With Karen’s permission I share the story of John Zale’s Canoe:
“My Dad’s Canoe” by Karen Zale
Just want to share a story with you about a project I’m working on:
After the war, dad came home, met my mom and started a family. Dad wanted to do something for the community and he started a Boy Scout troop at our grade school. Dad loved the Scouts and was the Troop Leader for 15 years. He said his mission was to teach the boys
about patriotism and survival. Dad poured his heart and soul into teaching his scouts and even received the coveted award for his contributions to
scouting, called the Scoutmaster’s Key. He did have an impact on many of his little boy scouts. One in particular went on to law school, became the
city attorney, and now serves as a New York State Supreme Court Justice. Judge Kloch told me at dad’s funeral that he is not even worthy
to tie my dad’s shoe and holds him in the highest regard.
Next, dad had an old canoe that he loved and named it after his favorite tree called the Tamarack.
I have this old wood and canvas canoe at my home now in Vermont and it is old and not sea worthy. We took photos of it and sent them to a
boat maker in New Hampshire who specializes in the restoration of wood and canvas canoes. I wanted to know what it would cost to repair, or if he would like to purchase it (as his ad had mentioned). Other than that, I mentioned that
the canoe was my dad’s and he named it the Tamarack.
The boat maker wrote back saying that it would cost between $1500 – 1800 to repair. Some antique dealers are buying them for $200 to cut up
and turn into old bookcases. What interested him, however, is that the canoe is name the Tamarack. His passion is the Tamarack tree and he is
on a quest to find the largest Tamarack tree in New Hampshire and is writing a book on hikes to Tamarack trees!! Now, what are the odds
of this man having a passion for the Tamarack tree that coincidentally is the name my dad gave his canoe 50 years ago. I was thinking, this is really wierd.
I wrote back to Mr. Martin saying that it is not so much the canoe that is special, but it is about the MAN behind the CANOE
that was important to me. I told him about dad’s POW experiences and how he devoted his civilian life to the Boy Scouts after the war and had
taught them about canoeing.
Well, he writes back saying, “WOW! What an amazing story.” He felt the canoe should be saved, and have all who see it be
told about the story of this great man. I wrote back saying that I will try to raise the funds to have it restored and then I will donate the canoe to the Boy Scouts in honor and memory of my dad. He wrote back saying it is a great idea and that he will kick things off himself by donating $100.
The lightbulb went off in my head and I contacted many of my dad’s former Boy Scouts (most in their sixties now) and I started a “Save the Tamarack — Remembrance of John Zale” fund. As of today the fund is at $1600 (having received $600 in
donations in today’s mail from some of his scouts). I also got a phone call today from Florida for another scout who is going to send a check.
The goal has been reached.
My husband and I are going to rent some sort of conveyance to deliver the canoe from my house in Vermont for the three hour driveto New Hampshire to get the Tamarack to the boat maker. In Spring the canoe should be done being renovated and we will take it to Buffalo, NY, to donate to the scouts.
My dad is like the Eveready battery bunny…….he just keeps giving. Now he will be memorialized by the Scouts, his own scouts,to honor a great man, soldier, patriot, father and leader.
And that is how the story goes…….
Thanks for reading this far! Good night. That was your bedtime story and it is a true story of love.
–Karen
The following are images of the canoe that Karen Zale sent to the boat builder to obtain an estimate on the cost of repairs:
Below are the images that Kevin Martin, the Boat-Builder sent to Karen Zale as he was restoring the Richardson Canoe:
The following images reflect the restored Richardson Canoe by Kevin Martin Boat-builders. Follow and Like Kevin on Facebook at Kevin Martin Boatbuilder.
Notes from Dorothy Johler:
The canoe dedication was held on July 18th, 2014 at Camp Schoellkoph in Cowlesville NY. It was a great honor and privilege to be in attendance for the ceremony. My best friend Mary Ann also attended. Here are some images from that special evening and stay tuned for more information and reflection from Karen Zale and family.
The following article was authored by Ron Krul from the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH), the Emcee at the Canoe dedication. It has been submitted to the Purple Heart Magazine.
John Zubrzycki, POW # 433 (In 1950, the last name was shortened to Zale)
Boy Scouts honor POW #433
Article written by Ron Krul from the Military Order of the Purple Heart, New York Chapter 264.
An Army WWII veteran with a combat infantryman badge (CIB) and recipient of a Purple Heart. A survivor of the Bataan Death March in the Philippines and a survivor of the “hell ships” that transported him to China. A survivor of 3 ½ years as a POW forced to labor in Manchuria. John Zale, for over 3 years know as #433, did not just endured perhaps the harshest punishment a human could endure, he proved he was able to prevail and gave back until the age of 90. For fifteen of those years John was a scout leader in the Boy Scouts of the Greater Niagara Frontier Council, sharing his experience and creating positive experiences for “the kids”.
Born and raised in the Buffalo, NY area during the Depression, John did not have an easy life. John’s schooling ended in the sixth grade at the age of 12 so that he could help his family. In 1940 at the age of 18, he joined the Army and after basic training was sent to the Philippines as part of the 31st Infantry Regiment. In 1941 WWII started with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The war spread to the Philippines and John was wounded in battle, an abdominal wound which required extensive surgery. Before he was thoroughly healed, he and thousands of American soldiers became prisoners of war at the hands of the Japanese. The POW’s were forced to march 60 miles across the Bataan peninsula in extreme heat with little to no food or water. Anyone who “fell out” during the march was either killed or left to die. John once stated that, “if I had to march another mile, I couldn’t have made it.”
That was just the beginning of the POW’s ordeal. They were packed into ships known as “hell ships” to be relocated to Korea. Packed into holding compartments for 30 days, they stood or squatted for there was no place to sit or lie down. Many did not survive. The POWs were covered with lice, had no toilet facilities, practically no nourishment and were sick and diseased. Zale’s weight dropped below 100 pounds, but there was still more hardship to come. Transported to a labor camp in Manchuria, life was brutal at the hands of the enemy. Twenty to thirty men were dying per day and the bodies just piled up.
Zale’s imprisonment would last for 3 ½ years when he was finally liberated in 1945. Returning home at the age of 23, he returned to Western New York to work and raised a family. In 1956 John became leader of the Boy Scout Troop 192 where he shared with his “troops” his life experiences, survival skills, and his military training in an effort to shape these scouts into being better American citizens. John dedicated 15 years of his life to this enjoyable endeavor.
John Zale, a member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH), NY Chapter 264 for 30 years, passed away at the age of 90 in 2012. In July of 2014, his daughter Karen, with the assistance of Chapter 264 and the Boy Scouts Council, orchestrated a fitting tribute to her father. At Boy Scout Camp Schoellkopf in Cowlesville, NY, the Zale family provided the scouts with her father’s refurbished canoe which he had used for many years paddling his friends, family and scouts around the waters of Western New York. Karen stated, “I wanted my dad’s pleasant memories to remain with the scouts for many years to come. “ Additionally, the family presented the scouts with an American Flag that had been flown over the U.S. Capital on the anniversary date of John being wounded in action and earning the privilege of being the recipient of a Purple Heart. The scouts honored John Zale by posting the colors, conducting a flag folding ceremony, providing a 21 gun salute and sounding TAPS in his memory as a final tribute to a true hero.
John Zale had been an influence to many and for many years. Right up to the time of his death, John volunteered at the VA Hospital in Buffalo, offering aid and comfort to his fellow veterans. Of the many lives he had inspired, one was of an Eagle Scout who came to make some touching remarks at the ceremony of how John had directed, inspired and influenced his life. This Eagle Scout is now State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch.
John Zale is hero among heroes. A model Purple Heart recipient, John endured, survived, prevailed and gave back to his community every day of his life in the hopes that no one would ever have to endure the hardships that he had to while serving and defending his county.
Johlerpow and Zale et al. 
Comments on: "* John Zale’s canoe ; “The Tamarack”" (2)
Fantastic post. I am particular to stories about this particular hero 🙂
There is no man I admired and respected more than Mr. Zale. God Bless.