Meriden Antique Veterans. City Services. Social Services. Senior Center The Antique Veterans of Meriden Honor Guard was formed in 1. Thursday morning at 9: 3. AM in the Max. Muravnick Meriden Senior Center, 2. West Main St., Meriden, CT 0. With 2. 30 members as of 5/4/1. The honor guard on detail includes a rifle squad, two buglers, flag folders with flag presentation to the family, a color guard, and musical selections appropriate for each service branch. This is a great tribute to the departed veteran and a source of comfort and support to those left behind. The Antiques are in high demand – well over 1,2. Americans. They also perform at social and education functions, schools and ceremonies. New members are always welcome and the meetings are open to any honorably discharged veteran, male or female, of any branch of the United States Armed Forces. Website Questions: contact Peter Burch at 2. Donations: check payable to . Click here - Presentation of medals and ribbons to Ed Lynch by US Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty - Feb. Click here - Video of Jack O'Neill on USS Missouri in Hawaii - Nov., 2. OBITUARIES . Obits will be listed alphabetically by Surname, click on the following links to browse.![]() Click here - Jack O'Neill story in Meriden Record- Journal regarding the USS Nicholas > Click here - Moose Riders event (1. Click here - Record- Journal recruitment article (1/3. Click here - Global War on Terror Wall of Remembrance West Hartford, CT (8/2. Antique Vets Anthem: Click here Meriden Memorial Day Parade - May 2. Click for additional photos. Emilio Alier. Emilio Alier was born in Puerto Rico in 1. New Haven, CT. After going through the local school system and graduating, he enlisted in the U. S. Air Force in 1. Lackland AFB in Texas, and then to Sheppard AFB in San Antonio TX for eight months to be trained in environmental health. For the next 3. Other duties included water testing, air sampling, pollution control, hearing tests for pilots, and training to respond to nuclear and chemical warfare attacks. During his four year enlistment, he was briefly assigned for duty in 4. Turkey and Mexico (training with local troops). Chuck Reid, 37, lost his hand when he was 15 years old from being struck by a train. A year later when he was 16 him and his dad went to a barbershop to get their. Veterans Personal Pages. A number of 25th Infantry Division veterans have put up their own accounts of their time with the Division. For further information about. New Haven Register. Your local source for breaking news, sports, business, classifieds, and entertainment in New Haven. He was discharged with the rank of Sergeant in 1. U. S. Post Office as a carrier. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in early 2. Emilio also graduated from Texas Lutheran College in 1. Coarta Alpha Omega Church 1. He married his wife Nancy in 1. Emilio and Sarai. Until recently, he was a competitive runner, participating in half marathons. He remains a baseball and basketball fan. Leonard Ayers. Leonard was born in 1. Burlington VT, but was raised in Stowe VT, graduating from Stowe High School. He then graduated from Norwich University (the oldest private military school in the U. 8 Jul 12: USA SPC Erica P (Alecksen) Bailey, 21, of Eatonton, GA died in Maidan Shahr, Wardak Province just south of Kabul from wounds she sustained from an. City Services Social Services Senior Center Meriden Antique Veterans. The Antique Veterans of Meriden Honor Guard was formed in 1996 and meets weekly each Thursday. S.) with a degree in Business Administration. A severe fracture of his left leg while skiing left him in a cast for two years. He joined the US Army in 1. Fort Knox, followed by a two year deployment to Germany (during the Berlin Crisis). Eventually reaching the rank of First Lieutenant, he served in an Armor Reconnaissance Squadron (specifically the “Davy Crockett Platoon”), which among other armaments carried a truck- mounted recoilless nuclear rifle (1. Of interest: while serving in Germany, he was on the US Army Biathlon Ski Team, a sport that requires skiing 2. Following discharge in 1. Woolworth Co., King’s Department Stores and Ocean State Job Lot. He married his wife Cynthia in 1. Derek and Charlotte), and now has 3 grandchildren. Today, he and his wife have an antique business, buying and selling at antique shows. Roger Beausoleil. Roger, one of fourteen children, was born in Waterbury in 1. After going through the Waterbury school system he worked as a photographer for United States Time Corp. During WWII Roger, and four of his brothers, served in the Armed Forces. He enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps on Feb. Parris Island, SC followed by two weeks in Advanced Combat Training at Camp Lejeune, NC. He completed his training at Camp Pendleton, CA. Roger shipped out of San Diego with the 3rd Amphibious Corps., first restocking supplies in Guam before sailing to Okinawa, arriving just as the battle was ending. Tiensen, China where he assisted in accepting the local Japanese surrender and repatriating Japanese troops. Roger remained in China in the 1st Pioneer Battalion, 1st Marine Division until Nov. He was discharged in Feb. Camp Pendleton and joined the Reserves. After one year in civilian life he was re- activated and reported to Camp Lejeune Headquarters Co., 8th Marines as the Korean War was unfolding. He worked as a cook and later as a photographer. He was discharged in 1. New England Provision Company. Fifteen years later, he became an entrepreneur within the Yale University Medical School, establishing centralized copying and printing services. Under Roger’s guidance the new department ultimately grew to 5 locations throughout Yale, employing and overseeing a staff of 3. In 1. 98. 7, he left Yale to form his own printing company, Science Park Business Services, in New Haven. He has been married to his wife, Joan, for 3. Roger is also a member of the China Marine Association and continues to attend their annual meetings throughout the country. Mark Bender. Mark Bender was born on Dec. Meriden schools and joined the U. S. Army at age 1. Basic training and advanced schooling were carried out at Fort Ord, CA and he was then assigned to the 3. Engineer Battalion 1. Transportation Group at Fort Devens, MA. Later he was assigned to the Natick R & D Command in Natick, MA and stayed there as a Spec 4 until discharge. He remained in the service from Sept. Sept. 1. 97. 7. Throughout these years, Mark was a tractor- trailer operator, hauling bulldozers, bridge parts and front- end loaders, as well as maintaining and painting his vehicle and assisting mechanics in the motor pool. During this Vietnam War era, he assisted in experimentation of fast- moving drops of cargoes (fuel, water, food, ammo, etc.) from low- flying cargo planes (2. And he put his lifeguard experience to good use as a water safety instructor, teaching Green Berets headed overseas how to swim. Mark was married to Sharon Clementel in 1. Steven, Saralyn, Michelle and Shaina. He currently has five grandchildren: Hunter, Logan, Dominic, Savanah and Mason. Following his service time, he moved back to Meriden and became a Meriden Firefighter, with 3. July 2. 01. 0. As of 2. Renee Dewey for the past 1. In September 1. 94. Army and was sent to Camp Croft, SC for basic and specialist (Communications) training. After finishing his training, he was sent to Fort Dix, NJ in February 1. Casablanca, Morocco, North Africa where he joined the 3rd Infantry Division and was assigned to the 1. Combat Engineer Battalion. Joe’s travels with the 3rd Division took him from Morocco through Algeria to Tunisia. He participated in the amphibious assault on Sicily where his division captured Palermo and Messina. From there came the landing in Salerno, Italy. The fighting up the Italian boot up to Monte Casino was quite fierce. His division was taken off of the Casino front to make an end run, behind enemy lines, to Anzio. There he endured four months of hell. The division broke out of the Anzio beachhead on May 2. Rome on June 4th. This feat was overshadowed two days later by the landing on Normandy. In August, the division assaulted the beaches of Southern France and began the drive through Europe. The move through France was fairly rapid until the division ended up in the Colmar Pocket in Alsace. After crossing the Rhine River into Germany, the division was instrumental in capturing Nuremberg, Munich and Augsburg in Germany and then Salzburg and Berchtesgaden in Austria. The 3rd Division spent more days in combat (5. Medals of Honor (3. Joe missed the first three days of combat but was with the division for the other 5. He was awarded nine battle stars for Tunisia, Sicily, Naples/Foggia, Anzio, Rome/Arno, Southern France, Ardennes/Alsace, Rhineland and Central Europe. He was finally shipped to the United States in October 1. November 1. 94. 5 with the rank of Sergeant. In January 1. 94. Joe entered Teachers’ College of Connecticut and graduated in June 1. One week after graduation, Joe married Evie Charest and started teaching at Samuel Huntington School (King Street). During the Korean War in 1. Lieutenant in the 4. Infantry Division and in 1. Augsburg, Germany until May of 1. He was released from active duty in June of 1. First Lieutenant. He went back to teaching in September 1. Israel Putnam school for two years and then Hanover School for two years. In 1. 95. 6, he was appointed Principal of Eli Whitney School, in 1. Principal of Trumbull School, 1. Benjamin Franklin School, 1. Thomas Hooker School, 1. Washington Junior High School, 1. Samuel Huntington School and in 1. Casimir Pulaski School. He graduated from Hillyer College in 1. Master of Education Degree and from University of Hartford in 1. Advanced Graduate Studies Degree (6th year). He retired in 1. 98. Joe and Evie are the parents of William Borriello of Meriden and Jo. Anne Picard of Marlborough. They have four grandchildren; Brandon and Nathalie Borriello and Neil and Wendy Picard, and one great- grandchild, Brianna Herdic. He then spent two years in embalming school in Boston, but then was drafted by the U. S. He promptly enlisted in the U. S Navy, went to boot camp in Great Lakes IL followed by one year of training as a medical corpsman in Great Lakes. He was then sent to the Naval Hospital in Newport RI, spending the next two years working as a corpsman in the operating room. During this time, he helped with surgery on many wounded military personnel (Marines, Navy, Coast Guard and Army) who had returned from Viet Nam with injuries to the head, chest, arms and legs. Other patients included Navy dependents (wives and children) as well as active duty and retired officers. During the last year of his enlistment, he ran a dispensary at the Newport Naval Base, treating minor injuries and giving inoculations (including to Admiral Stansfield Turner who later became President of the U. S. Naval War College and Director of the CIA). Lance Sijan - Wikipedia. Lance Peter Sijan Lance P. Sijan, Medal of Honor recipient. Born(1. 94. 2- 0. April 1. 3, 1. 94. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U. S. Died. January 2. Hoa Lo, North Vietnam. Place of burial. Arlington Park Cemetery. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U. S. Allegiance United States of America. Service/branch. United States Air Force. Years of service. Rank. Captain (posthumous)Unit. Tactical Fighter Squadron, 3. Fighter Wing. Battles/wars. Vietnam War . On March 4, 1. Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military award, for his selflessness and courage in the face of lethal danger. His father, who owned a restaurant, was of Serbian ancestry, his ancestors emigrated from Serbia during World War I; his mother was an Irish- American. Lance was the eldest of three children. Immediately after his graduation he attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School at the United States Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, Maryland. After completion of the program, he gained an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado. Graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Humanities in 1. After its completion, he was assigned to the 4. Tactical Fighter Squadron, 3. Fighter Wing, stationed at Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam. He flew as a pilot and systems officer in an F- 4 Phantom. John Armstrong were tasked with a bombing mission to Ban Laboy ford in Laos. As they rolled in on their target to release their ordnance, their F- 4. C (s/n 6. 4- 0. 75. Sijan managed to eject from the aircraft, and although likely rendered unconscious in the ejection, his parachute landed him on a rocky limestone karst ridge adjacent to the target. From the night of 9/1. November to the morning of 1. November, no electronic or radio signals were heard from either Sijan or Armstrong. However, early on the morning of 1. November, Sijan made radio contact with a Misty FAC F- 1. F aircraft that was flying over his crash site. For the duration of that day, the USAF launched a massive effort to locate his position, and 'soften up' the numerous enemy air defences in his area. At dusk, the SAR forces were finally able to position a Jolly Green Giant helicopter near Sijan's position. One A- 1. H aircraft was shot down, though its pilot was soon rescued by a SAR helicopter on station. Sijan, refusing to put other airmen in danger, insisted on trying to crawl to a jungle penetrator lowered by the helicopter, and he opposed the helicopter's Para- Jumper coming down to find and rescue him. Sadly, the helicopter crew could not see him in the heavy jungle, and strangely, they did not deploy the 'PJ' to find and rescue Sijan. After the Jolly Green hovered for 3. Sijan, the on- scene SAR commander (flying in an A- 1. H 'Skyraider' aircraft) suspected a trap, and thus ordered the Jolly Green and the entire SAR armada to withdraw. Search efforts continued the very next morning, but they were called off when no further radio contact was made with Sijan. He was then listed in a MIA casualty status. During his violent ejection and very rough parachute landing on the karst ridge, Sijan had suffered a fractured skull, a mangled right hand, and a compound fracture of the left leg. He was without food, with very little water, and no survival kit; nevertheless, he evaded enemy forces for 4. During this entire period, Sijan was only able to move by sliding on his buttocks and back along the rocky limestone ridge and later along the jungle floor. After managing to move several thousand feet, Sijan crawled onto a truck road along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, where he was finally captured by the North Vietnamese on Christmas Day, 1. Very emaciated and in poor health, Sijan was imprisoned in an NVA camp. Soon thereafter, he managed to incapacitate a guard and escape into the jungle, but was recaptured several hours later. Sijan was transported to a holding compound in Vinh, North Vietnam, where he was placed in the care of two other recently captured POWs, Air Force Major Robert R. Craner and Air Force Captain Guy Gruters. Although in terrific pain from his severe wounds and brutal beatings and torture from his captors, Sijan had not disclosed any information other than what the Geneva Convention guidelines allowed (name, date of birth, service, rank, and service number). Suffering terribly from exhaustion, malnutrition, and disease, he was soon transported to Hanoi, under the attentive care of both Craner and Gruters. However, in his weakened state, he contracted pneumonia and died in H. His remains were repatriated on March 1. April 2. 2, 1. 97. He was buried with military honors in Arlington Park Cemetery in Milwaukee. His former cellmate USAF Colonel Craner recommended him for the Medal Of Honor, with supporting testimony provided by his other fellow cellmate, USAF Captain Gruters. Sijan received the Medal Of Honor posthumously in 1. Sylvester and Jane Sijan) receiving it on his behalf on March 4, 1. President Gerald R. Rank and organization: Captain, U. S. Air Force, 4th Allied POW Wing, Pilot of an F- 4. C aircraft. Place and Date: North Vietnam, 9 November 1. Entered service at: Milwaukee, Wis. Born: 1. 3 April 1. Milwaukee, Wis. Citation: While on a flight over North Vietnam, Capt. Sijan ejected from his disabled aircraft and successfully evaded capture for more than 6 weeks. During this time, he was seriously injured and suffered from shock and extreme weight loss due to lack of food. After being captured by North Vietnamese soldiers, Capt. Sijan was taken to a holding point for subsequent transfer to a prisoner of war camp. In his emaciated and crippled condition, he overpowered 1 of his guards and crawled into the jungle, only to be recaptured after several hours. He was then transferred to another prison camp where he was kept in solitary confinement and interrogated at length. During interrogation, he was severely tortured; however, he did not divulge any information to his captors. Sijan lapsed into delirium and was placed in the care of another prisoner. During his intermittent periods of consciousness until his death, he never complained of his physical condition and, on several occasions, spoke of future escape attempts. Sijan's extraordinary heroism and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty at the cost of his life are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U. S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the U. S. Armed Forces./S/GERALD R. The United States Air Force created the Lance P. Sijan Award, recognizing individuals who have demonstrated the highest qualities of leadership in their jobs and in their lives. It has become one of the U. S. Air Force's most prestigious awards. Because Sijan was the first graduate of the United States Air Force Academy to receive the Medal of Honor, a cadet dormitory, Sijan Hall, was named after him. The dormitory was dedicated on Memorial Day, 1. Sijan's high school in Milwaukee set up a scholarship in his honor, presented each year to the student who best exemplifies Lance Sijan's examples of leadership and courage. A nearby park, Sijan Playfield, is dedicated to him, and Milwaukee's Serbian community honors him with a memorial on the grounds of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral. An F- 4 Phantom jet fighter on display in front of the 4. Air Force Reserve at Milwaukee's Mitchell Airport is painted using the color scheme of the one he flew. However, the display was finally moved on February 2. Mitchell International Airport. It will be re- dedicated at this location on May 2. Archived from the original on December 2, 2. Retrieved September 2. Archived from the original on April 7, 1. Retrieved September 2. Archived from the original on March 1. Retrieved September 2. Air Force 'Spotlight' Story. Archived from the original on March 1. Retrieved September 2. Into the Mouth of the Cat, a book written by Malcolm Mc. Connell, ISBN9. 78.
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