Page 5 - Summer 2016

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It’s always the right time to learn and to give back.
Bill Yaeger – Age 91
Washtenaw County resident
WWII veteran, student and volunteer
In every sense of the word, Bill Yaeger is a fighter, and he takes nothing for granted.
He lived through The Great Depression. He survived WWII as a trailblazer in the 70th Infantry Division under General George S. Patton, stationed in France at different points along the Saar River in 1944 and then in Frankfort, Germany.
Years after he returned home, Bill was in another battle–with prostate cancer. Today, 20 years later, he’s grateful to be in remission.
But of all his skirmishes, his most challenging was surviving a devastating car wreck a few years ago. Bill was driving when he and his beloved wife of 63 years, Lenore, were hit by a drunk driver. Lenore was killed on impact and Bill was hospitalized for three months. Medical professionals told Bill that he would never walk again. But Bill believes in the power of prayer, and his four children, grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren were praying on his behalf, along with friends and his church congregation. With all of that support, Bill was on a mission to learn to walk again.
Walking is a simple activity that people take for granted, but for 35 years prior to the accident Bill had strolled hand-in-hand with Lenore to get exercise every day. With those memories in mind, Bill worked hard to regain his stride. He accomplished this in phases. He started with a wheelchair, moved on to
a walker, graduated to a cane, and today he walks unassisted. Last Labor Day, he did what no one thought was possible. “I walked five miles across the Mackinaw Bridge and then an additional mile to get to my car,” he said.
He credits his resilience to his faith, and his stamina and balance to the Tai Chi he’s been doing for years. “It’s great exercise for my mind and body because you have to memorize the moves,” Bill said and added that he also keeps his mind sharp through lectures offered at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Ann Arbor. “We are never too old to learn,” he said.
Bill is thankful for the gifts he’s been given in life. As a way of giving back, he has volunteered over 20,000 hours for various organizations throughout southeastern Michigan. “I want to pay the government back for being able to earn my Bachelor’s degree in
“I walked five miles across the Mackinaw Bridge and then an additional mile to get to my car,”
Languages and MBA from the University of Michigan when I returned home from the war,” he said. In fact, Bill won Senior Volunteer of the Year in 2009, a state-wide award that honors an older adult who takes action to make their community a better place. Bill has literally helped thousands of Michigan residents in a variety of ways, from his 22 years as a volunteer counselor for the Michigan Medicare Medicaid Assistance Program (MMAP), to his volunteer work at St. Vincent De Paul, Knights of Columbus, Catholic Social Services, and St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church.
Currently, Bill speaks before groups of students at various high schools about his WWII experiences. “I don’t want anyone to forget what we went through to insure freedom of religion and speech for my children, grandchildren...” and all of the children of America.
You’re never too old to follow your dreams.
Hermina Hirsch – Age 89 Oakland County resident From Holocaust survivor to pursuer of dreams
When Hermina was a child, she dreamed of playing the piano after seeing her best friend perform. Growing up, she dreamed of getting married and having children. On the cusp of adulthood, Hermina dreamed of freedom.
Dreams are what keep Hermina alive during the Holocaust. At 17, she was sent to Auschwitz and other concentration camps with her oldest sister Munci. The girls were two of nine children. Parents Henrik and Nettie, youngest brother Sali, and older brothers Morry and Ferri were killed in concentration camps after the family was split up and separated. Older brother Bela died after the Holocaust from mental scars stemming from what he witnessed while imprisoned.
It was at Auschwitz that Munci and Hermina realized their lives were in jeopardy. The girls began to comprehend that if they weren’t able to work, they would be killed. This thought was particularly gripping when the Nazis moved the sisters from one internment to another. Hermina said, “As we were being marched away from that camp we heard loud popping sounds about 200 yards behind us at the camp.” The Nazis shot people who weren’t selected to travel to the next destination.
The one thing Hermina learned from the Holocaust that only someone who was there would fully under- stand is, “Being able to truly appreciate what it’s like to have family, freedom and life. I never gave up hope,” she said. “I put my trust in God.”
She and Munci were liberated from captivity
on January 21, 1945. They made their way through the countryside, walking and hitching rides for
three months while being taken in and cared for by strangers along the way in order to get back to their home in Kosice, then part of Czechoslovakia. They were the first to arrive home as they waited for their other nine family members to return. Five never made it back.
Following a year of recovery in a hospital, Hermina met Bernard Hirsch on a date her cousin arranged. The two were married in 1947. The couple moved to New York in 1950 while Hermina was pregnant with Henry, her first of three children, followed by sons Daniel and Steven. “I remember walking down the streets of New York. I had a sense of freedom that I never felt before. It was liberating!”
“I have a hard time throwing food out because I remember how hungry I was back then.”
While caring for her husband and three boys, if food was left from a meal uneaten on a plate, Hermina would flashback to her once daily diet consisting of one bowl of soup and a slice of bread. She explained, “I have a hard time throwing food out because I remember how hungry I was back then, when I could only dream of eating potatoes or fresh bread.”
Now age 89, Hermina has other dreams, too. For many years, she longed to sing the National Anthem at a Detroit Tigers baseball game. She and Bernard, 96, have regularly visited the ballpark since moving to Detroit in 1953. Bernard’s a big fan. Hermina, on the other hand, has sung the national anthem a capella to large crowds for years. The song is her personal favorite because it speaks of freedom.
On May 21st at 4 p.m., Hermina’s dream came true when she opened the Tiger’s versus the Tampa Bay Rays event with her heart-felt rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner. Seventy-two years ago, looking out from the confinement of a concentration camp, who would have thought that this song would, on one day in May, mean so much to so many.
Editor’s note: Watch for more inspiring senior profiles in the next issue.