Logo
Follow us:
Call Us Now: (724) 346-3818
  • Home
  • About the Avenue
  • Foundation
  • Interment
  • Tributes
    • Tributes Index
    • Writers of the Tributes
  • Videos
  • Canines for Vets
  • Vets Left Behind
  • News
  • Links

Allison Angott

Angott, Alison

Angott, Allison

Allison Angott

Hermitage, PA
U.S. Air Force, Desert Storm Era

In providing for its own needs, the United States military services play vital roles in fulfilling the needs of society at large. The Shenango Valley has a family practitioner because the United States Air Force enabled Dr. Allison Angott to get her medical degree.

“Without the Air Force,” she said, “I would have had to be a specialist to pay off the debts of medical school. I say to my patients I’m your tax dollars at work. I’m here as a physician because you helped me go to medical school. And I appreciate that.”

When she needed financial aid to attend medical school, she discovered the Air Force’s medical training program. Through it, she was able to earn her degree at the University of Pittsburgh, and complete her residency in Erie.

She got her introduction to military life during month-long tours of duty each summer.

“We were sworn in as officers, wore a uniform, went to officers training and learned how to march, salute, and so forth. Each year I was at a different military hospital. I did a rotation in cardiology in Dayton, in pediatrics in San Francisco, survival training in Texas.”

When she went on active duty, she was assigned to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.

“A week or two after I came on duty, Kuwait was invaded. I went on standby to be deployed as an orthopedic surgeon. That’s the only thing that made me uncomfortable during my tour. The Air Force uses their family doctors to fill in specialist slots because we have a broad range of training.”

Dr. Angott was never deployed, but her base in Montgomery expanded to receive casualties. The doctors and staff there were also trained in disaster/mass casualty exercises.

Part of Dr. Angott’s patients came from Montgomery’s large retired military population, which provided her with experience in all aspects of family practice.

Her four years of active duty provided her with more than a degree and medical experience.

“I am more appreciative of those who have gone before me and those who have given their lives for our country. I thank every serviceman I meet, and I honor the flag. I know the Constitution and a little bit more about what it means to be a citizen. I certainly didn’t pay enough attention when I took those classes in high school.”

Dr. Angott and her husband Richard have three daughters – Bethany, Leah, and Moriah.

Filed Under: Hermitage, Home Town, PA, Tribute, War, War on Terror Era

Andy Hamilton

Hamilton, Andy

Hamilton, Andy

Hermitage, PA
U.S. Army Reserves – Iraq

Many military police security units do their best to keep people out of military installations and operational areas. Andy Hamilton’s 307th Military Police Company did that for a while on a humanitarian in El Salvador.

“We guarded engineers while they built hospitals and schools throughout the country,” he said.

But in Iraq, at Camp Bucca, he spent his time hardening the prison to make it less escapable.

Originally from a place near Barkeyville, PA, Andy joined the army in 2005 at age 18, fresh out of Franklin Area High School.

“I felt like I wanted to serve my country,” he said. “All my life I did heavy equipment operating, construction work, and farming. I decided I wanted a break from the monotony, so I joined the Military Police. And I thought it might set me up for a good career after I got out.”

After training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Andy was assigned to the 307th Military Police Company, 320th MP Battalion in New Kensington, PA.

“We spent a lot of time doing desert training in Fort Irwin, California,” he said. “It was actually a lot of fun.”

Of course, the fun had a purpose, which was to prepare the company for deployment in Iraq. That happened in 2008, right after Andy got married.

Camp Bucca was named after Ronald Bucca, who had been an MP with the 800th Military Police Brigade, and was the New York City fire marshall who died in the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Center. Camp Bucca was developed into a model detention facility, with prisoners housed in cinder block buildings rather than tents. It even had a U.S. Army hospital to care for the detainees.

The work may have been hard, under the constant awareness that the enemy might fire a rocket into the compound at any time. But Andy’s tour in Iraq wasn’t all bad. His best memories are of the companionship among the American soldiers there.

“All of us there had a strong bond,” Andy said. “We were as close as family.

And, of course, there were the leisure time activities, such as volleyball and bocce.

“All that desert made a good volleyball court,” Andy said.

Filed Under: Hermitage, Home Town, PA, Tribute, War, War on Terror Era

Brandon Wentling

Hermitage, PA
Pennsylvania National Guard – War on Terror Era

“I thought it would be best to serve my country and do something special,” he said. “My dad was in the military for 25 years. My family has served forty or fifty years total. They’ve all served overseas.”

So Sgt. Brandon Wentling joined the Pennsylvania National Guard on July 23, 2003.

Sgt. Wentling sees a lot of benefits in serving in the Guard.

“You can get your schooling with one hundred percent tuition paid,” he said. “You’re not away from your family and you still get to play army.”

For the First Battalion 107th Artillery stationed at the National Guard Armory in Hermitage, “playing army” is serious business. To be prepared for deployment anywhere in the world, they must train constantly to operate some very large guns.

“I’ve trained on the Paladin, the triple seven, and the one-one-niner,” Sgt. Wentling said.

The Paladin is a 155mm self-propelled howitzer mounted on tracks, like a tank. It can zip along at 35 miles per hour, stop and fire accurately within 30 seconds at targets ten miles away, then take off again. It can fire a maximum of six rounds per minute, sustained three rounds per minute. Operating it requires precise teamwork among its crew of six. The M777 howitzer is a similar 155mm weapon, but towed rather than self-propelled. The smaller, lighter M119 105mm howitzer can be transported by helicopter and even air dropped via parachute.

All of these systems depend on sophisticated electronics for accuracy.

“We train one weekend a month, usually Saturday and Sunday, but sometimes Friday, Saturday, and Sunday,” Sgt. Wentling said. “In the summer, we have two weeks of annual training. We must get must get certified before going out to shoot live rounds. Everybody has to work together in order to shoot safely.”

Sgt. Wentling was deployed for one year in Taji Iraq, about 20 miles from Bagdad. He also volunteers his time helping people returning from deployment.

“I help them with their paperwork and such,” he said.

When asked about the greatest benefit of serving in the National Guard, Sgt. Wentling answered without hesitation: “Pride and honor.”

When not serving with the Guard, Sgt. Wentling is a heavy equipment operator with Waste Management.

Filed Under: Hermitage, Home Town, PA, Tribute, War, War on Terror Era

Dr. David Wood

Hermitage, PA
U.S. Navy – Desert Storm era

Dr. David Wood is one of the five sons of Sharon pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Wood. All five are physicians; four of them served in the United States Armed Forces.

When the Vietnam War was in full swing, sons Benjamin and Michael were in Canada – not to avoid the draft, but to attend medical school. While they were there, their draft numbers came up, so when they returned, they went into the army, but as doctors rather than privates.

Benjamin served a year in Long Binh, Vietnam, and completed his two-year obligation at Fort Bragg.

When Michael graduated from medical school in 1970, he went into a program called the Berry Plan, in which he could defer military service until he completed specialty training. He finished orthopedic surgery training at the Mayo Clinic in 1975 and served two years in the army in Heldelberg as an orthopedic surgeon.

John got his medical degree from the University of Virginia. The Air Force paid for two years of his medical school, so he served two years as an ophthalmologist at Wilford Hall in San Antonio.

David graduated from high school in 1977, a year after his father passed away.

“I grew up in a time when people didn’t talk about the military,” David said.

So seeking help from the armed forces to get through medical school wasn’t the first thing that crossed his mind. But it was the second thing.

“We had sort of sticker shock,” he said. When my brother went to medical school in Edmunton, tuition was $500 per year. When Arthur was in Penn State, tuition was $5,000. Six years later my first year’s tuition was $11,000.”

As his brother John had done, David applied for military scholarship programs. He was accepted into the Navy’s program, which paid for four years of medical school. That obligated him to serve four years on active duty, but he was able to defer that until he completed specialist training in ophthalmology.

Then he served four years with the Navy in Corpus Christi, Texas.

“I was of that generation that looked down upon the military,” he said, “but I saw it as a great opportunity to advance my skills as surgeon. I also got a deep respect for why we have a military, why we need a military, and how it works. My experience was very positive. I saw that the military made people better.”

Filed Under: Hermitage, Home Town, PA, Tribute, War, War on Terror Era

Earl Abbott

Earl Abbott

abbott earlHermitage, PA
US Navy – World War II

“Don’t write about me. Write about the ship.”

That’s what World War II veteran Earl Abbott said when he was asked about his military service.

The ship was the USS Henrico, named after the oldest county in Virginia, was 492-ft long Attack Transport that carried 5,500 tons of cargo, including as many as 28 landing craft, 1500 troops, and assault equipment. There certainly is a lot to write about the service of this truly remarkable ship, from her commissioning in 1943 to her retirement in 1968. However, it’s not possible to write about the ship without telling the stories of men such as Earl Abbott who served as her breath and her heartbeat. Abbott was aboard her only a few of those years, but they were among the most critical.

Abbott was drafted out of high school in March, 1943, to serve in the Navy. After his initial training, he served his whole time aboard the Henrico. He was with her when she participated in the D-Day Normandy invasion and in combat landings in the Pacific.

Barely six months after she was commissioned, she launched twenty-four of the first landing craft to hit Omaha Beach on D-Day during the greatest naval invasion in history.

Earl was Coxswain (driver) of one of those landing craft, loaded with a platoon of soldiers. Many of the craft couldn’t make it all the way to the beach, but Abbott was more fortunate.

“We hit the beach right up on top,” he said. “It was low tide.”

His troops stepped out onto sand, but their fate wasn’t much different from those who had to wade or swim ashore.

“We didn’t know we were going on a suicide mission,” Earl said. “I think the First Division infantry soldiers, who went to hell and back [during the invasions of North Africa and Italy] already knew it.”

So did those who planned the invasion.

“The Coxswains were given a .45 automatic pistol during the invasions. It wasn’t to protect us from the enemy. It was to make sure all the soldiers left the boats at the beach. We never had to use them. That’s the kind of soldiers they were, ready to die if they had to.”

With her troops ashore, the Henrico received casualties from the beach, returning them to southern England later that day. For the next two weeks, she shuttled troops back and forth between England and France.

The USS Henrico

The USS Henrico

Then she set sail for the Mediterranean. After arriving in Italy, she participated in amphibious rehearsals before landing troops during the invasion of southern France. She supported operations in the Mediterranean for the next three months, then she sailed back to the United States to prepare for combat in the Pacific.

By the end of March, 1945, she was engaged in the landings on Kerama Retto, islands needed as a base of operations to support the invasion of nearby Okinawa. Then, on April 2, the USS Henrico was hit by a Japanese suicide plane carrying two 500-lb. bombs. Forty-nine officers and men died as the entire bridge was blown off the ship.

“I got relieved just before it happened. The guy that relieved me didn’t even know what happened,” Abbott said.

With the ship in flames, and without power to drive the fire fighting equipment, the entire crew put forth a heroic effort to save it.

“We had no water; we couldn’t put the fire out. So we did the best we could. We tried to pump water with hand bilges from the ocean to put the fire out. We got all of the fire extinguishers out of the boats that we could get, and then a destroyer came and helped us with their water. If they hadn’t come, we would have gotten blown up. We were loaded with ammunition, too. And then when the destroyer couldn’t help us anymore, we couldn’t abandon ship because we had no power. We couldn’t lower the boats. So we were drifting all night, and our only chance was for everybody to pitch in, and we put the fire out.”

The Henrico managed to return to Kerama Retto, then sailed to San Francisco under her own power. She arrived there on May 13 and was restored to full service by September. She sailed again with replacement troops to the Philippine Islands. Finally, after having carried troops into the teeth of the enemy, she performed the infinitely more pleasant task of bringing thousands of troops home from the Pacific when the war was over.

Earl Abbott’s military service ended when he was honorably discharged on February 10, 1946. The Henrico’s career, however, continued for another 22 years. She took part in the atomic bomb testing at Bikini Island in 1946 and supported American troops in Tsingtao, China, during 1948-49. During the Korean War, she landed troops at Inchon and provided continuous support of combat operations. She evacuated Nationalist Chinese troops in the Straits of Taiwan in 1954, and supported operations in the Caribbean during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. She sailed her final combat missions during the Vietnam War, landing troops at Da Nang and Chu Lai.

Between all these outstanding accomplishments, the USS Henrico kept U.S. and allied armed forces combat ready by participating in countless training exercises. After her distinguished career, she was decommissioned and placed in reserve on February 14, 1968. She was disposed of in October, 1979.

The USS Henrico was awarded three battle stars for service in World War II, nine for the Korean War, and four for Vietnam – a total of sixteen. Every crew member who manned her during war and peace should be as proud of her as Earl Abbott is – and even prouder of themselves.


 

Written by Joe Zentis

Filed Under: by Joe Zentis, Hermitage, Home Town, PA, Tribute, War, World War II

Francis “Chookie” LaCamera

LaCamera, Chookie

LaCamera, Chookie

New Castle, PA
Pennsylvania National Guard – Desert Storm era

Why did Chookie LaCamera sign up for the U.S. Army in 1983, when he was a junior in high school?

“I wanted to jump out of airplanes,” he said. “I was nuts. I wanted to be an infantry soldier.”

He entered the army after he graduated from high school in 1984. After Basic Training, Advanced Individual Training, and Jump School, he was assigned to the 2/504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He spent the rest of his four-year enlistment there, with various training deployments.

One deployment was far more than a training exercise.

“I went to the Sinai Desert on a peacekeeping mission,” he said. “That was part of the 1979 Camp David Accords. They drew a demilitarized zone in the Sinai Desert to separate Israeli and Egyptian forces. It was a United Nations mission with contingents from 13 countries.”

When his commitment was up, Chookie got out of the army and joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in the usual one weekend a month, two weeks of summer training mode. He also worked as a civilian Federal Technician for the National guard, first as an administrative clerk; then he moved into logistics, and finally into communications in Pittsburgh.

When his wife developed brain cancer, he had to get a job closer to home to take care of her and their three kids. He found a good job at Sawhill. But when his wife started getting better, he wanted to go into the National Guard full time. In 2005, he went back on active duty as retention manager with the 107th Field Artillery in New Castle. That same year he moved into logistics. In 2008, he became the battalion’s S-1 NCO.

In civilian terminology, that’s human resources manager.

“We take care of the soldier in every single aspect,” he said, “whether it’s family care plans, life insurance, or promotions. We go the extra mile to take care of these guys because they are soldiers just like us.”

Sgt. LaCamera is still in the National Guard quite simply because he loves the military, and knows he is performing an important function.

“When I reached 20 years, the thought crossed my mind that I could retire. But I feel so good about being in the military that I stayed.”

He sums up his ongoing 28-year military career like this: “I have been blessed, I really have.”

Filed Under: Hermitage, Home Town, PA, Tribute, War, War on Terror Era

Irwin Stovroff

Irwin StovroffStovroff, Irwin

Hermitage, PA
U.S. Army Air Force – World War II

Early in World War II, heavy bomber crews could earn their way back home by flying 25 combat missions. In May, 1943, the crew of the Memphis Belle, a B-17 Flying Fortress, became one of the first one to do that. A 1990 movie shows her fluttering back to England after being hit on its final mission.

A year after the Memphis Belle’s last combat mission, Irwin Stovroff was bombardier in a B-24 Liberator on its way back to England from its 35th mission.

“We started off to fly 25 missions,” Irwin said, “then it was increased to 30, and finally 35 because our losses were so high.”

Stalagluft 1

Stalagluft 1

Irwin’s crew wasn’t as lucky as the Memphis Belle’s. His plane went down in France after being hit by flak. Irwin was taken prisoner, loaded into a boxcar, and shipped to Stalag Luft 1 in northeastern Germany.

He survived there only because an American colonel was courageous enough to defy Der Fuhrer.

“Hitler sent out orders for all Jews to be killed,” Irwin said. “Fortunately I had a very demanding, strong, marvelous guy by the name of Colonel Hubert Zemke. He threatened the commandant that he would be a war criminal if we were taken out of the camp. We were segregated, but I was there until we were liberated by the Russians in May, 1945.”

Fast forward again, this time to 1975.

“After I retired, I discovered there was a need to help ex-POWs,” Irwin said.

From an office in the Palm Beach Florida VA Medical Center, he and another ex-POW processed more than 400 claims for ex-POWs. “We got them the benefits they deserved,” he said.

irwin_stovroff_and_cash

Irwin and Cash

By 2006, the POW work was slowing down, but Irwin perceived another need that had to be filled. There were no government funds for providing service dogs to blind or disabled veterans. So Irwin started Vets Helping Heroes to fill that need.

“I went to ex-POWs and raised $100,000 within three months,” he said.

That was only the beginning. Since then, Irwin and his organization have raised over $3 million. They have placed more than 70 fully trained dogs with veterans who are blind, disabled, or suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

Working with a number of other organizations, Irwin feels that he is living a dream come true.

“I am approaching 90 years old, and I am a very, very happy man.”

The next time you doubt that misfortune can be turned into good fortune, remember Irwin Stovroff’s odyssey from POW to happy man.


Video interview of Irwin


Irwin gave the commencement address at Florida Atlantic University, which bestowed on him an Honorary Doctorate degree.

 

Filed Under: Hermitage, Home Town, PA, Tribute, War, World War II

Jim Cardamon

Cardamon, Jim

Jim Cardamon

Hermitage, PA
Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
U.S. Army, late 1950s

In the army, even if you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up exactly where you were meant to be – provided you have a broom, a passion for doing things perfectly, and a loving grandmother.

At least that’s how it worked for one draftee. When Jim Cardamon received his draft notice in 1956, a friend who attended the Citadel taught him close order drill using a broom for a rifle. With this advantage, he was selected as squad leader during infantry Basic and Advanced Individual Training.

At the end of AIT, Jim had no idea where he would be assigned. It turned out to be the “spit and polish” brigade at Fort Myer, Virginia. He was awestruck when he learned that it was the unit that provided ceremonial support for Arlington National Cemetery.

After two weeks of training, he was selected to join one of the honor guard company’s three platoons: honor guard drill team, casket bearers, or firing party. He chose the drill team.

One day he saw a soldier in dress blues going to the head of the chow line.

“I didn’t even know the army had dress blues,” he said.

He learned that the soldier was a guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He immediately decided that he had to go for that.

After practicing constantly with some of his friends who were tomb guards, he was given the opportunity. While some of those selected never made it to the tomb, Jim made it after just a couple weeks. Guards were usually first put out early or late in the day when there were few spectators at the tomb. Jim’s first call came for the noon changing of the guard, before the biggest crowd of the day.

“I got through the first change okay. But when I was standing at the end doing the 21 second count, I heard a noise. My hand was trembling so much that the bayonet was rattling.”

He managed to get through it all without screwing up.

“From that point on, I had the best duty the United States Army had to offer.”

People often ask Jim how he got to be a tomb guard. He explains that the army selects soldiers who fit a defined profile – certain height, military bearing, attitude, and such. Of course only a tiny fraction of those who fit it are selected.

“But I had another advantage,” he says. “My grandmother prayed me into it.”

That gave him not only great military duty, but also membership in a very exclusive organization: The Society of the Honor Guard – Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Jim was instrumental in forming The Society, and has served as its president.


Video interview of Jim Cardamon

Filed Under: Hermitage, Home Town, PA, Tribute, Vietnam Era, War

John Krofcheck

Krofcheck

Krofcheck

Hermitage. PA
U.S. Army – World War II

It may be unorthodox, but John Krofcheck is proud to be called an “S.O.B.” He was with the 100th Infantry Division in France when they captured the heavily fortified Fortress de Bitche on March 16, 1945, after a bitter three-month siege. From that, the division got the nickname “Sons of Bitche.”

That was just part of John’s unorthodox military career. When the 17-year-old enlisted in December, 1942, he became a military policeman in Washington, DC. His most dangerous assignment was directing traffic at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. But he wanted to get into the action, so he volunteered for the infantry.

He definitely got his wish for action. With the 100th Division during an intense battle in the Vosges Mountains, his company commander called him forward.

“I was loaded down with the BAR and ammunition, running forward like a dog,” John said. “I’m not ashamed to admit that I was scared.”

He turned to see if his assistant gunner was behind him. He fell into a large shell crater, severely injuring his leg. But he faced his fear and continued on without going to the medics.

John witnessed both the worst and the best that men do under fire. His assistant gunner shot himself in the leg to get out of combat. And John saw Lt. Edward Silk single-handedly assault a German unit that had the Americans pinned down with machine gun fire. According to his Medal of Honor citation, Lt. Silk ran across an open field through intense machine gun fire, took out the gunners by lobbing grenades into an open window, then attacked a second building. When he ran out of grenades, he started throwing rocks. Twelve Germans surrendered to him.

John adds a detail that the citation omits. Lt. Silk’s courage may have been enhanced by some of the contents of his two canteens full of cognac.

In December, 1945, John got out of the army, but that was 18 years before the end of his military career. In 1946, he re-enlisted with the Military Police. He got out again on a hardship discharge in 1948. He helped establish a National Guard unit in Sharon and became its First Sergeant. When the Korean War started, he volunteered for reactivation and went to Korea, where his unit provided security for a quartermaster installation in Ascom City.

After Korea, John served in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas until he retired in 1963.

Filed Under: Hermitage, Home Town, PA, Tribute, War, World War II

John Lechner

Lechner, JohnHermitage, PA
U.S. Air Force Reserves – Desert Storm Era

The Air Force Reserves hold competitions every year during each unit’s two-week summer active duty training. One year the Security Police Squadron at the Air Reserve Station in Vienna, Ohio, was rated as the very best in the whole Air Force Reserve system. The commander of that unit was Major John Lechner.
That wasn’t the only unit to excel under John’s leadership. When promoted to Lt. Col., he became commander of Vienna’s Aerial Port Squadron, which handles air cargo. Before John took command, it had won the honor of being the best Aerial Port Squadron in the Air Force Reserves. With John as its leader, it won the competition a second time.

Being the very best has its consequences. On 2 August 1990, the United States responded to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait with Operation Desert Shield.

“I figured we’d be among the first units to be activated,” John said. “We were the second Aerial Port Squadron called up. The first one was from President Bush’s home state of Texas.”

John’s squadron was activated the week after Thanksgiving, 1990. At that time, he was a Pennsylvania State Police officer.

“I had to go in to work and quickly wrap up my whole life,” he said.

They were sent to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where they were integrated into Aerial Port Squadron. The combined unit continued to demonstrate excellence in its mission to ship men and materiel to the combat zone.

“Everything has to be weighed, then carefully loaded so each plane would be balanced,” John said.

That’s quite a task, especially given the variety and volume of the shipments. They shipped troops, Apache helicopters, Patriot Missiles, weapons, and other materiel. On Christmas Day, 1990, they unloaded and loaded 55 planes within 24 hours.

When John returned in 1991, he continued serving in both the Air Force Reserves and the Pennsylvania State Police. When he retired from the reserves in October, 1997, he could look back on a uniquely varied career: ROTC at Gannon College, commissioned in the army Military Police Corps, two years on active duty, four years in the inactive army reserves, several active army reserve assignments, and finally twelve years in the Air Force Reserves. His State Police career was equally rewarding, with ultimate promotion to the rank of Lieutenant.

“A lot of what I learned in the military about leadership and command served me very well in the state police,” he said.

Filed Under: Hermitage, Home Town, PA, Tribute, War, War on Terror Era

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

2619 East State Street
Hermitage, PA 16148

Phone: (724) 346 3818
Email: tom@avenueofflags.com

News - Links - Policies - Contact

SUPPORT OUR FOUNDATIONS
Avenue of 444 Flags Foundations
War on Terror Foundation
Hillcrest-Flynn Pet Care Foundation

Copyright © 2023 Avenue of 444 Flags, All rights reserved.

Contact | Directions | Tributes | Site Map | Website by FRM Websites