REUNION – The New England Chapter of the Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association (NCVA-NE) will hold its Spring Mini-Reunion in Pittsfield from May 5 to 7 at The Berkshires Crown Plaza. Call Vic Knorowski, the event host at (518) 664-8032 or Art Gowie at (207) 941-1080. Members who need a registration or hotel information can visit the website at http://ncva-ne.com.
FAMILY APPRECIATION – This year’s Florence Armed Forces Day and Military & Veterans Family Appreciation Day Celebration will be May 20 at Look Park in Florence.
The event begins with a 5K morning road race followed by an afternoon of live bands and food.
The 7th annual Florence 5K Race and Fun Walk starts with registration from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. The race begins at 11 a.m.
Bands will perform from noon to 6 p.m. with the lineup including the Tom Petty Tribute band, “Good to Be King,” from noon to 1:30 p.m.; The Alice Cooper Experience featuring “Sick Things” from 2 to 3:30 p.m.; and the Allman Brothers Band live experience featuring “Hittin’ The Note”, from 4 to 6. The Buddy McEarns Band will play between sets.
Runners and walkers can register for the 5K at RUNREG.com or at www.homewardvets.org.
Ticket information for both the race and the concert can be found at www.homewardvets.org.
All proceeds from the race and will benefit Homeward Vets, a western Massachusetts non-profit that provides formerly homeless veterans with free furniture when they transition into permanent housing.
CABARET FUNDRAISER – VFW Post 8006 Florence will be hosting a cabaret show “Letters From Home,” featuring Emmy nominated actress Courtney Groves and Erin Diaz Friday at 7 p.m. The show is being presented by the Massachusetts State Commander VFW special project fundraiser. Proceeds go to the “Honor Flight” which sends WWII and Korean War vets to Washington, D.C. to view their memorials.
Tickets are $20 and available at the Florence VFW Post 8006 or visit www.vfwma.org.
The event will start with free hors d’oeuvres at 6 p.m. A cash bar will be available. For further information call 584-8006
AGENT ORANGE INFO – Vietnam veterans and their families are invited to attend a town hall April 22 at Greenfield Community College to receive information on the impact of the chemical Agent Orange and benefits and services available for veterans who were exposed to it.
Agent Orange was widely used during the Vietnam War to clear vast stretches of jungle and scientists have since linked the chemical to a host of health problems.
The town hall will take place from noon to 4 p.m. at GCC’s main building dining commons and is open to all veterans from throughout New England.
For more information contact Tim Niejadlik, director of Upper Pioneer Valley Veterans’ Services, at 772-1571, or GCC’s Veterans Affairs Counselor Christopher Demars at 775-1825.
Following is a list of local veterans whose obituaries appeared in the Gazette between March 30 and April 13. The information given here about their service is what was provided in each obituary.
Eugene L. Corbeil, 94, Easthampton, d. March 27; he was a World War II Navy veteran serving as ships cook second class.
Paul “Buddy” Stylos, 91, Northampton, d. March 29; he was a Merchant Marine and served in the Army in the Second World War.
Brent Lee Cunningham, 62, Leeds, d. March 28; he served in the U.S. Air Force as a weather observer from 1973 to 1975.
Arnold “Arnie” Wojciak, 82, South Hadley, d. March 3; he was a U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean War.
Lawrence “Puff” Milton Porter, 93, d. April 1; he entered the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942. He achieved rank of 2nd Lieutenant as a pilot of a B-24 in the 8th Air Force – 392nd Bomb Group. During World War II his plane was shot down in Hannover, Germany on Sept. 11, 1944. He and his crew were captured as prisoners of war and detained in the Stalag Luft #1 until their liberation May 15, 1945.
Philip Andrew Brenner Sr., 74, Fort Pierce, Florida, formerly Montague, d. March 25; served in the US Navy from 1961 to 1965 as a radarman, including being a member of the original operational crew that took the newly constructed USS Constellation aircraft carrier from NY to CA through the Straits of Magellan and onto its first WESTPAC tour. He also served on the USS Chicago. He was honorably discharged with a rank of Radarman 2nd class (E-5).
Arnold Trehub, 93, Amherst, d. April 3; he was in his freshman year at Northeastern University at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces the following year and received basic and specialized training in New Jersey, Georgia, Kansas, and Oklahoma, during which time he was a PT instructor and boxed welterweight for his unit. He shipped out in 1944 and served for the duration of the war in the Pacific Theater as a radio technician working on B-29 Superfortress bombers with the 358th Air Service Group/509th Composite Group, 313th Bombardment Wing, 504th Bombardment Group of the 20th Air Force, based on the island of Tinian in the Marianas. Among the aircraft he worked on were the Enola Gay and Bockscar — the planes that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He was honorably discharged from the USAAF in 1946 with the rank of sergeant.
Michael Stephen Sysko, 62, Williamsburg, d. March 30; he joined the U.S. Army and served six years during the Vietnam era. Michael took special infantry and special arms training during that time.
Carl George Schmittlein, 86, Northampton, d. April 7; he entered military service in 1952, serving in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Donald George Sansom, 79, Easthampton, d. April 6; he served his country proudly in the United States Air Force from 1956 to 1960, and was a peacetime veteran serving as an airplane mechanic, stationed in Morocco and at Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee.
Robert Messier, 95, Easthampton, d. April 9; he was a World War II Army veteran with the 503 Parachute Infantry, serving from 1940 until discharged in 1946 with the rank of sergeant.
He served two years in Panama, one year at Fort Bliss as an instructor, and three years in the Pacific receiving a Bronze Star.
Veterans Voice appears twice each month. Send submissions to Veterans Voice, c/o Brenda Nelson, Daily Hampshire Gazette, Box 299, Northampton, MA. 01061; or email bnelson@gazettenet.com..