thedrifter
11-12-07, 08:20 AM
Active troops honor those serving in the past and present
JENNIFER HLAD
November 11, 2007 - 12:57AM
Hundreds of local veterans served in World War II. Many more served in Vietnam and Korea. A handful served in all three.
But the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have spawned an entire new generation of veterans who share memories of insurgent attacks, roadside bomb explosions and close friends lost.
Cpl. Christopher Jensen is 21. He celebrated his 21st birthday during one of his deployments to Iraq.
Often, he said, people think of veterans as older, retired service members.
"You've actually got 18-, 19-, 20-year-olds who are veterans," he said.
For Marines like Jensen, who wears a metal bracelet on his arm as a daily reminder of a fallen comrade, Veterans Day is a time to reflect on those who have come before him as well as the Marines and sailors with whom he has served.
"Every day you remember the guys you lost," said Cpl. Ryan Gunther, who served with Jensen on two deployments to Iraq.
Col. Peter Petronzio has deployed several times, including tours in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo. He said Veterans Day is not the only day he thinks about the Marines he has lost.
Petronzio grew up in a Marine Corps family - his father served in Korea and Vietnam - and remembers veterans coming over to the house.
"I remember always thinking 'I want to be like those guys,'" Petronzio said.
Now, as commanding officer of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Petronzio said, "I'm living, eating and breathing with 'those guys.' It's pretty humbling."
John Webb was a soldier in the Korean War. He said he wishes more people participated in the Veterans Day events in the area.
"It's a time that we should honor everybody," Webb said. "Everybody that was in the service, who never came back from overseas. And the ones who came back should be honored, too, for going and fighting."
Capt. Paul DiMaggio has relatives who served in the Armed Forces. Each Veterans Day, he said, they call to catch up, to see "how the military is doing."
Capt. Dan Gomes has been deployed on Veterans Day for each of the last three years. This year, he'll be working. But, he said, it is "a good day to sit down, evaluate where you are and remember those who have come before."
The metal bracelet on Lance Cpl. Brendan Kelly's arm is a constant reminder of the friends he has lost. But Veterans Day is also a time to remember those who paved the way, he said.
Both of Kelly's grandfathers served in World War II. If he were home, he would visit the cemetery to place a flag on one's gravesite, he said.
But, like many of the other active duty Marines, Kelly won't be home.
He'll be working - preparing for the next deployment.
Ellie
JENNIFER HLAD
November 11, 2007 - 12:57AM
Hundreds of local veterans served in World War II. Many more served in Vietnam and Korea. A handful served in all three.
But the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have spawned an entire new generation of veterans who share memories of insurgent attacks, roadside bomb explosions and close friends lost.
Cpl. Christopher Jensen is 21. He celebrated his 21st birthday during one of his deployments to Iraq.
Often, he said, people think of veterans as older, retired service members.
"You've actually got 18-, 19-, 20-year-olds who are veterans," he said.
For Marines like Jensen, who wears a metal bracelet on his arm as a daily reminder of a fallen comrade, Veterans Day is a time to reflect on those who have come before him as well as the Marines and sailors with whom he has served.
"Every day you remember the guys you lost," said Cpl. Ryan Gunther, who served with Jensen on two deployments to Iraq.
Col. Peter Petronzio has deployed several times, including tours in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo. He said Veterans Day is not the only day he thinks about the Marines he has lost.
Petronzio grew up in a Marine Corps family - his father served in Korea and Vietnam - and remembers veterans coming over to the house.
"I remember always thinking 'I want to be like those guys,'" Petronzio said.
Now, as commanding officer of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Petronzio said, "I'm living, eating and breathing with 'those guys.' It's pretty humbling."
John Webb was a soldier in the Korean War. He said he wishes more people participated in the Veterans Day events in the area.
"It's a time that we should honor everybody," Webb said. "Everybody that was in the service, who never came back from overseas. And the ones who came back should be honored, too, for going and fighting."
Capt. Paul DiMaggio has relatives who served in the Armed Forces. Each Veterans Day, he said, they call to catch up, to see "how the military is doing."
Capt. Dan Gomes has been deployed on Veterans Day for each of the last three years. This year, he'll be working. But, he said, it is "a good day to sit down, evaluate where you are and remember those who have come before."
The metal bracelet on Lance Cpl. Brendan Kelly's arm is a constant reminder of the friends he has lost. But Veterans Day is also a time to remember those who paved the way, he said.
Both of Kelly's grandfathers served in World War II. If he were home, he would visit the cemetery to place a flag on one's gravesite, he said.
But, like many of the other active duty Marines, Kelly won't be home.
He'll be working - preparing for the next deployment.
Ellie