In Her Brother's Memory
By Dianna Smith , Beaver County Times Staff
BADEN
Mariellen Ketterer stands in front of her business, Punks Ice Cream Shoppe in Baden with a picture of her older brother, John 'Mickey' Futato, who served in the Vietnam War and died in 1993 at the age of 43.
Each Memorial Day, Mariellen Ketterer drives to the Sylvania Hills Cemetery in Rochester Township to place flowers on the grave of her older brother, a Vietnam War veteran.
This Memorial Day, she won't make the trip to the cemetery. Instead, she will be scooping ice cream, making milkshakes and hopefully stuffing lots of bills into the register as she spends the day working at Punks Ice Cream Shoppe.
All of the proceeds made Monday at her Baden business on Ohio River Boulevard will be given to the Vietnam Veterans of America, Beaver County Chapter 862. Also, the seven employees scheduled to work noon to 10 p.m. Monday have volunteered to work so their wages can go toward helping local veterans. And local suppliers have donated items to her business that day.
It's a way for Ketterer to keep her brother's memory alive while helping those veterans who are still living.
"If there's a Vietnam veteran out there that needs help, I'd like to see him get it," said Ketterer, of New Sewickley Township. "When you stop and think what they gave for us ... they definitely don't get what they deserve."
John "Mickey" Futato of Bridgewater joined the Army at age 17. Although Ketterer was only 6 years old when her big brother left to fight in the war, she said she remembers him as being outgoing, fun and one heck of a singer.
But he didn't come back that way.
When Futato returned, he said very little about the war. He said very little at all.
Ketterer said he was quiet, reserved and liked to be alone. The war, she said, changed him.
Ketterer, a Purple Heart recipient, received a hole in his spine from a wound in Vietnam.
Ketterer said he developed a cancer related to Agent Orange, a highly toxic herbicide used during the war.
His health deteriorated and, at age 41, he had to use a wheelchair. Futato died in 1992, at age 43.
"If he had not gone there, he'd still be here today," Ketterer said. "He wanted to go though because he thought it was the right thing to do. I don't think he regretted it."
To help people like her brother, Ketterer plans to spend Monday serving ice cream from her building, which is decorated with American flags and banners. The American flag Ketterer received from the military at her brother's funeral is hanging above the windows.
Even the sundaes will have tiny red, white and blue flags on top.
Skip Haswell, president of the Beaver County Vietnam veterans chapter, said the money will go toward bringing "The Moving Wall," the traveling half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, to Beaver. That will cost around $7,000. He would like to do so in September during National Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Week.
As for Punks' contribution, Haswell said he is truly grateful.
"I couldn't believe there are people out there that will do things like that," he said. "Words cannot express the appreciation I have."
And, if all goes well, Ketterer plans to make this an annual tradition. She just hopes her customers remain patient on Monday while waiting to put their money toward a good cause.
"I only have two windows, so there might be a line," she said with a laugh. "But they won't wait long. And even if it rains, we will still be open."
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