Valley Patriot of the Month- Hero in Our Midst Captain Thomas J. Hudner, Jr. U.S. Navy – Korean War, Medal of Honor

Valley Patriot of the Month- Hero in Our Midst Captain Thomas J. Hudner, Jr.  U.S. Navy – Korean War, Medal of Honor

Valley Patriot of the Month, Hero in Our Midst Captain Thomas J. Hudner, Jr. Ted Tripp – (May 7, 2007) CONCORD/ANDOVER – Tom Hudner was sitting in the commons area after lunch at Phillips Academy in Andover when word spread that the Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor. As with most young people of the era, […]

Hero in Our Midst – Corporal James M. Cassidy, U.S. Army – WW II

Valley Patriot of the Month By: Ted Tripp – February, 2007 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 […]

Hero in Our Midst – Lieutenant Colonel Muriel Katschker, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve

Valley Patriot of the Month   By: Ted Tripp – January, 2007 NORTH ANDOVER – Muriel Katschker remembers well where she was on December 7, 1941. She was with her parents listening to the radio when the regular programming was interrupted by an announcer’s voice saying the Japanese had just attacked and bombed Pearl Harbor. […]

Heroes in Our Midst – Corporal Frank Sanzi – Paratrooper Korean War

Heroes in Our Midst – Corporal Frank Sanzi – Paratrooper Korean War

By: Ted Tripp – November, 2006 NORTH ANDOVER – On June 25, 1950 the North Korean Army, bolstered by Soviet tanks and aircraft, invaded South Korea. Immediately, President Harry Truman ordered General Douglas MacArthur to transfer ammunition and supplies from Japan to the ROK (Republic of Korea) Army and provide limited air support. On June […]

Hero in Our Midst, Part II, POW, Staff Sgt. Eldon Berthiaume, Infantryman

By: Ted Tripp – September, 2006 LAWRENCE – In early 1945, Pvt. Eldon Berthiaume of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division was captured by the Germans in the small village of Utweiler, Germany. He and other Americans taken prisoner were force-marched deeper into Germany and, after a temporary stay at a transitional POW camp, ended up […]

Hero in our Midst – Luther McIlwain, Tuskegee Airman, Part 2 – Valley Patriot of the Month

(READ PART 1) By: Ted Tripp – May, 2006 METHUEN – As 85-year-old Luther McIlwain slowly walks around the kitchen table in his Pleasant Valley home, it is obvious that this Tuskegee Airman has a lot more story to tell about his military experience during World War II. Each little parcel of information he shares […]

Hero in Our Midst – Tuskegee Airman Luther McIlwain, Part 1 – Valley Patriot of the Month

Read PART II By: Ted Tripp – April, 2006 METHUEN – Everyone meeting Luther McIlwain for the first time immediately realizes there is something special in the air. Even a short conversation with the 85 year-old veteran of World War II causes you to think about the greater social and political issues of our time. Every […]

Hero in our Midst – William Callahan – Valley Patriot of the Month

Hero in our Midst – William Callahan – Valley Patriot of the Month

By: Tom Duggan -January, 2006 NORTH ANDOVER – Lawrence native Bill Callahan served his country in two wars, World War II and the Korean War. After completing his military service, he has also spent decades volunteering in the community and working to help others. When Bill Callahan graduated from Lawrence High School in 1945, the […]

Hero in our Midst – CPL. Harvey Gibeau – Valley Patriot of the Month,

By: Dr. Charles Ormsby – November, 2005 Harvey Gibeau was born in Lawrence in 1923 and after high school he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in the late 1930s. He vividly remembers the ever-present sense of patriotism that prevailed. Patriotism was a common household word and was an expected personal trait in his family. In […]

Hero in our Midst – Pfc. Alexander “Alex” Milne – Valley Patriot of the Month (9-05)

  By: Charles Ormsby – September, 2005 NORTH ANDOVER – Alexander Milne rarely speaks of his wartime experiences, even with fellow veterans. Such conversations were uncommon even with his brother, Donald, who served on the Battleship Texas at Normandy, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and who passed away two years ago. Alex found it difficult to […]

Hero in Our Midst, Ted Cole – Valley Patriot of the Month (May, 2005)

By: Dr. Charles Ormsby – May, 2005 Andover, Mass. – “I was furious at what they did,” said Ted Cole, recalling his emotions after hearing about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Less than 24 hours later he and his two brothers were in line at the recruiting station in Lawrence. “The line was out the […]

Valley Patriot of the Month (April, 2005) – Haverhill’s Mike Buglione- Heroes in Our Midst

  By: Dr. Charled Ormsby – April, 2005  HAVERHILL, Mass. – Shortly after his 22nd birthday and nine months before Pearl Harbor, Michael Buglione went to his draft board and requested to be taken in the next round. Heck, he thought, it’s just “Goodbye dear, I’ll be back in a year.” Well, it was over […]

Valley Patriot of the Month! Sylvio “Sy” Uliano – Heroes in Our Midst

By: Tom Duggan: February, 2005 Cpl. Uliano can still hear General George C. Patton telling the troops not to worry about going into combat. Patton told them, “First, the enemy fires and you duck. Then, you fire and the enemy ducks.” This quote seemed humorous when Sy Uliano relayed the story, but I’m sure it […]