. . Blairsville’s Joseph (Guerrino) Prola, 95, was twice drafted during WW II. In medic training the young recruit was asked what he’d do if saw someone with their arm or leg blown off. “I don’t know what I’d do,” he stammered. “I’d be flabbergasted.” Just months later when the Germans
. . George Priatko served with the Army’s 25th Infantry Division in the Pacific Theater during WW II. Their well-known shoulder patch–the “electric strawberry” –is still recognizable today, although the unit is best known as “Tropic Lightning.” During liberation of the Philippines, the 25th fought for 165 days without rest–a fact
. . During WWII, Guy Prestia of Ellwood City, Pennsylvania was among the first Army troops to reach Europe through North Africa, Sicily, Salerno, and Anzio. From June 1943 through Allied Occupation, Guy served with the 45th Infantry Division, a unit formed out of the Oklahoma Army National Guard from the
. . After kicking around for a couple of years after high school, Ron Potter decided to join the Army and get his military service over and done with. It was the dawn of the 60s, the height of the Cold War, and the Soviets were giving the US a hard
. . Matthew Poye was a member of the US Army through 1946 during the occupation of Japan following the end of the war.
. . During the Cold War, Hal Plusa served as an intelligence officer in the Army. He received his commission from Duquesne University’s ROTC program. During the 1970s and 1980s, Hal served two tours of duty in Germany defending the Cold War’s hottest zones in Europe. The Veterans of Whitehall
