HOWARD — Foster Joseph Sayers, a native of Howard, joined the U.S. Army in the middle of World War II. He was assigned to Company L, 357th Infantry, 90th Infantry Division.
In November of 1944, with his company engaged in fierce fighting near Thionville, France, Sayers moved forward on his own initiative to engage two German machine gun emplacements, drawing their fire so the rest of his company could move across an open field and outflank the enemy position.
While his comrades wiped out the Nazi defenders, Sayers was hit multiple times and died that day from his wounds. For his bravery, he was posthumously awarded our nation’s highest honor, the Medal of Honor. He was just 20 years old and is the only person from Centre County to be awarded the medal.
When Bald Eagle State Park was created, the nearly eight-mile-long lake and its containment dam were named for Sayers, and a small memorial was constructed near the breast of the dam, near the village of Blanchard in Liberty Township.
On Friday, May 26, the second phase of the Sayers memorial was unveiled in a lakeside ceremony attended by about 75 people. About 1,200 square feet of brick pavers, supplied by EP Henry Hardscaping, were arranged in the shape of a keystone by 19 Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology students and instructor Joe Luther’s landscape and horticulture class. The students also created seating walls around the keystone formation.
The 13-star Colonial-era flag mural in front of the memorial was also repainted by two Central Mountain High School students for their senior project.
The ceremony was attended by county commissioners from Centre and Clinton counties; John Arway, director of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission; Congressman Glenn Thompson; and Foster Joseph Sayers Jr., a Vietnam-era veteran and the son of the memorial’s namesake.
Several of the dignitaries spoke, thanking the Builders Association of Central PA, CPI students, EP Henry and sponsoring organizations for their efforts in the memorial upgrades. They also encouraged audience members to take time to honor America’s fallen veterans during the Memorial Day weekend.
Sayers Jr. and Ron Davy of the Howard Area Lions Club unveiled a brick pathway, which included the engraved names of many local veterans. Larry Butler, of Beech Creek, who helped organize the Sayers Memorial upgrade project, said more bricks will be sold to help fund future construction, which will include five flagpoles to represent the five branches of the United States military services.
