American Legion Post 36 Commander David Patch, CDR/USN (Ret), is proud to announce that Rear Adm. Hugh W. Howard III is this year’s Grand Marshal for the Memorial Day parades in the Boothbay region. “I am honored to be in Maine this solemn weekend,.
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25 May 2021
Florida Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), the first Green Beret to serve in Congress, set the record straight after far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) concluded that members of Congress effectively “served in war” due to their scare during the January 6 Capitol riot.
The Florida Republican and combat-decorated veteran addressed Ocasio-Cortez’s comparison, deeming it both “sad and ignorant” and adding a dose of reality to her “false” equivalency by pointing out the New York Democrat “hasn’t lost fellow soldiers on the battlefield or seen friends permanently disfigured by Taliban attacks.”
“January 6 was a terrible day for sure and those involved will be brought to justice but this is a sad and ignorant comparison to make…and a disservice to those who actually served,” Waltz said Tuesday.
U.S. Army Air Force
John Plebani served from August 1942 until December 1945 and worked as a mechanic. He was stationed in the Pacific in New Guinea. He has lived in Scotch Plains for more than 50 years, and his 100th birthday is Wednesday, May 26, 2021!
Gregory Ruffa, 96
U.S. Army Air Force
Gregory Ruffa enlisted in WWII when he was just 18 years old once he realized he had enough credits after three years of high school to graduate and take the air force exam. After Mr. Ruffa decided he wanted to fly, he had to pass various difficult tests in order to gain the ability to operate a plane and become part of the Air Force. “I would stay up all night studying to keep up and pass the exams,” Mr. Ruffa said.
American Legion Post 37 and the Auxiliary recently hosted a Quilt of Valor ceremony at its spring potluck, honoring 94-year-old Clinton J. âMikeâ McMichael of Hermiston.Â
The Quilt of Valor is a handmade quilt presented to a veteran, considered a civilian award to the soldier for their bravery in service.Â
According to the biography put together by American Legion, McMichael was a 17-year-old farm boy in Curtis, Nebraska, when he was inspired by accounts of D-Day in newsreels and on the radio. Three months later he joined the Army and was trained as a combat engineer. He was shipped across the Atlantic to England in a troop ship and crossed the English channel to a newly liberated France. He made his way through Europe clearing landmines until Germany s surrender.
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The Things They Carried
The most famous short story about the Vietnam War began at Esquire as veteran Tim O’Brien captured his deployment through tales of the rifles, photographs, and memories that soldiers brought with them.
By Tim O Brien May 25, 2021
This is the first chapter of what would become Tim O’Brien s award-winning book The Things They Carried.
A collection of linked short stories told from the ground in Vietnam, Esquire would publish five of the vignettes. This passage originally appeared in the August 1986 issue of the magazine. You can find every Esquire story ever published at Esquire Classic.