Vets from New Springfield VFW place wreath at Tomb of Unknown Soldier

NEW SPRINGFIELD — Veterans Day has special meaning this year for a group of veterans from Veterans of Foreign Wars Triangle Post 2799, accompanied by family members, who recently placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

“It is something I’ll remember forever. There was eerie silence. ... It’s truly hallowed ground,” said John “Jack” Novicky of New Middletown.

Novicky, a retired Youngs-town City Schools special-education teacher, served in the Navy during the Vietnam War as a flight-deck captain on three aircraft carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China Sea.

It was with enormous honor and pride the veterans from VFW Post 2799 left Sept. 11, Patriot Day, for a three-day stay at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., which included presenting the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Sept. 12, said Diana Olekshuk, wife of Air Force Reserve Senior Master Sgt. David Olekshuk, one of the men who presented the wreath.

Novicky, 65, a trustee of Post 2799, said the party was given special privileges at Arlington National Cemetery to drive without escort to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Memorial Amphitheater.

For the complete story, read Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com