Page 6 - Martin Downs Bulletin - July '21

Page 6, Martin Downs

in Your CommunitY

New Old Friends: WWII as an executive with multimillion-dollar textile companies. this. He too played golf until recently and had the privilege of

Veterans Sharing Lives And His entrepreneurial spirit led him out of the “box” of corporate meeting some of the greats of the game.
During lunch, the vets traded stories of names and places
America and into new enterprises as far flung as China.
Swapping Tales Eventually he developed his real estate investment business and that strike an emotional chord in anyone who served in or has
still manages a portfolio with more than 250 investors. studied WWII. Alyn has an extensive folder of photos and news
A chance encounter at Steve pursued a degree in chemical engineering and went clips that he and Steve pored over as they swapped war stories.
the 2021 Memorial Day to work for Chevron Oil, where he was a sales manager and Both immediately recognized the clipping about the USS Rocky
commemoration ceremonies had responsibility for quality control for their East Coast Mount, the admiral’s flagship in the Pacific, that they would have
in Stuart has brought two operations. He too saw the advantages of investing in and both seen on their flight patterns, and the tales about Doolittle’s
World War II veterans managing real estate, which he did along with his son in daring raid over Tokyo just after Pearl Harbor.
together and started a lively several parts of the country. Flying planes in wartime, risking their lives in service to their
conversation. The more they Both found joy in the game of golf. Steve says he started country, enjoying golf and building similar careers. These two
talked, the more the two vets playing at 13 in New Jersey and took his golf bag with him even strangers, serendipitously meeting in a park in Stuart, Fla., have
discovered that they have into the war in the Pacific. At 102, he was still playing every day now become fast friends, feeling the satisfaction of swapping
even more in common than their military service. and had a handicap of 9. “You’re my hero,” Alyn says in hearing tales with someone who truly understands their lives well lived.
Alyn Bell, 97, is a resident of Piper’s Landing in Palm
City. After meeting Stuart resident Stephen Blauvelt, 103, on CommunitY HappEnings
Memorial Day, Alyn and his wife Diane invited Steve and his son
to lunch at Piper’s to swap stories about their shared experiences.
They couldn’t have predicted how many similar threads run
through both their lives. Ribbon Cutting For Mapp events. The Palm City Chamber of Commerce in partnership
During WWII, Alyn flew B25s in the Pacific Theater. A with the Neighborhood Advisory Committee has plans for a
commissioned officer in the Army Air Force, he flew 24 combat Road Holiday Village in December and other family activities to
bombing missions over Japanese strongholds. The combat was showcase the new walkable corridor in Palm City. We look
fierce and risky. “I graduated from flight school when I was just Welcome to Palm City Highlights, an opportunity to forward to welcoming The Barn Restaurant from the owners
19,” Alyn says. “At that age you think everything is an adventure. be up to date on the happenings of our fabulous Palm City of Kork Restaurant in Hobe Sound. We hope to attract new
You don’t understand the danger of what you’re doing.” community so many of us call home. As the executive shops, restaurants, and other merchants to the area with the
He recalls that when he first flew a plane with rockets strapped director of the Palm City Chamber of Commerce and a Martin completion of the Mapp Road Town Center.
under the wings, there was no one who even knew how to target County local for 47 years, I am honored to be able to write If you have any questions or concerns regarding the
them. “We did what we needed to do,” he says. this article for you. We have many exciting things happening happenings in Palm City, please check out our website at www.
As a member of the Coast Guard, Steve preferred small in Palm City currently. I will focus on the improvements to palmcitychamber.com or contact Missi at (772) 286-8121.
planes. His mission in the Pacific was critical: to maintain the Mapp Road for this segment.
navigation lights on the atolls of the Pacific islands and to rescue The Community Redevelopment
downed pilots as needed. It’s easy for the two veterans to imagine Agency (CRA), has been working very
that Steve could have been flying low in the area and available hard to create a wonderful Town Center for
for rescue at the same time and place where Alyn was bringing the residents of Palm City on Mapp Road.
his B25 in for a landing. This project has been in the works for
Unlike Alyn, who graduated from the Air Force cadet many years, and we are finally able to see it
academy and then became an officer, Steve proclaims himself come to fruition. We are grateful to District
“the only cook who flew planes in the war.” He was a cook on a 5 Commissioner Ed Ciampi, the Palm City
Coast Guard vehicle when the freighter he was escorting blew up, Neighborhood Advisory Committee and
and the depth charges almost took out him and the escort crew. Sunshine Land Design for their dedication
“We had no training, really,” he said. “Someone should have to this amazing project. Many Mapp Road
told us about depth charges in shallow water.” So he chose to merchants including Dr. Rex Sentell and
make a change and went to flight school for the Coast Guard at Mike DiTerlizzi have kept this project in
Pensacola. “I still had my cook’s badge on my sleeve, though,” the forefront with their countless hours
he says, “right under my flying patch.” of volunteering on committees and their
At war’s end, each man left military service and started constant commitment to the betterment of
civilian careers. “Flying without a machine gun is no fun,” Alyn Palm City.
says, as he jokes about why he didn’t continue a career as a pilot. The Mapp Road Town Center Project
Instead, Alyn bought his first piece of investment real estate in includes generous 10-foot-wide sidewalks,
Los Angeles in 1946 and went on to build a successful career beautiful landscaping, decorative
streetlights, trash/recycling receptacles,
benches, curb and gutter drainage, on-street
parking and a well-connected corridor
that safely accommodates vehicles,
bicycles, and people. The project should be
completed in August with a grand opening
to be scheduled. This event will feature
a children’s area, food and merchandise
from neighborhood shops and a ribbon
cutting with community leaders at the soon
to be Patio of Palm City Place between
the fire station and Palm City Animal
Medical Center. The Patio, in front of the
lake, will be the location of many future

Steve Blauvelt and Alyn Bell enjoyed an afternoon of combing
through Alyn’s photos and clippings and sharing their memories
of combat in WWII.

Editorial copy appearing herewith is not necessarily the viewpoint of
Seabreeze Publications of Central Florida. Most editorial copy is created by
the homeowners and is edited by their appointed editor.

1102 W. Indiantown Rd., Suite 5, Jupiter, FL 33458
(561) 746-3244
FAX (561) 746-2509

Seabreeze Publications

Publisher
M. Sean Reid
J. Reid

Sales
Tom English, Laura Berrio, Bret McCormick
www.seabreezepublications.com