VETERANS

VETERANS
Pearl Harbor events
CAMPBELL -- The 60th annual Pearl Harbor Memorial Mass will be at 8:30 a.m. next Sunday, in St. Joseph the Provider Church, 633 Porter Ave. Veterans will meet at 8 a.m. in the cafeteria to form and march into the church. VFW Post 1423 is host for the service.
CANFIELD -- A Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony will be at noon Friday at the Veterans Memorial at Canfield Fairgrounds. Veterans are asked to bring their colors, and the general public is invited.
Marine council heads
Robert M. Brienik of Austintown was elected 2002 president of the Youngstown-Warren Marine Corps Coordinating Council. Other officers include: Kenneth Lewis of Girard, vice president; Harry Dampf of Canfield, treasurer; Patti Higgens of Austintown, secretary; and Carol Brienik of Austintown, chaplain. Members of the board of directors are: James Altiero of Girard, Higgens, and Howard Johnson of Warren.
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The Lawrence County Department of Veterans Affairs and County Commissioners are having a ceremony at noon Friday at the county Government Center to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor survivors will be presented certificates from the commissioners and a 21-gun salute will be presented by the New Castle Honor Guard. All veterans and the general public are invited to attend. Commissioner Roger M. DeCarbo is master of ceremonies and the guest speaker will be Mike Banko Jr., a Marine Corps veteran of the Korean War.
Accreditation
BUTLER, Pa. -- The pathology and laboratory medicine department of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center has been accredited by the Commission on Laboratory Accreditation of the College of American Pathologists.
Free legal help
COLUMBUS -- Free legal assistance is available for Ohio servicemen being called to active duty in the war on terrorism through the Ohio attorney general's PATRIOT (Pro Bono Attorney General's Assistance Targeted to Help Reserve, Guard and Active Duty Personnel in Ohio Today). PATRIOT will provide lawyers to assist in planning wills, living wills, and durable powers of attorney for health care, and families can receive help if they are faced with eviction. Military personnel and their families may call (866) 444-3577 for more information.
YOUNGSTOWN AIR STATION
2 new faces
VIENNA -- Air Force Reserve Staff Sgt. Eugene D. Barber and Senior Airman Jared M. Bednar have arrived for duty at Youngstown Air Reserve Station.
Barber is a traffic management journeyman assigned to the 910th Airlift Wing. He is a son of Eugene I. and Carol Barber, Wallace Circle, New Castle, Pa., and is a 1982 graduate of Lawrence County Vocational Technical High School, New Castle.
Bednar is an avionics guidance and control systems journeyman assigned to the 910th Maintenance Squadron. He is a son of Kenneth J. and Vicki L. Bednar, 42 Clingan St., Hubbard. His wife, Danielle, is a daughter of Christine Schuster, 43 Hillview, Hubbard. Bednar is a 1997 graduate of Hubbard High School.
OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM
Guided missile cruisers
Navy Petty Officers 2nd Class Opey L. Barr and Jason J. Osborne are serving aboard guided missile cruisers which are part of the USS Carl Vinson battle group employed in Operation Enduring Freedom.
Barr, a son of Joan Davis, 570 W. Pidgeon Road, Salem, is a fire control technician aboard the USS Princeton.
Osborne, son of Russ Osborne, Columbiana, is fire control technician and maintains and repairs equipment necessary to operate the weapons system aboard the USS Antietam.
BASIC GRADS
Military training
Several area residents have completed basic military training. They include:
U Army: Pvt. Craig Thorpe (Struthers High School '01) a son of Laura Thorpe, Struthers, and grandson of Mabel Hughes, 1697 West Hampton, Austintown, and James Hughes, Boardman.
U Air Force: Airman Nicholas A. Achladis (Howland High School, Howland '01), a son of Tasia Achladis, 4031 Adrian Drive, Howland.
HONORS
Meritorious service
VIENNA -- Air Force Reserve Master Sgt. Bryan Ripple, assistant director of public affairs for the 910th Airlift Wing, Youngstown Air Reserve Station, was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. Ripple, a 1986 graduate of Salem High School, has been a member of the 910th for nearly 15 years, was previously named a Superior Performer several times, and was an honor graduate of his journalism course in 1999 at the Defense Information School. He has also received awards for his news articles and assists the 910th's media and community relations and internal information programs. He and his wife, Loretta, live in Salem and have two children, Clarissa and Benjamin.
Army commendation
Army Spec. Jason B. Clark has been decorated with the Army Commendation Medal. Clark is an optical laboratory specialist assigned to the 147th Medical
Logistics Battalion, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas.
He is a son of Leslie A. and Thomas P. Sams, 945 Homewood S.E., Warren, and is a 1995 graduate of Warren G. Harding High School, Warren.
TRAINING
M.P. school
Army Pvt. Marcus Tyler Paige graduated from Military Police School at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and has been assigned to Vincenza, Italy. Paige graduated in 2000 from Austintown Fitch High School and studied criminal justice for a year at Youngstown State University. He is a son of Ronald M. and Loisjean Haynes-Paige, 1243 Woodhurst Drive, Youngstown.
XItems of note for the Military Roundup can be sent to The Vindicator, Regional Desk, P.O. Box 780, Youngstown 44501-0780.