HARMONY TOWNSHIP, NJ - The best part of losing something, is when you finally find it again.
"There was Americans and people on the ground and we didn’t think, we just did it. And I was about 21 years old at the time," recalls Richard Kimble, a Vietnam Veteran from Bloomsbury, New Jersey, "And on my third time in, I was told by the command that it was too hot of an area, not to go in, which I didn’t listen to him and I was heading in. So, I called out in the blind that somebody cover me because I’m going in, and over the radio, I heard Fred say, Rich, I got you covered. And we both went in. Did the job against orders but we did the job and got the Marines out."
Decades would pass before Rich found what he was looking for:
"Through the phone books, and looking for him and finally one day I called out to this area in West Jersey and there was a Fred Grotenhuis in the phone book," Kimble tells PBS39 News Tonight Reporter, K.C. Lopez, "When he answered the phone, I asked him if he was Fred Grotenhuis and he said yeah and I said well, cover me, I’m going in. And he knew exactly who said that. And then we got back together and we were close until his death."
It’s exactly the thought behind Giulia Grotenhuis’s corn maze at The Farm in Harmony. For this widow, it’s about never losing the memory of the soulmate she was lucky enough to have found.
"I could talk all day about Fred. He was just an amazing individual and I was very fortunate to have found him," says Giulia, "I decided why not honor other veterans like him by doing a specific project and this is what I came up with."
Every fall, the Warren County, New Jersey woman honors veterans in an amazing way. This year, she’s constructed a seven acre, 3 and a half mile maze in the shape of the workhorse of the Vietnam War. A chopper, Vietnam Veteran and Fred Grotenhuis's childhood friend, John Hawk, will struggle to lose memories of flying in battle.
"You did what you had to do," explains Hawk, "a lot of times it was a hot LZ when you went in but if you had to take people in or out and you just did what you had to do. This was called a Slick, the Huey, and then he switched into the gunship helicopters so he had a little different experience where he was covering people like me going in because we usually had the gun ships covering us when we went in."
Previous years have shown visitors Prisoners of War and Missing In Action flag designs, even Purple Heart tributes. All carved in corn. But for Giulia, this year's design holds an even more special place in her heart.
"I don’t think I’ll ever recover from losing Fred," she says, "A lot of times I would come up with ideas and Fred would think I was crazy but he always went along with them and I think after the first time, after he saw me take an idea in my head and execute it, make it come alive for real, I think that was the last time that he underestimated me. So I think that if he were watching today he would actually be laughing at the way I was able to envision something and make it happen. It helps me to keep his memory alive and some people might think that I should move past that but I think, because Fred was so special and he touched so many people, it seems like it would be a waste to let all that knowledge and all that love that he showered me with, that I should just keep that to myself and not share it with others."
Now, she’s sharing that love by donating a dollar from each ticket sold back to veterans’ charities; keeping Fred’s legacy alive.
"He is every bit alive. I feel like Fred is standing next to me," says Fred's friend and another Veteran, John J. Coyle Jr., "She keeps his spirit and his persona being alive and also what she does is bring attention to the fact that these boys that served and a lot of the guys didn’t come home or came home damaged, without limbs, or drug addicted, all kinds of things. And it’s very important to keep remembering this."
Fred Grotenhuis was awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his heroism in Vietnam and during the Tet Offensive.
"He only had a few days left in country--he only had a few days left until he would be able to go home," Coyle Jr. recalls, "So what happened was the hydraulics in the helicopter had taken fire and had gotten hit--the hydraulics, the steering, he couldn’t steer it with the hydraulics he had to actually bring it in manually. And he told me as he was doing it, he was thinking, how am I going to get this thing down on the ground? I just want to get it on the ground and walk away from this thing. He literally drove the helicopter into the ground and safely landed the plane. If I recall, there were eight people on board. He saved all their lives."
Fred passed away on March 9th, 2015. And while Giulia didn’t serve in the military herself, she says this maze is for Veterans everywhere and all of those who serve alongside the soldiers they love.
"You know most people that served don’t think of themselves as heroes or think that what they did was incredible," explains Giulia, "There’s a humble aspect about them. Fred certainly didn’t think he was a hero. Although in my eyes and in the eyes of many he was. But sometimes it’s just that little gesture. We don’t want to charge you because we know what you did for us and we appreciate it. It’s that constant appreciation that’s important."
Because sometimes you need to get a little lost to find what you’re looking for; even if it’s just in a corn maze.
Treat the Troops, a Trick-or-Treat in the corn maze, is being held Sunday, November 3rd from 2PM-5PM. Veterans, local families and military supports are invited to attend the fun family event where volunteers hand out candy and other special treats to kids and Vets. The event comes before The Farm in Harmony's annual Veteran's Day; a free day of activities for Vets and their families to thank them for their service.