Posted: 11/24/04

Passing of Ted Houle, Elmer L. Andersen leaves void

In the back of my mind I knew there would come a day when I would write Ted Houleís obituary. It was a story I didnít want, but one that I knew would be important to his family, the community.

Ted Houle was a lifelong Forest Lake resident and one of the first from here to fight in World War II. He was in the Marines long before the Japanese hit Pearl Harbor and when the island-hopping campaign began in the South Pacific, Houleís Marine division was among the first to fight.

It nearly cost him his life. He needed nearly a year to fully recover from the wounds suffered in the battle of Guadalcanal on Aug. 2, 1942. He won a Silver Star for valor and a purple heart for his wounds that day singlehandedly knocking out a Japanese gun emplacement.

This newspaper has documented Tedís military efforts with a number of feature stories over the years. Two years ago, partly at his urging, he wanted to visit again. It was the 60th anniversary of his efforts on the island of Gavutu and he wanted to share, perhaps one last time, the lifeís story of one man from a small town.

We werenít what could be called close friends. But there was something about Ted that commanded respect.

We never talked politics and I could not tell you if the man was conservative, liberal or neither of the above. It didnít matter.

In my meetings with Ted I did come away with the feeling that this was a man who had seen combat and abhorred its reality. He had fought 62 years earlier and he was saddened the world still had not learned its lesson and may never stop the killing.

Tedís military service came to mind during the recent presidential campaign when John Kerryís service in Vietnam was maliciously attacked over and over. Even the National Guard duty of President George W. Bush was scrutinized to the point of exhaustion.

One can understand the attacks on Kerry and Bush during the campaign. That is how elections are won in these times. It seems to come down to who can be hurt the worst.

This is not a debate of what Kerry did or didnít do. Itís more a question of what the Swift Boat Veterans attacks did to all medal winners. Men like Ted Houle.

Like Houle, Kerry received the Silver Star and three Purple Hearts from the military for his service in Vietnam.

We are crawling pretty deep into the hole of disrespect when veterans besmirch the reputations of their comrades. That some veterans would sully anotherís service for pure political purpose is the height of hypocrisy.

It was this kind of politics that drove former Gov. Elmer L. Andersen, a Republican, to endorse Kerry over Bush this fall, just weeks before his death on Nov. 15.

Gov. Andersenís service can never be fully measured in this state. He served just one two-year term as governor, but his legacy was built in his many years of service before and after political life.

But as a politician, Gov. Andersen always looked for middle ground. He was a Republican, true, but a compassionate Republican who refused to be labeled or pushed to change his convictions and beliefs. He believed in politics of inclusion, not the politics of exclusion when a certain viewpoint may clash with a core belief.

Gov. Andersen was a man of compromise for sure and someone who reached out to members of the other party and search for a compromise that was in the best interest of the state and its people.

Sometimes that may have required a tax increase. He could wager political battle but always walk away from the fray without making the matter personal.

I am not so sure that is the case anymore, at least at some of the higher levels of politics.

Ted Houle and Elmer L. Andersen were two men from totally different walks of life but two men with a commonality.

Both believed common sense should rule the day, be it the folly of war for the wrong reason or political gain stamped with a litmus test.

Replacing the likes of Elmer L. Andersen and Ted Houle is not likely to happen anytime soon, if ever.

Maybe, in their passing, the people of Forest Lake and Minnesota will stop to reflect on their lives and learn from what they have left us.

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