ASHLAND — Ashland Mayor Matt Miller emphasized the value of freedom during an annual breakfast for veterans on Tuesday.
“I guess maybe it’s only second to your health,” Miller said at the seventh-annual Mayor’s Veterans Day Breakfast.
The event drew hundreds to the Eagles Club in Ashland from 7:30 to 9 a.m. on Veterans Day.
“Other than that freedom is the most valuable gift we have, is it not?”
For many, that freedom came at a high cost.
Ken Coffman, 76, of Loudonville has suffered through five bouts of cancer over the last two decades. Doctors from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs tell him the cancer stems from exposure to Agent Orange while serving 10 months in Vietnam.Â
Coffman, 21 at the time, served in the Army’s 101st Airborne Division. As a sergeant, he led approximately 60 combat missions. He also took part in Operation Ranch Hand, a chemical warfare program meant to clear the forest and food crops used by enemy forces.
U.S. forces used 20 million gallons of various color-coded herbicides from 1961 to 1971 in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The most potent and most widely used of them was Agent Orange, according to History.com.
Upon his return to the U.S., Coffman said he experienced nightmares and cold sweats.
You may be eligible for VA disability compensation. Here’s how.
If you were exposed to Agent Orange, you could be eligible for compensation if you meet both of these requirements:
- You have a health condition that’s caused by exposure to Agent Orange, and
- You served in a location that exposed to Agent Orange
Read more here.
*Although some services from the VA have been affected by an ongoing federal government shutdown, benefits and compensation continue to be disbursed to veterans, according to the agency’s contingency plan.
(The story continues below the photos.)
‘I’m still alive’
“Let’s put it this way — it was hell for him,” said his cousin, Don Way.
Later on, he developed cancer in his kidney, twice in his bladder, lymph nodes and lungs. He beat them all.Â
“I’m still alive,” he said Tuesday, smiling.Â
As of three years ago, Coffman receives full compensation from the VA because of his exposure to the carcinogenic chemical.
Coffman sat at one of the 27 round tables Tuesday bantering and reminiscing with fellow Vietnam war veterans. Polk residents Jerry Wittman, 77, and Mick Goon, 75, joined him.
The three of them spent the morning sharing their experiences. Wittman, a heavy equipment engineer who served 14 months in Vietnam, told a story about moving dirt to make way for a road — only the dirt was actually mud.
“No matter how many times I pushed it, the mud would just refill the spot,” he said.
Goon said he served in Vietnam for nine months toward the end of the war. Because of the transition, he served in four different units — all as a transporter.
“I’d haul basically everything and anything they told me to move,” he said.
Big plans for veterans memorial
As the trio chatted, the mayor reflected on the value of freedom — and what the city is planning for the upcoming 250th anniversary of the USA. The anniversary will be celebrated nationwide on July 4, 2026.
In Ashland, Miller said, the city will dedicate a large, granite monument in green space allotted in the Pump House District, which is currently under construction. The $43.5 million development promises to bring 192 apartments, among other amenities.
“Basically, it is a 35,000-pound piece of granite that will stand there, I believe at about five feet tall, 15 feet wide and will have etched on it: F.R.E.E.D.O.M,” he said, spelling out the word to applause.Â
Behind the monument will stand five pillars, which will represent the five branches of the U.S. military.
‘Excellent’
The trio — Coffman, Goon and Wittman — makes the annual breakfast each year. They agreed the city does an “excellent” job at showing its gratitude to military veterans.
The event drew hundreds who filed into the Eagles Club from 7:30 to 9 a.m. But some were lined up around 7 a.m., said Ashland Council President Steve Workman. The councilman joined three other councilmen to serve food.
“It was about a third of the way full in here right at the start,” Workman said.
Other groups, like the American Heritage Girls and the Ashland County Republican Women joined to volunteer services for the morning.
The city uses donated money for the event, which also includes a complimentary pin. Miller said the city ordered 250 of them.
Way, founder of the Ashland County Veterans Honor Bus, chimed in with his agreement of the veterans’ appreciation.
“I don’t think there’s another county in Ohio that does as much as our community to show their support,” he said.
Way fought tears as he articulated his gratitude to veterans.Â
“I just — I can’t imagine what these guys went through,” he said, his eyes glistening. “I’m glad they’re finally getting the honor they deserve.”