted him to divulge the information he had, and he was tortured," Mrs. Redding told students. In Chinese water torture, the victim is tied upright to a ladder and forced underwater until he is unconscious, she said.
"He never divulged anything," Mrs. Redding said. "They thought he'd break, but he never did."
Mr. Schick later recalled the joyous moment of the American planes arriving to emancipate the prisoners.
"It gives me special pleasure to welcome you back to your native shores and to express, on behalf of the people of the United States, the joy we feel at your deliverance from the hands of the enemy," U.S. President Harry Truman wrote to him on Dec. 3, 1945.
Mr. Schick survived his nearly four years in prison but did not live long. He had suffered internal injuries from the torture.
After returning to the United States, Mr. Schick met and married Blanche Van Liere, of Willoughby. He was promoted to a commissioned chief warrant officer and was stationed in Washington, D.C. He became ill and died at age 38 in 1947, when his daughter was 4 months old, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
"My dear Mrs. Schick," Gen. A.A. Vandegrift, commandant of the Marine Corps, wrote on May 28, 1947. "It is with deep regret that I learn of the untimely death of your husband." He stressed the valiant service Mr. Schick gave to his country.
"In my lifetime, even though I don't remember him, he's my model, my legacy, my inspiration," Mrs. Redding, a longtime resident of Chagrin Falls, told students.
Her mother remarried when she was 5, and Mrs. Redding has grown children and grandchildren. She and her husband, Wayne, who's also a veteran, have a daughter, Kelly Tritsch, of Conifer, Colo., and son, Mark Redding, of Oakhill, Va., who are 1991 and 1998 graduates of Chagrin Falls High School, respectively.
Through the years, Mrs. Redding's memories of her father have been ever-present. She showed students her permanent pass to Arlington National Cemetery. "I visit every chance I get," she said.
She also showed students pictures of her father in uniform, her parents' wedding and her father's funeral, telegrams offering condolences when he died, rubbings from his grave, newspaper obituaries and the well-preserved letters from President Truman and Gen. Vandegrift.
She also displayed an article from Life Magazine about efforts by the Japanese prison camps to camouflage the harsh conditions and a letter from Mr. Schick to his family while he was a prisoner.
In the letter, which would have been scrutinized by prison officials, he made every effort to reassure his family that he was well and conditions were good. "We are building a new baseball field for this year's baseball season," he said.
Mrs. Redding, a former teacher, presented her program to several sixth-grade classes last year and to all seven sixth-grade classes this year.
School Principal Christopher Woofter wants her to expand her presentation to all fifth- and sixth-grade classes next year. "You were able to take the content that was horrific and give a face and name to it," he told her.
"The first time I talked about the torture I had to stop," Mrs. Redding said. "The kids were so kind and understanding."
Regarding some of the details, "I'm a little nervous how kids process this," she said. However, all 50 letters she received from sixth-graders following this year's presentation showed a positive impact.
"It was a great, but sad story," Mason Bartlett wrote. "I'm sorry your story had to end like it did. Your father was a true hero. Even though he was tortured, he didn't betray his country."
One student was inspired by the presentation to call his grandfather, who is a veteran, three times that night and produced a story about him, Mrs. Redding said.
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