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'NOT ON MY WATCH' | Montcalm County duo won't let fallen heroes be forgotten

An effort is underway to make Purple Heart plaques for family members of American troops who died after a Taliban rocket hit a Chinook helicopter in 2011.

TRUFANT, Mich. — A gentle breeze and the wing beats of a mourning dove are the only things you can hear in the serene Montcalm County fields surrounding Doug Pickel's home. But as quiet as it is on the outside, Doug is making some noise on the inside that he hopes everyone will hear.

His saw is roaring as Doug's fingers move with the utmost precision to turn a piece of wood ever so carefully as he carves out a design that replicates the Purple Heart, a military decoration awarded to troops killed or injured while serving. That's exactly who Doug wants to be remembered.

"It's always been said that you die twice — the first time when you pass away, and then the second time is the last time somebody says your name. Not on my watch," he said.

Doug has been making plaques for 26 years. It's a skill he learned from his father. Since 2006, he's been making them exclusively to give to the families of fallen heroes. He and his late friend Sam Wellington came up with the idea after seeing war coverage a few years after the September 11 terror attacks.

"We were watching TV and we saw the flag-draped coffins coming home and he looked at me and he goes, 'We got to do something for those families. They just lost a child, and that's all they're going to get is a folded American flag,'" he said.

Each plaque takes about $300 worth of materials and 50 hours to make. Every one of them is a little different than the last. Every choice that is made during the process is made with purpose, including the choice of what wood to use.

Credit: Provided
Doug Pickel poses with the family member of a Purple Heart recipient after presenting the family with a plaque he made.

"When I give a family an heirloom piece to pass down from generation to generation, I want to make sure it's as unique as their child. That's the way it has to be," Doug said.

Once Doug is done carving, he drives down the road to his friend Jeanne Thornhill's house. She owns a business called the Unique Boutique, which uses a machine to etch the names and images of fallen heroes onto the plaque. It's something she's been doing for about 18 years.

"It's a neat way to preserve a picture that can last a long time — damaged pictures or pictures that mean a lot to someone. It's a good way to just preserve it in a different way," she said.

"Its an honor, actually. It's emotional for me because of my granddad. My granddad put in 36 years in the Army, and I know what he went through. I'm also a military brat of my dad and my stepdad. My husband was in the military. So I'm a military brat of many generations, and so it's just a way for me to give back."

The latest project for Doug and Jeanne has been creating Purple Heart plaques for the American troops, 30 men and a Navy K9, who died when a Taliban rocket struck a Chinook helicopter known as Extortion 17 in Afghanistan in August of 2011. Seven members of the Afghan National Army were also on board that day. There were no survivors. It was the greatest loss of American life during the war in Afghanistan.

Doug remembers the day he heard the news.

"Somebody had reached out to me and said, 'Hey, did you hear about that Chinook that got shot down? There was a guy from Michigan on it,'" he said.

Navy SEAL Heath Robinson, a 34-year-old man and Petoskey, Michigan native was among those killed.

"Let's give Heath's family a plaque. They earned it, and I think that family could use some hope right about now, because there's nobody doing anything for them. It's overdue," Doug said.

Credit: Provided
Image shared on Facebook of the 31 American troops killed when a Chinook helicopter was hit by a Taliban rocket in August 2011.

Doug and Jeanne will be making plaques not only for Robinson's family, but for the families of all 31 American crew members aboard the Extortion 17 that day. 

To do it, they're going to need funding and Doug is willing to up the ante to raise the money needed for all those plaques. Heather Viveiros, the founder of an organization called Give2Those.org, came up with the idea while the two were traveling together.

"She goes 'You're going to grow your hair, and at the end whoever raises the most, they get to pick the color of your head and hair.' All of this all of this gets painted," Doug said, removing a Give2Those hat from his head.

"Whoever bids the most out there to Give2Those, I have to wear those colors Oct. 8 to the two Meijers that I work at in Rockford and Cedar Springs for 7Up. I have to wear that in public, which I will proudly do for those 31 fallen families," Doug said.

Just like the choices in the plaque-making process, the choices for the fundraiser were made carefully. It began only the 4th of July and it will end on Oct. 7, the 21st anniversary of the day the War in Afghanistan began.

"It all has to have meaning. Everything has to have a meaning. There's got to be a reason behind it. That's why we do it," Doug said.

If you'd like to donate to the cause, you can do so on Facebook.

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