World War II veteran honored for her service

Sep. 26--TRAVERSE CITY -- Phyllis Garn at 98 years old is weak, pale and has difficulty speaking as she nears the end of her life.

But Garn, who is in Hospice Care at Boardman Lake Glens senior living facility, hasn't always been so.

A World War II veteran, Garn was honored for her service this week with a Hospice Pinning Ceremony that acknowledges the sacrifices made by veterans and their families.

"When you see this pin, know that your service to our nation was deeply appreciated," said Lisa Keely, the hospice social worker who performed the ceremony.

Her two sons were at her bedside while her daughter Patty Garn watched the ceremony through the window, COVID-19 restrictions keeping her out of the facility because she had just flown in from Orlando, Fla.

Garn attained the rank of corporal in the Women's Army Corps, where she organized entertainment for the troops. The WAC was the women's branch of the U.S. Army and Garn was one of more than 150,000 WACs who were the first women other than nurses to serve within the ranks of the Army.

She had just completed her first year at the University of Michigan where she was working on a degree in interior design when she decided to enlist. She served stateside from 1944 to 1945, coming home when the war ended.

Rose Selkirk, house manager at Boardman Lake Glens, said Garn is an independent woman -- a trait that likely served her well during her enlistment.

She told Selkirk that the men were often standoffish to her, as they weren't used to having women in the army. The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps was established in 1942 and converted to an active duty status a year later.

"She is a woman who is headstrong," Selkirk said. "She can do anything. And don't tell her 'no' because she'll prove you wrong."

During the pinning ceremony the veteran is asked to share some of their story, but Garn was not feeling well enough to do so. That job was left to her three adult children, who like to brag that when Garn married their dad Rex, who served as a paratrooper in the war, she outranked him.

"He got busted back to buck private just before they got married," said son Myk Garn, of Kennesaw, Ga.Rex later got his rank back, Myk said. He died in 1975.

The Garns were high school sweethearts and were both raised in Traverse City.

"They went on a weekend pass and got married," Patty said. "During the war there wasn't any dating."

They are all proud of their mother, though they don't know a lot of details about her service.

"She never talked about her military experience, but she was very proud of it," Myk said.

Patty and Myk were adopted by the Garns as infants and Jack Swanson became their foster son when he was 10.

Swanson was a student at Sabin Elementary School, where Garn worked. It was his fourth school that year. He got in trouble one day and got pulled into the office, where he met Garn for the first time.

"She was nice to me and next thing I knew I was her son," Swanson said. "I was only supposed to stay with them until the end of school and they said 'No, no, no, you're not going back. We've got room for one more.' They loved us. They loved all three of us."

In the late 1950s, the Garns bought a piece of property on Beitner Road and founded Rex Ranch where they had about 50 horses and gave guided rides on the trails running through the property. They gave riding lessons all summer and boarded another 50 horses, Myk said.

"There are a lot of people who got their first taste of horse there," Myk said.

Patty remembers being chosen as the junior parade marshal in the Cherry Festival parade and was to ride her Shetland pony, Scooter.

She got the pony when the local Chevy dealership was holding a promotion for its O.K. Corral used car lot. Anyone who bought a car got a free pony.

"Turns out Shetland ponies are pretty snarky," Myk said. "They bite, they kick ... so we got a lot of Shetland ponies."

Patty got one of the ponies, but didn't have a trailer to get Scooter to the parade. So her mom pulled the back seat out of the family van and off they went.

"Do you know the looks we got driving into Traverse City with a pony head sticking out of the window?" Patty said.

The Garns and some of their horse riding friends also founded the 220-mile Shore-to-Shore Trail that started in Empire and ended in Tawas.

"They got this crazy idea that you could ride a horse across the state," Myk said.

The trail was completed in 1964, with the entire ride taking 12 days to complete.

Myk said one of his favorite childhood memories of his mom is when they walked across the Mighty Mac on Labor Day. He walked in the center of the bridge, looking through the grate at the water below, while Garn stayed on the sidewalk.

"It was a great time," he said.

Swanson, who lives in Traverse City, visits his mom every day.

"I just feel so thankful for having them as parents," Swanson said. "They gave me unconditional love. That, and a family."

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