We are coming up on the big Autumn Affair in town and our post will have out VFW tent across from the Post Office.
Stop by and say hello to some of our veterans. We will be selling our annual Veterans Day Raffle tickets with the drawing on Saturday, November 15. We will be serving breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon.
I would like to tell ALL veterans that Windham-Ashland-Jewett school will have a Veterans Day Assembly on Monday, November 10 at 1:15 p.m.
The assembly will be approximately 40 minutes, and the students pay great tribute to all veterans. For more information you can contact me at 518-810-3109.
Let me tell you one thing from a veteran’s perspective who served our country. Vietnam veterans faced scorn as the war we had fought in became increasingly unpopular. Let me give you an example.
Twenty-one-year-old Steven A. Wowwk arrived as an infantryman in the Army’s First Cavalry Division in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam in early January 1969 to fight in an escalating and increasingly un-winnable war.
By June, Wowwk had been wounded twice—the second time seriously—and was sent back to the United States for treatment at Boston’s Chelsea Naval Hospital.
It was after returning to the U.S. and while en route to the hospital that Wowwk first encountered hostility as a veteran strapped to a gurney in a retrofitted bus,
Wowwk and other wounded servicemen felt excitement at being back on American soil. But looking out the window and seeing civilians stop to watch the small convoy of hospital-bound vehicles, his excitement turned to confusion.
“I remember feeling like, what could I do to acknowledge them, and I just gave the peace signal,” Wowwk says. “And instead of getting return peace fingers, I got the middle finger.”
No 'Welcome Home' parades for Vietnam vets. It seems the country is getting a message that divides us. Where is this coming from? I understand that not everyone will agree with each other but put down the rhetoric from both sides and get along. I just do not want police and first responders attacked. Some day all of us may need them.
Like many of you, I’ve been troubled by how divided our country has become. Every day seems to bring heartbreaking news—shootings, hostility toward police and first responders, and a general erosion of respect and unity. It’s hard to watch.
As a veteran, I see troubling parallels to the Vietnam era. Back then, those who served came home to anger and division.
I don’t want us to go back to that. We must find common ground and stop the political and social rhetoric that tears us apart.
Whether you agree with someone or not, we owe it to our communities—and to those who serve and protect us—to treat each other with dignity and respect.
Let’s come together as neighbors, Americans, and human beings. And let’s never forget the importance of honoring those who put their lives on the line for us all.
This week let us honor Medal of Honor recipient Major Bernard F. Fisher of the 1ST Air Commandos US Air Force for action at Bien Hoa & Pleiku.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. On that date, the Special Forces camp at A Shau was under attack by 2,000 North Vietnamese Army regulars.
Hostile troops had positioned themselves between the airstrip and the camp. Other hostile troops surrounded the camp and were continuously raking it with automatic-weapons fire from the surrounding hills.
The tops of the 1,500-foothills were obscured by an 800 foot ceiling, limiting aircraft maneuverability and forcing pilots to operate within range of hostile gun positions, which often were able to fire down on attacking aircraft.
During the battle, Maj. Fisher observed a fellow airman crash land on the battle-torn airstrip. In the belief that the downed pilot was seriously injured and in imminent danger of capture, Maj. Fisher announced his intention to land on the airstrip to effect a rescue.
Although aware of the extreme danger and likely failure of such an attempt, he elected to continue. Directing his own air cover, he landed his aircraft and taxied almost the full length of the runway, which was littered with battle debris and parts of an exploded aircraft.
While effecting a successful rescue of the downed pilot, heavy ground fire was observed, with 19 bullets striking his aircraft.
In the face of withering ground fire, he applied power and gained enough speed to lift-off at the overrun of the airstrip.
Maj. Fisher's profound concern for his fellow airman, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country. He retired at the rank of Colonel. He died Aug. 16, 2014, at the age of 87.
God Bless all who served our country and all who still serve. God Bless America.
Marc Farmilette, PDC – Commander VFW Post 1545
Major Bernard F. Fisher
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