Memorial Tree Honors Fallen UMHS Vietnam Veteran

A Magnolia Saucer tree stands alone, newly planted outside the . Underneath its growing branches is a lone marker that reads:

“In Loving Memory of

Cpt William J. Ahlum

U.S. Army

Class of 1961”

“Decades from now, when people ask why a tree was dedicated to Captain William J. Ahlum, we will tell them, ‘Like a tree, Bill Ahlum represented great strength,’” State Representative Tom Murt (PA-152) said on Oct. 21. “Only, he protected people who longed to be free.”

Murt addressed over 30 individuals, gathered outside the high school to witness the memorial tree dedication of William Ahlum, a class of 1961 graduate, who died while serving in Vietnam.

Murt, along with William Ahlum’s brother, Dr. Leon Ahlum, helped to organize the event at the high school.

According to Murt, in his address, William Ahlum was deployed to Vietnam in 1969. Six weeks into his deployment, Ahlum was killed in action. He was 25.

Murt shared an account of the events, describing how Captain Ahlum ordered his men to evacuate an area to seek cover from a mortar attack; but in going back to assist wounded soldiers, Ahlum was killed in the attack.

Ahlum, among other awards, received the Bronze Star with a “V” for valor for his actions.

Murt described Ahlum as “The Best and the Brightest” of his generation.

“I believe it’s time that we reclaimed that phrase – for the best and the brightest who stood on the frontlines in Vietnam,” Murt said. “I want to reclaim that phrase for Captain William J. Ahlum.”

The group that gathered at the memorial tree event were made up of  Ahlum’s family, friends, and classmates, as well as school district officials, military personnel and veterans.

According to Dr. Leon Ahlum, he brought the idea of a permanent memorial for his brother to Rep. Murt. Murt, who served in 2003 in Iraq with the U.S. Army, readily agreed to help.

“Tom and I planned this for a year or so,” Leon Ahlum said, adding that he his family was touched by the gathering. “I am utterly overwhelmed.”

The event coincided with the class of 1961 reunion weekend, from which over 20 members were present for the dedication ceremony.

“I saw Bill at the Thanksgiving game in 1968,” Sandra Herbst, UMHS Class of 1961 graduate, recalled.  She said he was proud to be a soldier. “He was very excited about going to Vietnam, and said, ‘We must go and stop Communism.”  

Herbst said that she was devastated to have found a member of her class had died in the war.

According to Herbst, out of a class of 157 students, a few members served, but Ahlum was the only one to be killed while in Vietnam.

Murt’s address focused on Ahlum’s patriotic sacrifice during a time of turbulent domestic and political unrest – a sentiment that echoed clearly with veterans present at the memorial tree dedication.

“It’s something to be proud of for all our members,” Quince Hunt, newly elected commander of the , said of the dedication.

Hunt, who himself served in Vietnam in 1967 as a Marine, said that such positive recognition was widely non-existent for soldiers returning home at the time.

“Vietnam vets are just glad to see things like this,” Hunt said.