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Edison
Community College
Event to Honor
Seven Miami Valley World War II Veterans
Edison State Community College is hosting a special event to honor
seven World War II (WWII) veterans at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, October
15. Admission is free and the public is invited to pay respect to these
Miami Valley of Ohio veterans.
The event will feature live music, photography of WWII era aircraft,
Dayton Patriot Pin-Ups, Commendations from Speaker of the House, John
Boehner, and special presentations from the Miami Valley Veterans
Museum.
Those being honored include:
• Navy Radioman First Class Marion Adams, 1942-1946, responsible for
radio communications aboard an LST at the Beaches of Normandy invasions;
• Army Corporal Harry Ashburn, 1942-1945, charged with transporting
soldiers and equipment in mission-critical exercises in the Philippines;
• Navy Captain Bill Brower, 1943-1946, charged with destroying the
Japanese military equipment in the Philippines after the Japanese
surrendered;
• Army Staff Sergeant Harry Christy, 1942-1945, fought at the Battle of
the Bulge and helped to support the P.O.W.s housed at Stalag VII-A,
Germany’s largest camp at Moosburg, return home after the war’s end;
• Army Captain Les Edsall, 1942-1945, Prisoner of War in Poland and
Germany who escaped as the Russians took over the last camp where he
was imprisoned and traveled to Allied soil where he tasted freedom
after enduring life-threatening conditions;
• Congressional Gold Medal winner Nadine Nagle, 1942-1944, WASP pilot
whose husband was killed in the war and who learned to pilot a plane so
that she could fly for him;
• Army Captain Robert Tweed, 1943-1946, who fought at the Battle of the
Bulge and bore witness at Dachau the day after the American Army
liberated the concentration camp to the atrocities committed there;
A display of ten large images of vintage WWII aircraft photographed by
Springfield photographer Jim Copes will be on display outside of the
Robinson Theatre at the college beginning Monday, October 12, and
continuing until one hour following the conclusion of the program on
October 15.
Dayton Patriotic Pin-Ups, clad in dresses, shoes and hats reminiscent
of WWII, will welcome guests and be available for photographs.
Thien Snipps, a seven-man group of vocalists and instrumentalists
including two veterans, Larry Dragosavac (U.S. Air Force, 1968-1971)
and Sylvester Guggenbiller (U.S. Army, 1954-1956) will present live
WWII music beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Commendations from Speaker Boehner will be given to the seven veterans,
and Mitch Fogle, CEO of the Miami Valley Veterans Museum and retired
U.S. Navy veteran, will present lifetime memberships to the museum to
the honored veterans.
“The program scheduled for midday might be difficult for some who would
like to attend; however, it was chosen deliberately to accommodate the
honored veterans, some of whom have vision and mobility issues,” said
Blevins. “Let’s not be any of those who later regret that they failed
to show up to thank this outstanding representative sample of the men
and women who are responsible for the freedom we enjoy today.”
Program coordinator Dr. Vivian Blevins continues to accept emails and
letters of appreciation to be given to the veterans who range in ages
from 90 to 96
(vblevins@edisonohio.edu<mailto:vblevins@edisonohio.edu> or
Edison State Community College, Piqua, OH 45356). For more information,
contact Dr. Blevins at 937-778-3815.
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