Three writers and one heroic teenager were honored for their respective talents Tuesday evening at the Aberdeen American Legion Post 5, continuing a streak of decorations for reporting on veterans by The Daily World.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Aberdeen chapter presented staff and contributors of The Daily World with state and national awards in the VFW’s Annual Publications Contest. The Daily World staff reporters Matthew N. Wells and Michael S. Lockett each received honors for feature articles penned in 2022, as did Jim Daly, veteran service officer, past VFW commander and The Daily World columnist. Teenager Macie Leach won the VFW National Lifesaving Award.
The contest is meant to acknowledge efforts of both veterans-affiliated and non-affiliated publications to cover stories involving the VFW. Articles are judged at both the state and national level.
In Washington, The Daily World has largely dominated the contest since its inception in 2015, taking first place in the state all eight years. Daly, a regular columnist with the paper during that time, owns several past awards, and this year took first for his column “The military doesn’t prepare one for …” which appeared in a Nov. 10 veterans section in the newspaper.
Daly said he wrote the column to inform readers about efforts by nonprofits and other organizations to aid veterans who require physical or mental support upon returning from war. Daly, who served in Vietnam, said those services could still improve but have come a long way since he got out of the service.
While Daly’s success in the contest has become almost routine, two The Daily World reporters — who also happen to be military veterans themselves — helped the paper shine extra brightly this year.
Last November’s veterans special section also contained an article titled “Remembering the Forgotten War: Chosin veteran recalls Korea,” in which Lockett sat down with Korean War veteran and Raymond resident Irvin Stephens to recount the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir, one of the most terrible in the modern era, according to Lockett. Stephens suffered an injury in battle but was one of the last remaining survivors — one of the “Chosin Few,” before his death this past spring.
Judged with the Department of Washington VFW voted Lockett’s article second place in this year’s feature article contest.
“It’s important to remember the appalling cost some of these service members paid. I’m glad I was able to take down some of their stories for folks to read and to carry with them.” said Lockett, a Marine veteran who has reported on crime and public safety for The Daily World for one year.
Lockett’s colleague, Wells, took home the most hardware Tuesday evening. He won third place in the state for his article “Stolen ceremonial military rifles recovered,” published March 23, 2022 in The Daily World. In addition to the state award, the piece was picked by national judges as the third-best VFW-related feature article in the country for last year. VFW officials explained that different panels of judges score articles at the state and national level.
In the article, Wells detailed the efforts of local agencies and residents to return a collection of 21 guns to Elma’s VFW post after a thief stole them. In the story, Bill Wickwire of the Elma VFW shared memories of a recently-deceased veteran who owned the rifles.
“I try really hard to make sure these stories work,” Wells said. “I’m really glad Bill Wickwire trusted me with his story.”
Wells served in the Navy from 2011 to 2014, and has worked for The Daily World since 2021 covering music, arts, city government and crime. He said he feels feature writing has become his most effective mode of storytelling.
Veterans make up two thirds of the staff commanded by The Daily World editor Michael Wagar.
“I am proud of our staff for their efforts to honor our veterans. These are meaningful awards and I am not surprised they were recognized for their efforts. The Daily World has an outstanding team of reporters and these awards reflect both the hard work and talents of these three men.”
An act of heroism
Macie Leach was present Tuesday to receive her VFW National Lifesaving Award.
Last fall, Leach, a student at Miller Junior High School in Aberdeen, was swimming at Lake Sylvia when she heard a man call for help. The man’s canoe had tipped over about 50 meters away and left him struggling to stay afloat, tangled in vegetation.
According to the VFW, Leach swam to his aid, helped the man board the canoe and towed it to shore.
“The whole incident probably only took three minutes, but could have been a very different outcome if Macie had not used her head to offer assistance without exposing herself to the danger of a panicking drowning victim,” according to a statement from the VFW.
Contact reporter Clayton Franke at 406-552-3917 or clayton.franke@thedailyworld.com.
Clayton Franke / The Daily World The Daily World reporter Michael S. Lockett receives a VFW Publications Contest award on Sept. 5.
Clayton Franke / The Daily World Macie Leach, student at Miller Junior High School, receives the VFW National Lifesaving Award for helping a man who was at risk of drowning at Lake Sylvia.
