VETERANS

VETERANS
Ceremonies at YSU
YOUNGSTOWN -- Lt. Col. Roderick A. Hosler, assistant professor of military science at Youngstown State University, will speak at the opening ceremonies of Armed Forces Week at 10 a.m. Monday at YSU's Veterans Memorial Plaza. The ceremony also will include remarks from J.P. Brown III, commander of AMVETS Department of Ohio, and Fred Kubli Jr., treasurer of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station Base-Community Council.
Armed Forces Day
CANFIELD -- Harley Davidson of Youngstown, 4478 Boardman-Canfield Road, will celebrate Armed Forces Day from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. Representatives of the branches of the military and area veterans organizations will attend. At 3 p.m., Ohio Chapter 4 Rolling Thunder will conduct a POW/MIA flag raising and dedication ceremony. Before the ceremony, there will be a free cookout. Call (330) 702-1010 for more information.
Decorating graves
The United Veterans Council annual graves decoration is Saturday. James E. McGinnis, council cemetery chairman, asked that veterans contact their posts for times and the correct cemeteries.
BASIC GRADS
Air Force: Reserve Airman Gerald K. Groves, son of Jerry Groves of Howland-Wilson Road in Cortland; Reserve Airman Christopher M. Holben (Sharon Christian Academy, Hermitage, Pa., '02) son of Michael and April Holben of Hermitage.
Army: Pvt. Randall L. Clunen, son of Bonnie Paulini of Salem, One Station Unit Training.
PROMOTIONS
New Navy ensign
Navy Ensign Phillip R. Hamrock, son of Ardaith J. Hamrock of Vienna, was commissioned a Naval officer after completing the 13-week Officer Candidate School at Naval Aviation Schools Command, Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla.
Hamrock is a 1997 graduate of Youngstown Ursuline High School and joined the Navy in August 2001.
Major in the Army
Army Major Shawn S. Osterholt was promoted to his present rank while serving as a combat field surgeon in Iraq. Dr. Osterholt, of Centerville, is a graduate of Youngstown State University and Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. He is stationed at Blanchfield Army Hospital, Fort Campbell, Ky.
Dr. Osterholt is married to the former Lynne C. Pilolli, whose parents are Anthony and Nora Pilolli of Liberty. The Osterholts have twin sons, Conner and Brandon.
HONORS
Sailor of the Year
LEAVITTSBURG -- Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph L. Czechowski, a 1999 graduate of LaBrae High School, was named Sailor of the Year for 2002 for the Naval Security Group Detachment in Seoul, Korea.
Czechowski, a son of Thomas and Jean Czechowski, was captain of the football team and a member of National Honor Society at LaBrae, and graduated in the top 10 of his class. Previously, he was Junior Sailor of the Year for the fourth quarter of 2000 and the second quarter of 2001 while assigned to Commander, Amphibious Group One in Okinawa, Japan.
Redesign of the Osprey
David Cohen, a civilian engineer with the Navy, has received the Distinguished Civilian Service Award, the highest Navy award for civilians.
Now living in Solomons, Md., Cohen was made head of engineering for the V-22 Osprey rotorcraft airplane after it had two crashes. He coordinated engineering re-design to place the Osprey back on track as a safe carrier for the Marine Corps and the Army.
Cohen graduated from Boardman High School in 1976, attended the University of California San Diego, where he was named to Phi Beta Kappa, and in 1982, received an engineering degree from Youngstown State University.
He is the son of Irwin and Beatrice Cohen of Boardman and is married to the former Michele Disher, also a civilian engineer for the Navy.
DEPLOYED
On border of Kuwait, Iraq
Army 1st Lt. John A. Giannini, son of John J. Jr. and Carol Giannini of Youngstown, is serving along the border of Kuwait and Iraq with the 3rd Platoon, 257th Transportation Co. He also served in Desert Storm in 1991. He and his wife, Barbara, are graduates of Youngstown State University, and he is a member of VFW Post 3307 in Youngstown.
REUNIONS
USS Manchester CL83: Sept. 28-Oct. 1, 2003, Biloxi, Miss. Contact John Kish, 34411 Shirley Road, Youngstown 44502.
82nd Airborne Division Association: Aug. 13-16, 2003, Charleston, W.Va. Contact Always Airborne, 5459 Northcutt Place, Dayton, Ohio 45414.
VR-21: May 15-17, 2003, Shreveport/Bossier City, La.. Contact Bill Gibbons, P.O. Box 655, Hall Summit, La. 71034-0065.
USS Soley (DD 707): Oct. 8-12, 2003, Louisville, Ky. Contact Eugene Blum, 6749 San Benito Way, Buena Park, Calif. 90620-3741.
USS Wilhoite DE/DER 397: Sept. 3-6, 2003, Oklahoma, City, Okla. Contact Frank Roche, 411 Miller St., Luzerne, Pa. 18709-1502.
SHAEF/ETOUSA Veterans Association: Oct. 6-8, 2003, Charleston, S.C. Contact Don Thriffiley, 7340 Dundee St., New Orleans, La. 70126.
XItems of note for the Military Roundup can be sent to The Vindicator, Regional Desk, P.O. Box 780, Youngstown 44501-0780.