VETERANS

VETERANS

Memorial service planned

STRUTHERS — The Tri-State Marine Detachment of the Marine Corps League will conduct a memorial service at 1 p.m. next Sunday at the Beirut Memorial at Lake Hamilton, 616 Poland Ave. The service is to honor the 220 Marines and 21 from other military service branches, including 14 from Ohio, who were killed in the bombing of the Marine barracks Oct. 23, 1983.

Three local men lost their lives in the blast: Marine Cpls. Edward Johnston of Struthers and Stanley Sliwinski of Niles, and Sgt. James McDonough of New Castle, Pa.

Department seeks input

The Ohio Department of Mental Health, along with the Multiethnic Advocates for Cultural Competence, is asking veterans and active-service members for input on how the state of Ohio can better provide mental-health services to the military and their families. This information, along with a series of regional focus groups, will be used to compile a statewide needs-assessment report to assist the mental-health service providers in the state to better meet the needs of veterans and their families. The state agency is interested in learning how mental-health providers in Ohio have responded to the needs of veterans and their families.

The survey is anonymous. Persons interested in receiving hard copies to take to meetings or to have completed by veterans or family members at their organizations should contact Quentin Taylor at (614) 245-0451.

Cooper to receive award

PITTSBURGH — Dr. Rory A. Cooper, decorated Army veteran and an authority on wheelchair design, will receive the “Veteran of the Year Award” from the Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania. Dr. Cooper, director of the Human Engineering Research Laboratories, a partnership between the University of Pittsburgh, UPMC and the Department of Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, will accept the award at an Oct. 29 ceremony at Carnegie Music Hall beginning at 5 p.m. Dr. Cooper is an Army veteran who uses a wheelchair as a result of a spinal-cord injury suffered in military service.

The Veterans Leadership Program also will honor Pennsylvania heroes from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while remembering those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in honor of our country. Army Capt. Erick M. Foster will be posthumously honored with the Chairman’s Award. Foster, 29, of Franklin Park, died Aug. 29, 2007, in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit during combat operations in Muqdadiyah, Iraq. Foster was a company commander with the 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, N.C.

Other honors include:

The Chairman’s Military Unit Award: 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry, a unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard serving in Iraq.

The Senator John Heinz Community Advocate Award: Kristen Holloway Querriera, president and founder of Operation Troop Appreciation, an organization that provides the Armed Forces with wish-list items that contribute to the safety, mission-effectiveness, and morale of deployed troops enabling them to complete their missions with the assurance that the American public supports and appreciates their selfless service and daily sacrifices.

DEPLOYED

Kunar sent to Afghanistan

Army Capt. Matthew Kunar is deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 508 Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. A family-practice physician, Capt. Kunar is serving as the brigade surgeon on a 12-month tour of duty in Southern Afghanistan. The 4th Brigade Combat Team’s mission is to mentor and partner with the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police in the southern and western regions of Afghanistan.

Capt. Kunar graduated from Salem High School in 1995, Bucknell University in 1999 and Ohio University Medical School in 2005. He and his wife, Dr. Jillian Kunar, and daughter Sophie, reside in Alexandria, Va. Capt. Kunar, son of Fred and Edna Kunar of Salem, was stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., for a year before he was deployed.

Mikus serving in Iraq

Army 1st Lt. Daniel Mikus, a 2003 graduate of Ursuline High School and a 2007 graduate of the Military Academy at West Point, was deployed in August for one year in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Mikus is a platoon leader in the 3rd Stryker Brigade combat team, attached to the 123rd Infantry Regiment at Fort Lewis, Wash. His parents are Michael and Silvia Stefan of Youngstown and Daniel Mikus of Mineral Ridge.

Balluch on duty in Okinawa

Marine Corps Pfc. Kyle T. Balluch, grandson of Carol E. Balluch of Farrell, Pa., has reported for duty with Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, Marine Corps Air Station, Futenma, Okinawa. Balluch, a 2006 graduate of Sharon High School, Sharon, Pa., joined the Marine Corps in July 2008.

HONORS

Welcome-home ceremony

WASHINGTON – Army Reserve Maj. David Spess of Vienna, and his wife, Emily, were honored at a Welcome Home Warrior-Citizen Ceremony on Sept. 24 in the Pentagon Hall of Heroes. Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz, Chief, Army Reserve, hosted the event for Spess and 20 other soldiers.

Each soldier was presented with an encased American flag, a specially-designed commemorative coin and a lapel-pin set.

Spess is assigned to Office of the Chief, Army Reserve Force Programs. He was deployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, from August 2007 to August 2008, where he was assigned to Army Central Command.

BASIC TRAINING GRADS

Air Force: Reserve Airman Rizaldy M. Costa, grandson of Zacrisima Tumanda and brother of Charlene Hendricks, both of Youngstown; Airman 1st Class Matthew Hall (South Range High School, North Lima, ’09), son of Lawrence Hall of Salem; Airman Brianna R. Stein (Niles McKinley High School, ’09), daughter of Douglas Stein of Canfield and Melissa Danz of Niles.

Army: Reserve Pvt. Brad Kolbrich (student at Sharpsville High School, Sharpsville, Pa.), son of Nick Kolbrich Jr. of Sharpsville; Reserve Pvt. Michael T. Dora, son of Michael Dora of Grove City, Pa.

Navy: Seaman Recruit Tyler D. Ramsey (Reynolds High School, Greenville, Pa., ’09), son of Deborah S. Collins of Greenville, and Wayne F. Glaser of West Middlesex, Pa.; Seaman Recruit Vincent J. Flask (Warren G. Harding High School, Warren, ’09), son of Vincent S. Flask of Warren.

ROTC

Woodward finishes course

James P. Woodward, a student at Youngstown State University, graduated from the 32-day Army ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) Leader Development and Assessment Course at Fort Lewis, Wash. Woodward, son of David J. and Cathie A. Woodward of Struthers, is a 2006 graduate of Struthers High School.

XItems of note for the Armed Forces Digest can be sent to The Vindicator, Regional Desk, P.O. Box 780, Youngstown 44501-0780, or e-mailed to alcorn@vindy.com.