Veterans

Between 15 and 20 veterans from across the nation will gather at Homewood Suites in Hagerstown starting Sunday for the annual VW-1 Vanguard Reunion of Navy Squadron veterans who served in Hawaii from 1950 to 1957. On Tuesday and Wednesday, reunion attendees will visit Washington, D.C., including a trip to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. They will have the opportunity to explore the local area Thursday. The Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau has been providing assistance for the group, and also is providing welcome packets for the attendees.

A veterans appreciation day will be held Saturday, June 9 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the St. Thomas American Legion, 7966 Lincoln Way West. The event includes guest speakers, DJ, Two Nuts and a Bolt, refreshments and a flag-retirement ceremony. The event is hosted by the 22nd District Sons of the American Legion and the American Legion family. For more information, call Robert Stouffer at 717-816-2419.

Rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III generated excitement among the veterans at the opening of Redskins camp on Thursday.  Only six current players made the playoffs with Washington and only two have won a postseason game for the franchise. The team was just 11-21 during coach Mike Shanahan's first two seasons. The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner landed in Washington in a trade that sent three first-round picks and a second-round selection to St. Louis. Shanahan named him the starter before the veterans reported in May, and the old-timers seem pleased to have the 22-year-old Griffin at the helm.

Hagerstown Community College will host an information session for active-duty military, veterans and their families Friday, Jan. 6, at 10 a.m. at the Elliott Center. During the free session, attendees will get an overview of HCC, including information on veterans' benefits, academic advising, financial aid, disability services and the student-run veterans' club. Tours of the campus will be available. For more information, contact recruitment coordinator Kevin Crawford at klcrawford@hagerstowncc.edu or call 240-500-2412.

Hagerstown Community College will host an information session for active duty military, veterans and their families Friday, Nov. 9, at 10 a.m. in the Student Center. During the free session, attendees will get an overview of HCC, including information on veterans' benefits, academic advising, financial aid, disability services and the student-run veterans' club. Tours of the campus will be available. For more information, call recruitment coordinator Kevin Crawford at 240-500-2412 or send an email to klcrawford@hagerstowncc.edu .

Hancock United Methodist Church, 168 W. Main St., Hancock, will offer a free chicken dinner from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11, to any veteran and a guest from the Tri-State area.  For more information, call 301-678-6440.

Submitted photo World War II veterans and a number of others attended a Roundtable Christmas party were dressed in uniform in honor of the occasion. The Potomac Highlands World War II Roundtable held its fourth annual Christmas Party honoring World War II veterans Dec. 5 at the Robinhood Retirement Community in Hagerstown. Fifty-three guests attended, including 14 WWII Army, Air Corps and Navy veterans, and those who served in Korea and Vietnam. Family members and friends of veterans also celebrated the dinner and entertainment.

Students at Hickory Elementary School performed a musical tribute to veterans Nov. 7, under the direction of Christa Stout, music teacher.  Guests were welcomed by Monica Bowers, principal at Hickory.   A photo presentation opened the evening as guests were seated.  The presentation included pictures of veterans who are family members of the Hickory Elementary School staff.   Students invited family members, friends and neighbors who...

Kimberly Ridenour and her father, David Ridenour, were named Co-Veterans of the Day at Disney World on Feb. 17. The Hagerstown residents were picked at random while entering the Florida amusement park. The Ridenours served with the Air National Guard in Martinsburg, W.Va.

Maryland schools were asked to create winter holiday ornaments paying tribute to men and women in uniform, veterans and their families. Smithsburg Middle School art students in Ms. Maginnis' class designed and created patriotic winter holiday ornaments using flags and camouflage, as well as honoring their own families who served.  Student participants were Trystin Smithwick, Isabella Statler, Anna Wilt, Lindsey Draheim, David Johnson, Joey Clem,...

With the number of World War II veterans dying at the rate of more than 600 per day, it was a rare occasion to have two veterans of the conflict together in Chambersburg on Thursday. World War II veteran and best-selling author of “Hell's Guest,” Col. Glenn Frazier, 89, was the guest speaker at the Rotary Club meeting at The Orchards Restaurant. He shared his experiences of fighting a losing effort to save the Philippine Island of Luzon from the Japanese to the infamous six-day Bataan Death March and three years of torture in Japanese prisoner of war camps.

The president of South Korea thanked a group of local Korean War veterans for helping set the cornerstone of a 60-year partnership between her country and the United States during a dinner Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Les Bishop, commander of Antietam Chapter 312 of the Korean War Veterans Association, said 27 members of the organization were among about 500 people who were invited to attend the event with South Korean President Park Geun-hye at...

A blessing of the foundation was held Wednesday for the third house, the first for a military veteran, in Habitat for Humanity of the Eastern Panhandle's Auburndale subdivision. The house will be home to Robert Scott, 57, a homeless veteran who lives in transitional housing at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Martinsburg. The house will be built in a week. Construction will begin May 13 with the ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for May 19. “It's my first house,” said Scott, who stood among the nearly 30 persons in the audience who participated or showed up in support of the ceremony.

John Worgul doesn't like to see fellow veterans get “kicked to the side,” even if they're serving time in prison for criminal activity. A veteran himself, Worgul volunteers to help other veterans who are inmates at Roxbury Correctional Institution south of Hagerstown, where he also works as a correctional officer. Worgul was among dozens of volunteers saluted Saturday for their efforts by Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services officials at a picnic at Boonsboro's Shafer Memorial Park.

A group of local Korean War veterans has been invited to have dinner with the president of South Korea on May 7 in Washington, D.C. Les Bishop, commander of Antietam Chapter 312 of the Korean War Veterans Association, said the South Korean Embassy recently invited 40 members of the organization and some of their wives to dine with President Park Geun-hye at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “I couldn't tell you how proud I am and pleased that we received this invitation,” Bishop said.

On March 28, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Hiring Our Heroes program and Spike TV's Hire A Veteran Campaign launched the Small Business Tournament of Veteran Champions to find the most veteran-friendly small business in America. To be eligible, businesses must have 500 or fewer employees and an annual revenue of less than $20 million. They also must commit to hire as part of the National Chamber Foundation and Capital One's Hiring 500,000 Heroes campaign, which has a goal of engaging the business community to hire half a million veterans and military spouses by the end of 2014.

John Leather wears earplugs to church, but it's not the sermon that the 88-year-old World War II veteran is trying to muffle. He said he wears the earplugs to drown out the rumble of a drum that's played when the congregation sings hymns. “I've had to leave the service a couple of times,” Leather said with a shiver. “It reminds me of artillery coming in.” Nearly 70 years ago, Leather was a sergeant in the 17th Airborne Division, a unit of paratroopers and glider soldiers who saw some of World War II's most ferocious fighting during the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Varsity.

“The Glorious and the Brave” will be shown Saturday at 7 p.m. at The Presbyterian Church of Falling Spring, 221 N. Main St. in Chambersburg. The stories of eyewitnesses and participants in history come to life in this film that chronicles the lives of two little girls caught up in Adolf Hitler's quest to eliminate the lives of Jews throughout Europe in order to create a Jew-free society, according to a news release. Five World War II veterans from the region share their experiences as America was drawn into the war against Nazi aggression, the news release stated.

Richard Andrews III said he has a job at a local graphics company, but it's hard to get enough hours to make a decent living. Andrews, who is an Army veteran, and dozens of others with military experience were at the National Guard Armory off Roxbury Road on Tuesday to attend Hiring Our Heroes-Hagerstown, one of four job fairs scheduled to be held in Maryland this year to help veterans and their spouses find work. With 36 prospective employers ranging from Walmart to Lockheed Martin, Andrews said he was pleasantly surprised by the event.

A service officer from the Disabled American Veterans agency will be available Thursday at the Hagerstown Veterans Administration Clinic, Hub Plaza Building, 1101 Opal Court. The representative will be at the office from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The service officer will be available to provide information and prepare veterans administration claims for veterans, their spouses or family members to obtain benefits. Attendees are asked to bring a copy of their military discharge, DD 214 or other service records, veterans administreation claim number if one was issued and any correspondence or rating decision information.