Tributes Index - Avenue of Flags

David Veverka

Jamestown. PA

U.S. Army – War on Terror

David was born on September 15, 1980, in Greenville, PA. He grew up in a small town of Jamestown, PA. He was the star basketball player for Jamestown and also enjoyed outside sports. Graduating from Jamestown High School in 1999, David enlisted in the Army and began his training at Fort Benning, GA, where he completed jump school and training as a paratrooper. He was assigned to C Co 3rd US Infantry Regiment. David served three years with the Old Guard in Washington, D.C., at Arlington National Cemetery.

When his enlistment was up in 2002, David entered the University of Maine and majored in Wildlife Ecology and at the same time, joined the Maine Army National Guard Bravo Company 3/172 Infantry. While studying for his degree, David received numerous awards and citations for his contributions and academic records. He worked with all types of animals, both land and marine life. He became a fellow in an honors program to work with middle school students in science.

While in Maine, David enjoyed hiking, mountain climbing, watching moose in some of the wilderness areas in Maine. He loved to kayak rivers, lakes and off the ocean coastline. Whenever he came home for a visit, his kayak was always on the roof of his car!

In March of 2006, David deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. David felt he wanted to support his country just like his dad had in Vietnam and grandfather in World War II. David was killed in action on May 6, 2006, from injuries received from an lED south of Baghdad.

David was posthumously awarded a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Wildlife Ecology, magna cum laude. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Section 60, with so many other fallen heroes. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Airborne Wings and the Bronze Star with Valor.

We will continue to honor David and his fellow soldiers who continue to serve and sacrifice in the name of freedom. Our family has started a memorial scholarship fund in David’s honor. We hold a golf scramble each August to raise money for three $1,000 scholarships given to chosen seniors in Mercer and Crawford counties.

David was only 25 years old, but he lived everyday to be the best he could be. David always looked to capture the best that life had to offer… be it as a basketball player, a scientist on the ocean, or an avid hiker in the mountains of Maine, he “seized the day” in everything he did. He was well respected and loved by everyone who knew him. There is never a day that goes by that we don’t think about him and the many good memories we had. The tears still always come for no reason. We all love David for who he was in our lives and his memory will never die.

Sgt. Leslie H. Sabo

Elwood City, PA

U.S. Army, Vietnam

Some men have been awarded the Medal of Honor for using their bodies to shield others from a hand grenade; others for charging an enemy bunker; or for drawing fire upon themselves away from others; or for sprinting across an open field to save a comrade. According to Sgt. Leslie Sabo’s Medal of Honor citation, he did not just one of those actions, but all of them:

“[On May 10, 1970] Specialist Four Sabo and his platoon were conducting a reconnaissance patrol when they were ambushed from all sides by a large enemy force. Without hesitation, Specialist Four Sabo charged an enemy position, killing several enemy soldiers. Immediately thereafter, he assaulted an enemy flanking force, successfully drawing their fire away from friendly soldiers and ultimately forcing the enemy to retreat. In order to re-supply ammunition, he sprinted across an open field to a wounded comrade. As he began to reload, an enemy grenade landed nearby. Specialist Four Sabo picked it up, threw it, and shielded his comrade with his own body, thus absorbing the brunt of the blast and saving his comrade’s life. Seriously wounded by the blast, Specialist Four Sabo nonetheless retained the initiative and then single-handedly charged an enemy bunker that had inflicted severe damage on the platoon, receiving several serious wounds from automatic weapons fire in the process. Now mortally injured, he crawled towards the enemy emplacement and, when in position, threw a grenade into the bunker. The resulting explosion silenced the enemy fire, but also ended Specialist Four Sabo’s life. His indomitable courage and complete disregard for his own safety saved the lives of many of his platoon members. . . .”

The acknowledgement of his heroism was a long time coming. His Medal of Honor was presented to his widow, Rose Mary Sabo Brown, May 11, 2012. That brought overdue recognition not only to himself, but also to those who fought and died with him. Leslie’s older brother, George, honored the seven other men who died that day: Larry DeBoer, James DeBrew, Fred Harms, Tom Merriman, Ernie Moore, Don Smith and Leslie Wilbanks. “These men, along with my brother, gave the ultimate sacrifice that day,” George said. “And we will remember them in our hearts. For their families here today, I want you to know that the Sabo family considers them all heroes and this Medal of Honor is for them also.”

William Perrine

Perrine, William

Sharon, PA

U.S. Army – Desert Storm era

On February 22, 1991, hundreds of U.S. tanks and other vehicles massed in eastern Saudi Arabia to attack the Iraqi forces in Kuwait. The unit responsible for getting fuel to them was the 475th Quartermaster Group from Farrell, Pennsylvania.

How did such a responsibility fall on an army reserve unit?

During the 1980s, the Department of Defense reduced the active army, assigning logistical and other tasks to reserve units. In the end, there was no regular army petroleum group.

“We were it, basically,” said Bill Perrine, who had joined the unit in the early 1970s.

That didn’t result in a lack of preparedness, thanks to the exceptional commitment of reservists such as Bill.

Through the 1970s, he served one weekend a month and two weeks during the summer. That changed dramatically during the 1980s.

“The 475th became responsible for supplying all the fuel for the not just for the army,” Bill said, “but also for the air force, marines, and navy. Our job was to get petroleum supplies to anyone who needed them in a theater of operation. We had to figure out how to make that happen.”

It was an awesomely complex job that required Bill to spend as many as 100 active duty days a year.

“We planned the logistics from the time the petroleum comes out of the ground, through the refineries, into ocean-going tankers, to deep sea ports or across the beach, into the bladders, into the trucks, into the little refuelers, all the way to the guy’s jeep out in the field.”

They also participated in strategic planning to counter a variety of possible scenarios, such as a potential Russian invasion in Europe through the Fulda Gap. Then the attention shifted to Iran and Iraq.

“The war plans we wrote during the late 1980s got used in the early 1990s during Desert Storm,” Bill said.

Of course, planning isn’t enough; training is also necessary. The 475th participated in petroleum logistics exercises both in the United States and overseas.

When Bill took a job in Wheeling, WV, in 1987, he transferred to the 1036th U.S. Army Reserve school which was also in Farrell but required less time.

During Desert Storm, Bill was activated to teach in the Petroleum School in Fort Lee, Virginia. To his disappointment, his requests to serve in Iraq were turned down.

Bill remained in the Reserves until he retired from the military in 1993.

Lt. Col. Michael McLaughlin

Michael McLaughlin

Mercer, PA

U.S. Army – War on Terror

When one man is killed in combat, it isn’t just a man who dies. It is a son, a husband, a father, an uncle, a friend, a fellow soldier, and sometimes a leader who puts the safety and welfare of others in front of his own.

Lt. Col. Mike McLaughlin was all of those people. Early in the morning on January 5, 2005, in Ramadi, Iraq, he was with a crowd of 300 Iraqis who had responded to an Iraqi police recruiting drive. He was following the first priority of a military officer: Accomplish the mission.

At 7:02, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives. When shrapnel struck the back of Mike’s head, a soldier went to check him out. “I’m okay,” he said. “Go help the others.”

In that, he fulfilled a leader’s second priority: Look out for the welfare of your men.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t okay. He died from the wound.

The responses of those who knew him reveal what was lost to the world.

“Mike was a leader in word, deed, and action,” said friend and fellow soldier Lt. Col. Grey D. Berrier II. “He was a charismatic leader that always led from the front, and was the consummate professional.”

“Mike died doing his job the only way he knew how — out in front, with great enthusiasm and courage,” said Col. John L Gronski, commander for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team. “He was a very close friend. My heart and my prayers go out to his family.”

Tammy McLaughlin lost her husband. Their two daughters, Ericha and Erin, lost their father.

In a speech she gave at a Veteran’s Day ceremony, his niece Paige related some of her most precious memories. “When my sister and I were really little, we went to a beach house with him. He gave us licorice for breakfast.” She remembered him as a “man that would laugh at anything, one that would make anyone his best friend just by saying hello.”

Apparently Mike said hello to a lot of people. His niece Chloe remembers his funeral. “I saw so many people that I didn’t even know. I didn’t realize how many people were his friends.”

Chloe was six when her uncle died, and ten when she wrote this insightful conclusion: “I’m proud of the veterans that have served in our beautiful free country and I am very proud of my uncle Mike. The next time you see a veteran please say thank you.”

SPC Ross A. McGinnis

Knox, PA

U.S. Army – War on Terror

Ross A. McGinnis’s kindergarten teacher asked him to complete a sentence, “When I grow up, I want to be ______________.” His reply: “An army man.”

Few kids that age actually know what they want to be; Ross really, truly did. He grew up to be the ultimate army man whose self-sacrifice resulted in his receiving the highest honor the United States can bestow on its military heroes.

Ross’s career choice never wavered. On his 17th birthday, he signed up for the Delayed Enlistment Program. During the next year, he completed the requirements to qualify for entry into the army as a PFC, rather than as a buck private.

He went on duty less than a month after he graduated from Keystone High School in 2005. After training at Fort Benning, Georgia, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team in Schweinfurt, Germany. The unit was deployed to Kuwait, then Iraq.

There the 19-year-old kid proved himself to be a man among men. During his first three months, he participated in over 200 combat missions in and around eastern Baghdad. He didn’t just participate; he excelled. In an intense battle on November 6, 2006, he displayed such courage that his commander recommended that he be given a waiver for the time required for promotion.

He performed his final act of bravery less than a month later, on December 4. Few things take more raw courage than to ride as a .50 caliber machine gunner on a Humvee maneuvering through narrow streets during urban combat. The gunner must position himself with his upper body fully exposed to hostile fire.

On this day, an insurgent threw a fragmentation hand grenade onto the vehicle. PFC McGinnis tried to deflect it, but it fell through the hatch into the vehicle, which was manned by four other soldiers. PFC McGinnis could have leapt out of the Hummer to safety. Instead, he dropped down into the vehicle and pinned the grenade between his body and the radio mount. He was killed instantly when the grenade exploded, but the other four soldiers survived. Only one of them was seriously wounded.
For his sacrifice, PFC Ross was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Ross is the son of Romayne and Tom McGinnis. He has two sisters, Becky and Katie.

Peggy Mazyck

Farrell, PA

U.S. Army Reserves – Desert Storm Era

MSG (ret.) Peggy Mazyck strongly felt that she should not be included among the veterans honored in this program. She feels that there are thousands of others who have done more, sacrificed more, suffered more.

She belongs in it, however, because there are hundreds of millions of Americans who have done far, far less. Without people serving honorably and diligently in the military reserves, our country could not field a viable fighting force when it needs to do so.

Peggy enlisted in the Reserves while she was a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Assigned to the 347th Quartermaster Company in Farrell, she worked her way up through the ranks, eventually becoming platoon sergeant for the Product Control Section.

That made her a vital part of the 347th Company’s mission: to provide fuel to combat operations of all branches of the service throughout the world. Without it, tanks could not run on the battlefield; jet fighters could not attack; cargo planes could not bring in troops, equipment, and supplies.

Her unit conducted petroleum supply operations all over the USA, and completed a tour in Korea. Sgt. Mazyck achieved numerous awards including several Army Commendations Medals.

In the mid-1980s, Sgt. Mazyck transferred to the 1036th US ARMY Reserve Force School, which is also headquartered in Farrell. Because of the knowledge she accumulated, she became Chief Instructor/Writer, eventually being promoted to master sergeant.

“I was in charge of the whole group,” she said. “We were tasked with training soldiers from all over the country. During the summers, working with the equipment, you not only teach; you also learn constantly.”

During Operation Desert Storm, MSG Mazyck was activated to the Quartermaster School in Ft. Lee, VA, where she trained soldiers in petroleum supply operations. After this tour of duty, she returned to the USAR School in Farrell until her retirement from the Army in 2002.

“I loved being in the Military,” she said. “I felt that I was doing something very good. It was gratifying to see soldiers gaining the knowledge they needed. I also loved the camaraderie. Over the years we became a very cohesive group.”

The next time you see a Reservist, shake his or her hand and thank them for their vital service. They may not fit the normal concept of heroes, but without them, there wouldn’t be many heroes.

Michael Marzano

Sharon, PA

U.S. Marine Corps – War on Terror

Michael Marzano didn’t always want to be a Marine.

“I believe he was about two years old when he decided,” said his father, Marine Sgt. Al Marzano, who served from 1969 to 1972, including a tour in Vietnam. His desire to serve grew with him as he got older. Al remembers Michael loving to dress up in his Marine uniform.

In Sharon (PA) High School, Michael developed into an ideal candidate for the Marine Corps. He competed in wrestling and became a very good boxer. Unfortunately, during a wrestling match, he tore a ligament in his knee. When he tried to enlist in the Marine Corps after graduation, he was rejected.

But Michael wasn’t one to give up easily. Corrective surgery on his knee and rehab straightened out that problem. He continued boxing, even flirting with the idea of turning pro. But his dream of being a Marine still dominated. When he tried to enlist again in 1969, he was accepted.

After training at Paris Island, Michael was assigned to Camp Lejeune. He was deployed twice to Okinawa for mountain training. While carrying a mortar tube up a hill, he lost his footing and tumbled down. He was knocked out and suffered a back injury.

“He called me up,” Al said. “He was very upset because his sergeant major told him he couldn’t be deployed because of his injury.”

Upon completing his four-year enlistment, Michael got out of the Corps and started taking college classes in in Phoenix, Arizona. But the Marine Corps was still in his blood, so he joined the a Marine reserve unit. Still, he wasn’t happy because the unit was not scheduled for deployment. On a visit back to Pennsylvania in December, 2004, he transferred to the 3rd Battalion 35th Marines in Brookpark, Ohio, which was going to Iraq.

The unit arrived there in March, 2005. On April Fool’s day, he achieved a lifelong goal by being promoted to sergeant, following in the footsteps of his father.

Toward the end of April, Michael’s unit was in Haditha, a small city about 150 miles from Baghdad. Insurgents had severely damaged the hospital. On May 7 they still occupied it. As Michael’s Mobile Assault Platoon was fighting to dislodge them, a van loaded with explosives exploded, killing Michael and three other soldiers.

For his service and his sacrifice, the VA Clinic in Hermitage, PA, was named in his honor.

John Lechner

Hermitage, 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.

Francis “Chookie” LaCamera

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.”

Douglas Kashmer

Kashmer, Douglas

Reynolds, PA

U.S. Army – War on Terror

You can find dramatic narratives about the battles that were taking place when certain fallen heroes were mortally wounded. But there are some fallen heroes whose deaths don’t inspire movie producers to base films on their final moments.

One of those is Doug Kashmer, who enlisted in the army after graduating from Reynolds High School in 1996.

Doug wasn’t a combat infantryman who attacked machine gun nests with hand grenades or killed enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand combat. He was a diesel mechanic. In Nippur, Iraq, on June 8, 2005, he was killed when the military wrecker in which he was riding accidentally rolled over.
That doesn’t make him less of a hero, because it isn’t in death that one becomes a hero; it is in life. And it isn’t the result of what happens to a person. It is the result of the decisions that person made. A hero is one who is willing to risk his life for his family, his friends, and his country – who is willing to go anywhere and do whatever he is called to do, to the best of his ability, to protect his family, friends, and country.

That’s what makes his death different from the 43,510 traffic fatalities that occurred in the United States during 2005.

Doug was very young when he decided to be a soldier. According to his mother, Carol Kashmer, he liked to play with toy soldiers. He would say, “Mom, I want to be a soldier. That’s been his dream since he was a little boy.”

But it isn’t childhood dreams that make one a hero. A kid has no idea what being a soldier really involves. A hero is one who follows through when he grows up and learns the risks involved, and continues even when life brings more reasons for quitting – such as having a wife and a child. Doug was serving in Mannheim, Germany, before he was deployed to Iraq. His wife, Toni Tennant, and their daughter, Kashmaria, were living with him there.

Before leaving for Iraq, Doug had a picture of Kashmaria tattooed on his leg so she would be with him wherever he went.

Heroism comes from taking that picture with him into harm’s way while leaving the real Kashmaria and his wife in Germany, aware of the fact that they might never see each other again.