VALLEY PATRIOTS OF THE MONTH By: Helen Mooradkanian – April, 2012 When 25-year-old Corporal George A. (Tony) Lutz, II, U.S. Army, of Virginia Beach, VA, was killed by a sniper’s bullet outside Fallujah on December 29, 2005, only six weeks into his deployment in “Operation Iraqi Freedom,” his tragic death set in motion a […]
More than 200 Actions Taken in 23 States By: Cecelia Calabrese – March, 2012 According to recent statistics, we are losing approximately 1000 World War II veterans every day. Time grows preciously scarce for each one of us to take advantage of the opportunity to let these extraordinary men and women know just how […]
Helen Mooradkanian – March, 2012 Colonel Kris Mineau, USAF (Ret.), of North Reading, flew 100 combat missions into North Vietnam in 1966 as fighter pilot in the supersonic F-4C Phantom II. Capable of speed Mach 2.23, more than twice the speed of sound, the Phantom was key to downing the Soviet MiG-21s used by the […]
Diana Fay Dizoglio – January, 2012 With heavy hearts people from all across Massachusetts honored four firefighters who lost their lives this holiday season. Among these brave fathers, husbands, brothers and sons was firefighter Robert George of Methuen who unexpectedly passed away just a few days before Christmas. Robert or “Robby” as his close […]
By: Cecelia Calabrese – January, 2012 Want a crash course in decision making, leadership and teamwork skills? Tell it to the Marines! That is what Mary Payne of Dracut, Massachusetts did when she spent a week at the Marine Corps training facility at Parris Island. Mary is the College Relations Counselor at Lowell High School. […]
By: Senator Bruce Tarr– October, 2011 Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) and State Representative James E. Vallee (D-Franklin) announced today they will be filing legislation requiring the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) to provide special active duty license plates to Massachusetts residents currently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. The proposal would […]
VALLEY PATRIOT OF THE MONTH By: Helen Mooradkanian – September, 2011 Out of the darkness, engines roaring, hundreds of American B-17 Flying Fortresses took off March 20, 1944, in World War II, from Deenethorpe, England. Destination: Frankfurt. Mission: destroy production of dreaded Luftwaffe FW-190 fighter planes. At 30,000 feet, under heavily overcast skies and […]
By: Tracey Zysk – September, 2011 Ten years later…it is as if it was yesterday. After the buildings went down, the search started. Images of firefighters, police, military, New Yorkers and tourists all helping out, looking and searching. As a viewer watching this unravel on TV, I still couldn’t fully comprehend or maybe believe […]
By: Helen Mooradanian – August, 2011 In May 1944 during World War II, near Carano, Italy, 24-year old Sergeant Van T. Barfoot risked his life in extraordinary heroism. Single-handedly, he killed seven German soldiers, destroyed three machinegun nests, faced down three armored tanks, and captured 17 German prisoners! For his valor, he was commissioned […]
By: Tom Duggan – June, 2011 Local U.S. Marine recruiters in The Valley got their first look at the latest batch of recruits last month at Ft. Devans Army Base in Massachusetts. The new recruits, called “poolees” (recruits yet to attend basic training) were put through preliminary training to get them ready for the extensive […]
By: Ted Trip – June, 2011 NORTH ANDOVER – On the morning of June 6, 1944, the allies finally began the liberation of Europe from the Nazi nightmare. Tens of thousands of American, British and Canadian troops poured onto the shores of Normandy to engage the Germans and drive them out of France. The […]
The North Andover Republican Town Committee held their annual Spring Fling last month and as they do each year the committee honored some of our local veterans in town. Selectmen Rosemary Smedile and Dan Lanen presided over the honors and presented each veteran with a certificate of appreciation. Here are the four heroes they […]
By: Dani Langivan, Lesbian Columnist – March, 2011 My stepson has joined the military. In the next couple of months he will board a plane to San Antonio, Texas and begin his training at Lackland Air Force base to become a member of the United States Air Force. Almost every day, since hearing the news, […]
By: Austin Roy, Teen Columnist – December, 2010 Remember this Christmas; When you’re eating your dinners, smiling and laughing, remember that somewhere, in another house there’s an empty chair where a hero should be sitting. Those Heroes gave up their life so you can sit with your family. So light a candle for the Heroes that […]
By: Tom Duggan – December, 2010 Forty educators from various public schools in Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire departed last month from Logan Airport under U.S. Marine escort and arrived at Beauford, South Carolina to attend Marine boot camp on Parris Island to observe and experience how the U.S. Government makes Marines. Two of the […]