3 Mahoning Valley men inducted into vets hall of fame

Photo

Gardner

Staff report

COLUMBUS

Two Trumbull County residents and a deceased Mahoning County resident are among the Class of 2013 inducted today into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.

The ceremony is at 11 a.m. at Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium in Columbus.

The hall recognizes Ohio veterans who, after their military service, put their skills and abilities to work for the betterment of the nation, state or local communities.

Here are profiles, provided by the Ohio Department of Veterans Services, of area inductees: Roger H. Gardner of Warren, Alexander P. Kish of Newton Falls, and Joseph K. Vrabel, deceased, of Poland.

Roger H. Gardner, Army and Ohio Army National Guard during the Korean War and Vietnam War eras.

Since 1957, Gardner has been a member of the American Legion Post 540 Honor Guard in Cortland for which he has been commander and captain since 2000. Under his leadership, the Honor Guard has participated in 2,281 funerals.

As commander of American Legion Post 540, he was instrumental in the construction of several veterans’ memorials in the area, most notably the Korean War Monument in Trumbull County Veterans Park in Warren.

He is a member of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Volunteer Service, logging 2,300 volunteer hours for the Warren VA Outpatient Clinic and nearly 6,000 volunteer hours at the Youngstown VA Outpatient Clinic.

He recently was named Mahoning County United Veterans Council Veteran of the Year and has been honored with the Tri-County Funeral Directors Association Award for Community Service for his work as Captain of Post 540’s Honor Guard.

Alexander P. Kish, Army veteran of the Korean War.

Kish was instrumental in bringing the Western Reserve National Cemetery to Rittman; and organized an Honor Guard whose membership rotates between several veterans’ organizations to provide full military honors during burials at the national cemetery.

He helped raise funds to provide more than 400 phone cards to veterans at the Brecksville VA Hospital as well as to active- duty soldiers at Fort Drum, N.Y.

His work in the community includes organizing a fundraiser with Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 120 to provide a summer camp experiences for underprivileged children in Trumbull County and helping to establish a community block watch in Newton Falls.

He is past commander of AMVETS Post 112, American Legion Post 236 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3332.

Joseph K. Vrabel, deceased, Army veteran of the Korean War.

Known locally as the “Veterans Veteran,” Vrabel joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1956 and soon became post commander. He was a Life Member of American Legion Mahoning Valley Post 15, where he served five years as post commander. He also was Mahoning County commander, Ninth District Commander, and during 2003-04, was American Legion Department of Ohio commander.

Vrabel secured sponsorships, as well as making personal donations, for area youths to attend the American Legion’s Buckeye Boys State program that gives teen boys a first-hand experience in state government.

He helped raise funds to continue the mission of providing gifts for hospitalized veterans at Christmas and was instrumental in obtaining a van to transport veterans from Youngstown to the Cleveland VA hospitals and clinics.

Vrabel served as Post 15 Sons of the American Legion adviser for 15 years and was a former Ninth District SAL adviser.

Vrabel sponsored numerous bowling, golf, and other teams as the owner of the Hillcrest Tavern.