West MIddlesex Archives - Avenue of Flags

Bill Brandenstein

West Middlesex, PA

US Navy, Vietnam Era

Militarily, the word “heroic” describes people who perform well in the face of enemy fire – sometimes for just a single day, or even a single minute.

But what about members of the armed forces who perform outstanding service for 20 years without ever being in combat? There should be another word to describe them that would garner as much respect as the word “heroic.” But there isn’t.

Consider 21-year navy veteran Bill Brandenstein, who never served in a combat zone. Without service like his, the United States armed forces would never be able to win a battle, much less a war. There wouldn’t be any heroes.

Brandenstein joined the Navy after graduating from high school in 1970. Trained as an electrician in San Diego, he was assigned to Vietnam. But his orders were changed, so he spent the next year and a half in the Philippines preparing, repairing, and servicing ships.

“I got to see a lot of the ships coming back in from Vietnam and heading over to Vietnam. The destroyer Higbee came in there after an enemy round blew the gun turret off all the way back to the aft superstructure down to the water line. The Newport News had a blowback in one of her gun turrets. They were still pulling bodies off of her.”

In June, 1973, Brandenstein returned to San Diego, then went on a WestPac (western Pacific) cruise on the USS Cleveland. In December, 1974, he left the Navy and spent nine months as a civilian.

After rejoining, Brandenstein was trained in fire control – the systems that operate the weapons on board ships. He then went on a WestPac cruise with the USS Prairie, a destroyer tender.

In early 1980, he was again in the Philippines, on a WestPac cruise that was ready to head home. He requested a transfer to a ship that was en route to Iran because of the hostage crisis, but it was disapproved by his Commanding Officer. “He said you need to come home and be with your family – you’ve already served your time.”

Following training at Naval Station Great Lakes on close-in weapons systems, Brandenstein went on another WestPac cruise on the aircraft carrier Coral Sea. He was aboard while it sailed through a hurricane in 1983.

“One of my three systems just happened to be on top of the ship’s island. So we’re looking at eight levels above the main deck. And the flight deck itself is like 60 feet off the water. I’m sitting up there looking out, and I’m watching green water up over top of my system. Not white water, green water.”

Next, Brandenstein was transferred to the training station in San Diego.

“They had no instruction guides to tell people how to check the close-in weapons systems, and they liked the way I did it on the Coral Sea, so they got me orders to come down there and work with them. I built the whole program up for them. As a result I got sailor of the year nomination.”

During 1986 and 1987, he served as a recruiter right here in Sharon, then finished out his career at Naval Station Great Lakes.

“One day the chief detailer showed me a paper with my name on it to go to Desert Storm. He says you aren’t going now because you got your papers through Congress approved to go to the state reserve [that is, retire from active duty]. So three times in my career I was headed into danger areas and each time somebody changed it.”

Brandenstein’s retirement was by no means the end of his service to his country and his fellow veterans. In a sense it was just a beginning. By chance, he happened to be present for the opening ceremonies when the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall came to Hermitage in 1992.

“I never knew – and still don’t know to this day – who took my place going over to Vietnam, whether or not they ever made it back. Somebody went to Desert Storm instead of me. They could have been in the building that got blown up with the Scuds. So I have a little bit of survivor’s guilt from time to time – it bugs me.”

The experience moved Brandenstein to become active in the Mercer County Vietnam Era Veterans Organization, then in the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars. He was commander of the West Middlesex post from 1995 to 2002. He also served as commander of the Mercer County Council of the VFW. He was instrumental in setting up the Mercer County Veterans Advisory Council and became its first commander.

For the past five years, Bill has been running the Veterans Transport network through the Disabled Veterans Association. The network transports veterans free of charge from Hermitage to the VA hospitals in Butler, Pittsburgh, and Erie.

Emil Koledin

Koledin, Emil

West Middlesex, PA

U.S. Marine Corps – Korean War

Leadership is a matter of getting your subordinates to want to do what they need to do to accomplish the mission. That happens when you gain their respect by not only to striving to accomplish the mission, but also to look out for their well-being. Emil Koledin was that kind of Marine Corps officer because he was that kind of a man.

He graduated in 1947 from Brown University in Providence with a degree in electrical engineering and a commission in the Marine Corps Reserves. He came back to Sharon to work as an electrical engineer at Sharon Steel. In 1950, he founded his own E. Koledin Electric.

When he was called to active duty in 1951 to serve in the Korean War, he closed up his business. He served as an engineering officer in the 1st Marine Division’s Shore Party Battalion, which was responsible for construction, road building, and other combat engineering functions. He wrote home about how cold it was – sometimes 20 degrees below zero.

After the war, he told his children about how much he loved and respected his fellow soldiers and everyone underneath him. When he had the chance to go to Hawaii on R&R, all of his men wanted him to go, but he would not leave. He insisted on staying with his men.

“That’s how he was his whole life,” said his daughter, Tanya. “It speaks really as to how he was as a man.”

As he sailed back home from Korea in May, 1954, he knew he would have to start up his business again, but didn’t have the capital to do it. So he played poker, and won enough to restart his business.

War on Terror Veterans Memorial

After reestablishing his electrical business, he opened Wesex Corporation as a general construction firm. Since then, Wesex has constructed many commercial buildings throughout the Shenango Valley and beyond. One of his favorite projects was the design and construction of the War on Terror Veterans Memorial in America’s Cemetery (formerly Hillcrest Memorial Park).

His love for his community and his country was expressed through his active involvement on many boards of directors, many civic organizations, and the Republican Party.

Through all this, he raised two families. He and his first wife, Claire, had two daughters, Janice and Kathleen, and one son, Emil (Butch). With his second wife, Kathy, he also had two daughters and a son: Teresa, Tanya, and Greg.

Emil passed away on May 24, 2o1o. He is buried in a place of honor near the War on Terror Veterans Memorial.

John Meredith

West Middlesex, PA

World War II – Army

After landing on Omaha Beach on August 9, 1944, a month and two days after D-Day, John advanced with the Seventh Armored Division all the way across France – fighting the Germans, building bridges, blowing things up, rescuing other military units, and liberating French cities.

By December, 1944, the American and Allied armies had reached the German border. It looked as if the war was almost over. Then Hitler launched a surprise attack with virtually all of his remaining forces and pushed the line back 70 miles. The Seventh Armored Division was thrown into this “Battle of the Bulge” as reinforcements.

John remembered it vividly: “The Germans sent at us two divisions of 16 to 18 year old kids out of high school,” he said. “They didn’t have any idea what war was, and had no training. They gave them those little burp guns. They thought they were cowboys.”

The Germans weren’t the only enemy. With limited transportation available, the American generals opted to give priority to shipment of ammunition and fuel rather than clothing. The weather turned bitterly cold, with wind chills around 30 degrees below zero. Stuck in summer uniforms, many of the troops – including John – suffered severe frostbite.

Meredith kept different kinds of souvenirs from his World War II combat days until his death in December, 2003. Some were extremely painful, such as the German bullet that could not be removed from his leg. And the extremely painful aftereffects of the severe frostbite plagued him until the day he died.

Other memories more than made up for the pain and suffering, such as the medals he received for his actions. He was also proud of the letters of appreciation sent to the Seventh Armored by the French cities they liberated.

Those letters painted vivid, positive pictures of the army’s swift and efficient advance. The mayor of Verdun wrote, “We shall never forget that in less than one hour you delivered us of our burden, and the rapidity of your advance has avoided the destruction of half of our village by these unchained brutes.”

The French people were also struck with the contrast between those “unchained brutes” and the American soldiers. The mayor of Chateau-Thierry wrote, “All have been struck by the simplicity and the amiability and the cordiality of your officers and men.”

Even after hard-fought battles, the true character of the American soldier still showed through.

John Pariza

Pariza, John

West Middlesex, PA

Korean War – U.S. army

John Pariza was born in East Liverpool of Romanian parents, who took him for a visit to Romania before World War II. Because of Hitler’s aggression, the family was stuck there throughout World War II.

“When I was ten old,” Pariza said, “I saw Germans drag Romanian Jews out of their homes and shoot them in the head.”

After his family came back to Youngstown in 1946, kids in school made fun of him because of his broken English. At age 16, he beat up a couple of his antagonists and spent three days in a detention home. When he was 17, he quit school and joined the army.

That was just before the North Korean army invaded South Korea, quickly pushing the South Koreans back into a 100 by 50 mile rectangle at the southern end of the Korean peninsula – the infamous Pusan Perimeter.

Within hours of arriving there, Pariza was on patrol in a rice patty.

“We got ambushed,” he said. “Two of the guys that I just got there with got killed right off the bat.”

The newly-arrived U.S. and United Nations troops fought their way up the peninsula to China. Pariza suffered frostbite and two wounds. He was even a prisoner of war – for about 45 minutes during the early part of November 1950. Elements of the Chinese army had come south to reinforce the North Koreans. While on patrol, his 12-man squad unit was captured by a whole company of Chinese.

“They assigned eight Chinese to take us north,” he said.

Fortunately, nearby Turk and Greek units of the United Nations contingent had seen what happened. They attacked the Chinese with knives. Not one shot was fired.

Because of that rescue, Pariza was not one of the 2,900 Americans who died in Korean prison camps, nor one of the 8,100 who are still listed as missing.

“The Korean War is the forgotten war,” Pariza said. “I told my wife, if it’s the last thing I do, I want to put up a Korean War memorial.”

It took him a year and a half to achieve that dream. You can visit it in front of the Oak Tree Country Club, next to the Ohio line on Route 318 – now known as the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway, also through John Pariza’s initiative.

Joseph W. Baker

Baker, Richard

Joseph W. Baker

West Middlesex, PA

U.S. Navy Corpsman, Vietnam

For Marines in Vietnam, as in most war zones, “Doc” was a Navy medical corpsman, because the Marine Corps had no medics of its own. “Doc” accompanied the Marines into the teeth of the battle, because when a Marine went down, “Doc” had to be right there to help him. With his focus on attending to others rather than on defending himself, the medical corpsman was particularly vulnerable.

Hospitalman Joseph A. Baker was serving with 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division in the province of Quang Tri, just south of the border between North and South Vietnam. His letters home contain vivid pictures of both the courage, vulnerability, and dedication of the Navy corpsmen. “”My platoon saw action today. I wasn’t with them but I had to help with casualties back here at camp. We had two dead and about twelve wounded. I’m not worried anymore about if I will know what to do. When they started bringing them in I just went to work without even thinking.”

Of course, he did often accompany his unit into the field: “We were hit on patrol yesterday and we lost one man and had two other wounded in action.”

Joe had his own close calls: “A corpsman from the 1st platoon was hit and I had to go to his wounded. He had three of them about 75 meters across an open rice paddy and I had to go get them. Our sentry opened up to give me cover and I started across running low. Then I began hearing rounds go over my head and saw them kicking up sand at me feet. I put it in high gear and really began moving. I had to check myself when I got there to make sure I wasn’t hit. A grenade launcher came over after me, then I got scared seeing what I had crossed through.”

In the gallows humor of combat soldiers, such escapes did not go unnoticed: “Most of the corpsmen out here have Purple Hearts already and they are kidding me because I don’t. They can’t understand it.I’ve been in more fire fights and sat through more mortar attacks than they have.”

Unfortunately, Joe’s good fortune ended on March 7, 1968, when he was killed by small arms fire.

Joseph was the fifteenth serviceman from Mercer County, PA, killed in action in Vietnam.

Paul E. Dufford

West Middlesex, PA

U.S. Army – Vietnam

On the evening of December 8, 1967, soldiers of the 1st Battalion 2nd Infantry were complaining that their air mattresses were full of holes from enemy mortar fire. Maybe they were seriously upset, but more likely it was their way of dissipating the stress caused by a rough day.

They were positioned in Phuoc Long Province, not far from the Cambodian border. The day before, one of their recon patrols had encountered the point element of a North Vietnamese army unit. The fight lasted only a short time, with no American casualties. That successful recon alerted the Americans to the presence of the large NVA force.

At 0200 the following morning, Specialist Paul Dufford from West Middlesex was manning a listening post with two other men in front of the battalion’s night defensive position. Detecting movement in the area, he radioed the battalion commander to warn of an impending attack. Their position was quickly surrounded by a large force. In spite of the danger, Specialist Dufford remained at his post so he could advise the commander on the size and movement of the enemy.

With the battalion being hit by heavy mortar fire, the three men were ordered to return to the perimeter, but their position was overrun before they could do so. An enemy grenade wounded all three men. Specialist Dufford killed the grenade thrower, who was only a few feet away. Ignoring the relentless enemy fire, he started to help his wounded comrades back to the perimeter. As the enemy closed in, he provided suppressing fire that allowed his comrades to reach safety.

He himself didn’t make it. He was killed my an enemy mortar round.

That day, the American forces repelled the massive assault with only four dead and a number wounded. The two battalions of the two 273rd NVA regiment that conducted the attack suffered massive casualties.

Had it not been for the bravery of Specialist Paul Dufford, the outcome might have been very different. For his heroism that night, he was awarded the Silver Star.

Paul was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Dufford of West Middlesex, PA. The Hickory High School graduate was decorated not only with the Silver Star, but also with a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge, and Vietnam Service medals.

On the Vietnam Veterans Memorial – Panel 31e Line 64

Thaddeus M. Yonika, Jr.

West Middlesex, PA

U.S. Army – Vietnam

For a helicopter pilot, excellence doesn’t guarantee survival. Thaddeus M. Yonika, Jr., of West Middlesex, enlisted under the U.S. Army’s warrant officer flight program in July, 1968. In February, 1969, he demonstrated his superior ability to fly helicopters by graduating sixth out of a class of 120 from primary helicopter school in February, 1969. He went on to the Rotary Wing Aviator course.

Two months later WO1 Yonika was flying attack helicopters in Vietnam with Troop A, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Division, headquartered in Tay Ninh, northwest of Saigon, near the Cambodian border. His skill and potential were recognized by his platoon leader:

“Thad Yonika was a Cobra Pilot in my Red Platoon. He said he wanted to get closer to the fight and requested a transfer to the Scout Platoon. I approved the move reluctantly because of his great potential to become a Red Platoon Aircraft Commander but his enthusiasm to fly Scouts was really genuine and we knew that he showed some of the unique qualities that would make him a great Scout.”

WO Yonika was assigned to fly a Cayuse Light Observation Helicopter. His job was to fly over suspected enemy locations to get shot at. His crew would mark the location of the source of the fire; attack helicopters such as Cobras would swoop in to destroy the enemy.

The Cayuse had the reputation of being able to take a lot of hits and still keep flying. But it wasn’t invulnerable.

On 21 December 1969 while flying OH-6A tail number 67-16142, WO Yonika and his crew encountered a force of NVA at a location we called Pearson’s Field, near the Cambodian border. His LOH was hit by enemy fire and as he evaded away from the NVA and tried to land outside the enemy’s fire the aircraft crashed. Unfortunately, the aircraft exploded and Thad along with Chris “Kippy” Gray (gunner/ Torque) and Barry Kaletta (observer) were killed.

The son of Mr. and Mrs. Thaddeus M. Yonika, Sr., of West Middlesex, Thad was a Rotary International Exchange Student to South Africa in 1966. After graduation from West Middlesex High School in 1966, he attended Shenango Campus of Penn State University and worked as an orderly at Sharon General Hospital.

He is buried in Hillcrest Memorial Cemetery.

On the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Panel W15 Line 81