Leo Kaye makes Valley a better place for veterans

How do you measure a life's worth of community service? How do you quantify one man's willingness to help another out, no matter the situation? How do you put into words what it means to be a person who will stand up for what they believe in, speak out those who can't speak for themselves? How do you begin to describe Leo Kaye?

In four words, that's how. "He's a veteran's veteran," said Palmer resident Barry Perkins, perhaps bestowing the ultimate compliment on Kaye.

Kaye has spent the better part of two decades speaking out for veteran's rights. He's been behind the creation of the Veterans' Wall of Honor and is a driving force behind the proposed War Dogs Memorial. He is behind many community events as well, not just veteran's events. He also happens to be just about the most humble guy you'd ever meet, quick to defer attention to others.

A few years ago, when a reporter mentioned they were going to do a story on him, Kaye asked for a day to get his thoughts together. When Kaye got back with the reporter, he had a list of five or six veterans -- complete with phone numbers and their accomplishments -- whom he said were more deserving of a story than he was.

His friends, however, would disagree. They know the real Leo Kaye -- a guy who would do anything he was asked to do, whether asked by an old World War II veteran or a young child. He doesn't care who needs help, he just gives it. And he's 84 years old.

Well-educated Navy

man with a career in health

Kaye was born on March 13, 1919, in the farm country of Mattituck on Long Island, N.Y. One of 12 children, he graduated from high school in 1937 and then went to Ithaca College, where he graduated with a bachelor of science degree. He took a teaching position, but the U.S. Navy came calling after a few months, and he enlisted in 1942 as a chief petty officer.

After enlisting, he was assigned to the Naval Training Base at Farragut, Idaho, and then Officer Training School at Oregon State College. Following his discharge from the Navy in 1945, he continued his education and earned his master's degree in education from the University of Oregon. From there, he attended Columbia University, earning his doctorate in administration.

In 1948, the same year he graduated from Columbia, he married Frances. Their marriage is just as strong today, 55 years later.

"Frances, she's such a sweet woman," said longtime friend Hazel Schwulst. "She's absolutely 100 percent behind everything Leo does."

Leo and Frances moved to Denver, where he served as the field secretary for the Colorado Tuberculosis Association. From 1950 to 1969, he served as executive director for several tuberculosis and lung associations in New York and New Jersey, at one point conducting a health study for the National Commission on Community Health Services.

In 1970, with five children, the Kayes packed up and headed to Alaska. Here, Kaye reorganized and served as director of the Alaska Tuberculosis and Respiratory Association until 1983, when he retired. But did he ever really retire?

Civic-minded retiree

Kaye has performed a lifetime's worth of work in the community, spearheading numerous projects and making sure veterans' issues were always looked after. Many people only know of Leo Kaye for his tireless and thankless work in the community -- and he only started that after turning 64 in 1983.

"Whenever Leo does something, he is dedicated to it. If he puts his signature on it, it has his full dedication. That's the kind of man he is," Schwulst said. "He doesn't leave things undone."

Kaye started his "retirement" as a board member for Home Health Care Inc. in Anchorage, but by 1984, he was active in the affairs of the Valley. He organized the Knik-Fairview Community Council, and in 1987 was appointed to the Mat-Su Borough Senior Citizens Advisory Board. A year later, he earned two appointments -- one to the Mat-Su Borough Health Planning Committee, and another to the Governor's Housing Policy Committee. He held leadership positions for the senior advisory board, advocating for senior issues and rights.

In 1991, Kaye's civic interests began to focus on veterans' affairs and related projects.

"Whenever a veteran needs something done, they know Leo can make it happen," said Charlie Huggins, who worked with Kaye on the Areawide Community Council and is now the Veterans Affairs director.

"A veteran's veteran"

The Veterans' Wall of Honor, located at the Mat-Su Convention and Visitors' Bureau on the Parks Highway, is one of the Valley's treasured landmarks. Not surprisingly, Kaye had a big hand in the monument's creation.

In 1986, Wasilla was selected as a Bicentennial Community by the U.S. Congress to help celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Constitution. In 1987, then-mayor Harold Newcomb appointed the Constitutional Forum, a citizens' group, to plan events for Wasilla as part of the celebration. The borough and the state set aside money for a veterans' monument to be erected, and on Nov. 11, 1992, it was dedicated. But it wasn't enough.

A group of veterans got the go-ahead from the Wasilla Community Service Council, a group of people who belonged to VFW Post 9365, to design, finance and erect the Veterans' Wall of Honor. Only seven months later, on Veterans' Day 1992, the Veterans' Wall of Honor was dedicated.

"It all started with the Constitutional Forum and just went from there," Kaye, the chairman of the project, said in 2000. "It's a great thing for the Valley to have.

Since then, Memorial Day celebrations, Veterans' Day festivities and events such as POW/MIA recognition ceremonies have been held at the wall, which has become one of the most visited sites in the Valley. Huge slabs of black granite are etched with the names of veterans from around the country. Every year, more names are added to the wall. In 2000, more slabs had to be added. The wall also includes the Order of the Purple Heart, a Mount POW/MIA emblem and a large 104-inch concrete U.S. flag.

"It's something we can be proud of," Kaye said in 2000.

Kaye has been behind all of the celebrations held at the wall, up until last year, when he finally turned it over to other veterans' groups.

"We all owe a lot to Leo for everything he's done for veterans," said longtime friend Al Kleim.

Former Gov. Tony Knowles also recognized Kaye's selfless dedication. "Leo is a very soft spoken, modest man who always wants to make sure veterans are never forgotten," Knowles said. "He's been a powerful advocate for veterans through his work with the Veterans' Wall of Honor and the renaming of POW/MIA. It's always been about veterans, it's never about Leo."

Kaye's drive has rubbed off on others, too.

"Leo has been a mentor to me as well. He gets everyone to get involved with the community," said Perkins, who is organizing the Veterans' Day event this year. "He's somebody the whole community, not just veterans, can be proud of."

Mount POW/MIA

In 1999, a Vietnam veteran named John Morrisey decided to climb a Valley mountain and try to get it renamed after former prisoners of war and those classified as missing in action. Kaye immediately helped Morrisey get the required signatures and started to get approval from the various agencies, which proved to be tougher than imagined.

Kaye obtained the support, in writing, from the DAV, American ex-POWs, the American Legion, the VFW, the U.S. Marine Corps, then-mayor of Wasilla Sarah Palin, then Gov. Knowles and the Alaska Legislature. On June 3, 1999, Morrisey climbed the peak, placed a POW/MIA flag and two small American flags at the summit and officially named it Mount POW/MIA.

"Through his concern for our POW/MIAs, he became a major force behind the naming of Mount POW/MIA this past year. His focus on this issue is a perfect example of his 'never quit' attitude," Stephen Sweet of the Veterans Center wrote in a nomination letter for the Governor's Veterans Advocacy Award in 2000.

Top award

When Knowles created the Governor's Veterans Advocacy Award, there was one logical choice to receive the first award -- Leo Kaye. During the Veterans' Day ceremony at the wall, Knowles presented the award to Kaye, who was caught by surprise.

"Leo Kaye is a selfless patriot and a tireless volunteer on behalf of Alaska's veterans," Knowles, himself a veteran, said at the time, echoing the sentiments of veterans around the state. "He asks for no recognition and doesn't talk much about himself, and I'm happy to recognize his years of dedication to veterans' issues with this award."

Kaye, predictably, wanted others to share the award.

"This honor should be shared with all veterans who served so honorably," Kaye said during the ceremony in 2000. "I'm just one guy who organizes these events on Memorial Day and Veterans' Day. But to me, they've done the job."

One last project

Kaye has been hard at work trying to make sure another set of veterans get their due -- war dogs. The War Dog Memorial has been in the works for two years, with Kaye leading the project. At the same site as the Veterans' Wall of Honor, the War Dog Memorial will sit. The memorial will be 6-feet tall and depicts a soldier and his dog emerging from combat. Local artist Eugene Stotts developed the clay mold, and all that's left is the bronzing and dedication.

"It seemed appropriate to have a memorial for the dogs because they served, too, and they saved thousands of lives," Kaye said last summer. "They never get the credit, though."

Kaye has led the fund-raising effort as well, drumming up public support along the way.

The $30,000 price tag hasn't deterred him from working toward his goal of having the monument erected. Next spring, he should see the project realized.

At the wall

Tuesday will find Kaye at the Veterans' Wall of Honor for Veterans' Day. He is going to talk about the War Dog Memorial, and undoubtedly, he'll be thanked countless times by veterans and their families for all the work he's done.

"I can't say enough positive things about Leo," Schwulst said. "When you are in a crowd and you are talking about Leo, everybody knows who he is. He's that good of a person."

"In politics you are always looking fo the applause line," Knowles said. "Whenever I mentioned Leo, there would always be a spontaneous outburst for him. He's a real anchor for the community."