Delaware County Veterans Memorial Association In Newtown Square

On this date in 1991, Operation Desert Storm began. More than 2.2 million U.S. service members served during the era and an estimated 694,550 deployed to the Gu...lf. During January 2021, VA profiled Veterans in a series of stories for Desert Storm’s 30th anniversary. Read more about this series at https://bit.ly/3bMbIL3. We honor their service.

#SaturdaySalute Captain Michael Speicher, a U.S. Navy pilot, was the first American combat casualty of the Persian Gulf War. In the early hours of January 17, 1...991, Speicher was flying an F/A-18 Hornet fighter when he was shot down by Iraqi aircraft 100 miles west of Baghdad. His fate was not known until August 2, 2009 when the Navy reported that Speicher's remains had been found in Iraq by the United States military. Speicher's father had been a fighter pilot in World War II and he went on his first airplane flight when he was just five years old. As a young man, he was a cadet member of the Civil Air Patrol as a teenager and then went on to join the United States Navy and attended Aviation Officer Candidate School at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Captain Speicher and his family for the sacrifice they have made for our nation and the example of strength they have set for all of us. #NVMM #Veterans #Military #Navy #DesertStorm30 Today we take a look back at the search for his remains: https://www.nytimes.com///world/middleeast/03speicher.html Photo: U.S. Navy

Since all of the West Chester casualties are listed as Chester County, I usually don't post them as Delco Memories, but I know some of you are from there so I hope you don't mind if I make an exception today as this will be my final remembrance posted in 2020.

Pause for a moment and join us in remembering Lilian Baden. The daughter of a white Irish woman and Marcus Bailey, a seaman from Barbados serving with the Royal... Navy, Lilian was born in February 1918 in Liverpool. With two older brothers, she was orphaned when she was aged just 9 years old, and until the age of 20 lived in a convent. She was educated at the University of Liverpool, before securing a job at a NAAFI canteen in Yorkshire but was asked to leave when they learned that her father was West Indian. True to her character Lilian was not to be put off, and upon learning that the RAF was accepting West Indian recruits, she enlisted in the WAAF in 1941. Lilian completed a twelve-week course as an instrument repairer, and by the end of 1941 she was Leading Aircraftwoman at RAF Shawbury. On March 11, 1943, she married Ramsay Bader. The couple had two sons; the youngest of whom served in the Royal Navy. Lilian’s memoirs were published in 1989: ‘Together Lilian Bader: Wartime Memoirs of a WAAF 1939-1944.’ We thank you for your service, Lilian. See more

Sergeant Stubby is considered to be the most decorated dog in U.S. Military History. Beginning in 1917, he spent over eighteen months on patrol in World War I..., participated in seventeen battles, and saved the lives of countless men during a nighttime gas attack. See the photos, learn the enthralling full story and meet the fascinating canine war hero here: https://bit.ly/3qqYckp

Happy birthday, National Guard!

A Salute to the Heroes of the Pacific Theater Pfc. Faris "Bob" M. Tuohy, 3rd Battalion, 22nd Marine Regiment of Granville, Ohio, is pictured on the USS Arthu...r Middleton after returning from two days and two nights of fighting on Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall lslands. Storming ashore from the landing craft, they swept Engebi Island away from the Japanese in six hours and then went on to wipe out the enemy on Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands in February of 1944. Shown on the immediate right is, Pfc. Stephen Garboski of Ringoes, New Jersey. On Guam in July 1944, Garboski was one of 1,147 men of the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade (which by then included the 22nd Marines) killed in action. Stephen was just 23 years old at the time of his passing. After the war Bob returned to Ohio. According to records obtained through ancestry.com he is currently living in Lewis Center, Ohio and is 96 years old. #ww2uncovered #WWII #ww2 #WorldWarII #greatestgeneration #worldwar2 #salute #ww2history #wwiihistory #worldwartwo #ww2veteran #ww2vet #lestweforget #ohio #worldwar2history #WWIIveteran #WWIIVet #remember #neverforgotten #usmcvet #SaluteToService #usmc #usmcveteran #semperfi #ohiohistory #HeroesInUniform Original description and photograph sourced by: Signal Corps Archive (USMC photo)

Thank you to everyone who made today’s Holiday Toy, Food and Clothing drive such a success! We especially thank the community for their donations and our fantastic group of volunteers and sponsors! More pics to come!

Join with me today to honor local hero CWO Donald Deane Burris, Jr., of Wayne, PA , who went missing near the Laos/Cambodia border on this date in 1969. After he survived the crash of the helicopter he was co-piloting, he fell 3000 feet into the dense jungle during a rescue attempt and is presumed dead. He was just 4 days shy of his 23rd birthday when he fell. Peter Aigeltinger left this remembrance of his Radnor High classmate:

See you tomorrow!!

An American soldier shares his Christmas treats with children.

Daniel F. Bakeman (1759-1869) is believed to be one of the last 14 survivors of the Revolutionary War, and the last Revolutionary War veteran to collect a pension. He allegedly served under Captain Van Arnum and Colonel Marinus Willett in the last four years of the war. According to one account: His presence was always sought on all important political occasions. Always on Independence Day, as he called it, he arose very early and shouldering his old musket, would make the rounds of the neighborhood firing a salute, exclaiming, Hurrah! Photo taken in 1868.

Wasn't able to post this yesterday, so please join with me today to honor the memory of local hero YN3 Cary Frank Rundle of Aldan, PA, who was killed on Novembe...r 1st, 1968, when his ship was mined by VC frogmen while moored on the My Tho River in Vietnam. Cary had just turned 20 years of age less than a month earlier. The 25 crew members lost in the mining of the USS Westchester County was the biggest single day loss of life by the Navy during the Vietnam War. This remembrance was left by John Fabris: "I swam with and against Cary so many years ago at the Chester YMCA and the Delaware County Swim League. How terribly sad that such a fine young man was taken so early in life's journey. Thank you, Cary, for your service to our country and for helping to preserve the freedoms we all so often take for granted." Cary's name is honored on Panel 39W, Line 4 of The Wall. Please accept the thanks of a grateful nation, Sailor, and we hope you are now sailing on peaceful seas. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/44874/CARY-F-RUNDLE/

The skies were gray but our hearts were full after witnessing the amazing turnout for the Holiday Toys, Food & Clothing Drive at the Delaware County Veterans M...emorial Association In Newtown Square this past weekend! This initiative is close to our hearts here at Oliver, and one we are proud to sponsor, especially after such a difficult year for so many. If you’d like to learn more and get involved with other ways to help those in need, visit delcoveteransmemorial.org.

Just received the updated Flyer . Thank you & see you there .

This date was a tragic day as we lost two of our Delco boys in Vietnam in 1968. First, we honor the sacrifice of SGT Robert Earl Cannon of Media, PA, who was ki...lled in Binh Duong Province. A graduate of Ridley High School, Robert was just 23 years old when he died. He is lovingly remembered by his wife Donna: "You have been gone fifty years ago today. Our time together was so short. I have not forgotten you and miss you still. Your brothers and your parents are with you now and there is no one left here to speak with me about you. Rest in peace my beautiful husband. You are surrounded by love.' You will find Robert's name on Panel 40W, Line 41 of The Wall. We also pay tribute to the sacrifice of PFC James J. McCaffrey, Jr., of Morton, PA, who died in the same province as Robert, though in a separate incident. A graduate of Cardinal O'Hara, James was only 20 years old when he died. Susan Denney Williams relayed to me this haunting story of "A Visit" by James. told by her ex-husband's family: "There's a story in my ex-husband's family told by my late mother in law, a devout Catholic. As I said James was engaged to my ex sister in law Linda when he was killed. One afternoon not long after he had left for Viet Nam, my ex mother in law was upstairs making her bed and she looked up and saw him standing outside Linda's bedroom looking in the door. She was very annoyed that he had just walked in and come upstairs and she called to him "Jim! Jim!" He turned his head and smiled at her and she said "just faded away". They later found out that was the day he was killed." James is also honored on Panel 40W of The Wall on Line 46. Truly a sad day for Delco and our country. We hope you have both found peace in heaven and please accept the belated thanks of a grateful nation. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/7743/ROBERT-E-CANNON/ https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Fa/36095/JAMES-J-MCCAFFREY-JR/

NORMANDY REVISITED DOCUMENTARY WORLD PREMIERE Join us on Sunday, November 1, at 7PM ET for the online world premiere of Normandy Revisited, an all-new documenta...ry film from Director Benjamin Mack-Jackson and the WWII Veterans History Project. The film explores the untold stories of history's greatest invasion, ensuring that the memories of our last surviving D-Day veterans are preserved for future generations. The invasion of Normandy is a personal experience ingrained in the minds of the men and women who were there, but when the last veteran of D-Day has passed on, we will be the only witnesses to their memory. How will we remember them? Visit watch.normandyrevisited.com this Sunday at 7PM to tune in live and be among the first to watch this much-anticipated documentary. Learn more and watch the trailer at normandyrevisited.com. "Giving the Past a Future, One Story at a Time." WWII Veterans History Project Visit us online: WW2VeteransHistoryProject.org

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Thank you for your service, U.S. Navy!

Today we honor the memory of another local hero, PFC Daniel Peter Kee III of Collingdale, PA, who was killed in Bien Hoa Province, Vietnam on this date in 1967.... A 1966 graduate of Monsignor Bonner, Dan was a mere 19 years of age when he died. This fond remembrance was left by Terri Wright Bauman: "You were the kindest guy I ever met. You're love of your country compelled you to serve. I was 14 years old when you were killed, and I can still vividly remember being told of your death. I'll never forget you. Thank you for being you." You can find Dan's name honored on Panel 28E, Line 66 of The Wall, as well as the War Memorial near the front entrance of Bonner High School. You never had a chance to live your life, Dan, and we all hope you have found peace on the other side. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/27318/DANIEL-P-KEE-III/