CMYK

A2 Thursday, May 21, 2020 The DAILY News

We Remember Our Fallen Heroes this

BRENDAN MCDONOUGH | LIVINGSTON COUNTY NEWS

The COVID-19 pandemic has canceled Memorial Day parades
across the region. Even without formal ceremonies, local
veterans say it is still important to take time and remember
fallen soldiers.

BRENDAN MCDONOUGH | LIVINGSTON COUNTY NEWS

Members of American Legion Post 271 and Geneseo Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5005 gather at Temple Hill Cemetery on L LTr42ansmissions,
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BRENDAN MCDONOUGH | LIVINGSTON COUNTY NEWS 4 - 6 Main Street A Tribute

BRENDAN MCDONOUGH | LIVINGSTON COUNTY NEWS Todd Smith of Geneseo served multiple tours in the Iraq War. Corfu, N.Y. 14036
Dennis Staley, commander of American Legion Post 271 While the COVID-19 pandemic may have caused him to wear a
Phone: 585-599-4520 To Our
in Geneseo, said he will be taking time on Memorial Day to mask, he says it has no stopped his commitment to honoring
remember those who fought for his freedoms. others on Memorial Day. Heroes
Charles A. Herman Julie A. Herman

Veterans urge remembrance

Funeral Director Funeral Director

MEMORIAL DAY: With ceremonies limited, a reminder not to forget those who gave their lives
By BRENDAN MCDONOUGH Veterans said people should have a lot more new veterans if not get haircuts. We have been
bmcdonough@livingstonnews.com think of the fallen on Memo- we look at the category a little called to do some things and we
GENESEO - Two by two vet- rial Day and carry them in our broader,” said Jim Decamp, have to do them.”

O’Brien’s
erans in Geneseo walked up and hearts as long as we live. himself a Vietnam veteran. Veterans admit this Memo-
down each row of Temple Hill “Most of all on Memorial Day In addition to honoring vet- rial Day will be different as they
Cemetery, stopping to pull out remember and take a minute erans, the local veterans are also adjust to the new normal in the
the small American flags placed out of your day and remember encouraging people to serve COVID-19 pandemic. FOR ALL YOUR SUMMER EVENTS!
last year and replace them with all the veterans, World War I and their community in other ways “All the people that have died Septic & Portable Toilets - Trailers Available
new flags. World War II and all the people such as helping out at a food for our freedoms. I think we • Weddings • Weekend Outings
They do it quietly, without that have died for our free- pantry or the local hospice. Sev- can relate to freedom now that • Big or Small Events • Ball Fields
any fanfare. doms,” said Staley. eral veterans said that saying we are all somewhat restricted • Construction • Farm
“We just honor the veterans The times have changed and thank you to a veteran for their to our homes and our lifestyle • Golf Courses • Vacuum Pumping
that passed. There is no service,” some said the definition of what service is appreciated, but dur- has turned upside down,” said • Campsites • Repair/Installation
said Ron Long of Geneseo Veter- Staley. “We are trying to keep as
ans of Foreign Wars Post 5005.
a veteran is could also be ex- ing the COVID-19 pandemic it www.obrienseptic.com 585-766-1221
panding. “Our warriors now are is also important to help out the much normalcy as we can for Proud to be a Certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise 585-335-9466
Due to the COVID-19 pan- the health care professionals, community. the day.”
demic there will be no parades nurses, EMTs. I can not imagine “This is the next biggest threat
or ceremonies. The bands the courage it takes to strap on and a lot of us are not ready for
marching up and down Main that PPE (Personal Protective it,” said Decamp. “A lot of us are
Street have been silenced by the Equipment) and go into one of not used to sacrifice. A lot of us
virus and state orders that con-
those wards. We are going to are complaining that they can
tinue to restrict large gatherings.
For many veterans, the Me-
morial Day commemorations
are one of the most significant
events of the year and some-
thing that they look forward to. Remembering Those Who Died
“Memorial Day is very spe-
cial because that is honoring all
For Our Freedom!
of the veterans that have gone
before us and that is very im-
portant to continue to do that,”
Lamb Farms,, Inc.
said Dennis Staley, commander A New York leader in quality
milk production and ag innovation
of American Legion Post 271 in
Geneseo.
It is a very different time from 585-948-5777 Due to the COVID 19 pandemic and following the guidelines of our State
and National health advisors, we will be cancelling the 2020 Memorial Day
one year ago when march-
ing bands and grand marshals Parade and Buddy Poppy program, along with the Veterans Benefit Golf
drove through the streets,
alongside color guards. There
Tournament on June 15, 2020 at LCC.
were solemn ceremonies with lambfarms@hotmail.com • OAKFIELD, NY • lambfarmsinc.net
rifle salutes and renditions of We look forward to the communities continued and unwavering support
“Taps” as surviving veterans of our veterans as our country slowly returns to normal.
and the families of those who
died paid tribute to millions of
brave men and women who The Flags will fly along Main Street on Memorial Day.
made the ultimate sacrifice.
The passing of another year Flags will be placed on the Veterans Gravesites at Cemeteries around
also brings additional declin-
ing numbers of veterans still the area as usual.
alive. World War II veterans still
alive, according to the U.S. De-
partment of Veterans Affairs,
numbered around 496,000
Americans as of September
2018. America is losing 372 vet-
erans per day and only 620,000
of the 16 million Americans who
served in World War II were
alive in 2016, according to the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
Scores of local soldiers, many
of them friends and neighbors,
laid down their lives to defend
liberty and fight tyranny in
World War I, World War II, Ko-
rea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghani-
stan.
 CMYK

The DAILY News Thursday, May 21, 2020 A3

We Remember Our Fallen Heroes this

Every veteran brings a perspective

By MATT SURTEL
msurtel@batavianews.com
MIDDLEBURY — Ask
about Ken Weber and people
remembered him as a really
nice guy and maybe as their
Little League coach.
Few had any idea of his
earlier service, flying P-47
fighter planes on dangerous
ground attacks over occu-
pied Europe and Nazi Ger-
many 75 years ago.
Perry native Dan Kostr-
zebski and his Army team
were caught in a harrowing
standoff and firefight before
being rescued by a helicop-
ter during the 1991 Gulf War.
He wanted to see the media
highlight the work of military
civil affairs and medical per-
sonnel, who often changed
the minds of people raised to
hate Americans.
One interviews a lot of vet-
erans working for a newspa-
per and their recollections
are almost always a learning
experience. They’re every-
day people, who you might
not have thought of wearing
a uniform.
But they share perspec-
tives from to the humorous
to the horrific:
n About 20 years ago, The
Daily News interviewed a
World War I veteran at the VA
Medical Center in Batavia.
He said he joined the Army
at 16 years old and served in
France.
He matter-of-factly re-
membered stepping behind
a medical tent an seeing
dead comrades laid in a
trench — fellow soldiers he
knew personally.
n Waiting for a school
board meeting in Holley,
again a long time ago, a Navy
veteran shared a few experi-
ences from serving aboard
a Sturgeon class nuclear
submarine in the 1970s. He
confirmed the legend that
submariners used the Navy’s
equivalent of Kool-Aid mix
for cleaning floors — the
stuff was that acidic.
n A retired Le Roy police
officer, who was an Army
reservist, discussed in 2011
the challenges of teaching
professional policing in Af-
ghanistan. How do you even
begin with a culture which
only has a word for “sin” but
not “crime”?
n Two Korean War veter-
ans and Chosin Reservoir
survivors were happy to
talk about their experiences
during a gathering at the VA
Medical Center about 2007.
The Marines had fought
a brutal battle, surrounded
and outnumbered by several
Chinese army divisions, as
they fought their way to the
sea and safety. Temperatures
said.
n Gordon Link of Warsaw
described duties as a B-52
crewman, flying slow orbits
over the Aleutian Islands at
the height of the Cuban Mis-
sile Crisis.
His plane was carrying
a load of nuclear bombs
meant to obliterate a city
somewhere in Russia if war
erupted. He had gotten word
to his wife Mary earlier, in-
structing her to get to Colo-
rado with her mother, where
she’d be safer.
After he returned home, he
was a bit miffed to discover
she stayed at home anyway.
And those are among hun-
dreds of interviews, involv-
ing men and women of all
branches. And the stories
aren’t necessarily unique,
as the current and former
military personnel still live
throughout the area, and
DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO
they all have their share of
Area veterans and family members are in the background as they explore the Vietnam War
memories.
Memorial wall in Washington, D.C., during one of Assemblyman Steve Hawley’s Patriot Trips.
Even though the CO-
Military service remains a big part of many people’s experiences throughout the GLOW region.
VID-19 crisis has limited
were unbelievably cold at -40 — nothing warmer than shoulder. ceremonies and canceled
parades, they and people
degrees. that. The other was happy n Former Pastor Don Vo-
throughout the GLOW re-
One of the old Marines to fetch an X-ray image from gel of the Perry Congrega-
gion will nonetheless com-
said he and his comrades his pickup, showing the two tionalist Church served in memorate their service and
were dressed essentially in Chinese “burp gun” bullets the Pacific in World War II: experiences on Memorial
denim jackets and dungarees still lodged in his chest and “You wouldn’t like it,” he Day.
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(585) 786-2200 never forget their sacrifices.
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Ronald P. Konieczny II
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Be Safe, Be Smart and Be Kind.

We thank you front-line heroes.

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 CMYK

A4 Thursday, May 21, 2020 The DAILY News

Thomas Richard
i Kenneth E. Stroh Harley E. Richley “Dick” Hicks Donald H. Anawald Ray Doody Joseph Caruso Sr.
T-5 Private 1st Class Technical Sergeant Airman 1st Class Petty Officer Sgt.
Army Army Army Air Force Navy Army
1945-1946 1951 - 1952 1943 1952 - 1956 1942-1946 1943-1045

Giget M. Heale Victor H. Heale Ronald J. Stepp Ronald DiSalvo Robert G. Michalak Fred V. Pulvino
k Sgt. CW-3 Petty Officer 2nd Class Corporal SPS Seaman 2
Air Force Army Navy Army Army Navy
2004 - 2009 1983 - 2019 1956 - 1984 1952 - 1954 1965 - 1967 1945 - 1946

ny Clarence J. Hall James F. Moore Sr. Gene Scott James Calkins Edward “Skip” Swain Nicholas T. Falco
Spec.-4 Seaman 1st Class Corporal Sergeant E5 Captain
Army Navy Army Army “Big Red One” Army Army Signal Corps
1969 1945 - 1946 1953 - 1955 1965 - 1970 1968 - 1969 1942 - 1946

a Anthony J. Oppel Ronald E. Martin Francis S. Ritz, Jr. Warner Hopkins Joseph R. Stella Jerome P. Meyer
ass PFC First Class Captain SP4 Petty Officer 3rd Class Private 1st Class Private 1st Class
Army Army Army Navy Army Army
1951 - 1955 1943 - 1946 1954 - 1962 1944 - 1946 1941 - 1945 1942 - 1945

ett Sebastian T. DiFalco John D. Williams Walter H. Feeley Leo Joseph Bolas
Technician 3rd Grade SP4 Airman 1st Class Staff Sergeant
Army Army Air Force Army
46 1942 - 1945 1958 - 1959 1952 - 1954 1942 - 1945
 CMYK

The DAILY News Thursday, May 21, 2020 A5

James R. Calkins Matthew D. Hebell Homer Ivison Joseph Vanelli Leonard Vanelli Robert Vanelli
Sgt. — Army Sergeant Corporal L/C Corporal Private First Class Corporal
1965 - 1970 Army Army Marines Army Army
Big Red One 2004 - 2008 1945 - 1946 Desert Storm 1990 WWII WWII

Edward Marsceill Richard Smith Joseph Vanelli Timothy S. Marsceill Walter D. Buck
Sergeant PFC Coc.-1 Inf. Private First Class Private WWII Radioman Walter M. Buck
Marines 196 Lt. Int. BD Army Navy Navy
Army Army
1970 - 1974 1987 - 1989 1946 - 1949 1970 - 1974
Vietnam - 1966 WWII

Genaro A. Fasano Patrick A. Fasano Angelo A. Fasano James G. Fasano Daniel F. Henderson Edward Longhany
PFC Staff Sergeant Corporal SPC/4 Special Forces MM3
Army Army Marines Army Army Navy
WWI 1943 - 1946 1944 - 1946 1956 - 1958 2014 - Present 1944 - 1946

Murl Mancuso William M. Brown Roger D. Gates Ronald P. Konieczny Joe DiLaura Sr. James DiLaura
Seaman 1st Class Corporal Corporal SP4 (Medic) Petty Officer 1st Class Hosp. Apprentice 1st Class
Navy Air Force Army Army Navy Navy
1944 - 1946 1951 - 1954 1952 - 1954 1969 - 1971 1940 - 1959 1943 - 1946

Frank Minuto Donald Klein Angelo A. DiLaura Patsy Cesarano Gordon R. Amidon Elwyn M. Barrett
Private 1st Class Petty Officer 3rd Class Private First Class Corporal PFC Sergeant
Army Navy Army Army Marine Corps Army
WWII 1945 - 1946 1950 - 1952 1953 - 1955 1944 - 1946 1934-1937 • 1944-1946