Montgomery dedicates Veterans Corner

By Connor Linskey
Posted 3/10/21

Veterans will be forever honored in the Village of Montgomery, as the corner of Goodwill Road and Roosevelt Avenue was named Veterans Corner during a dedication ceremony on Saturday.

“This …

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Montgomery dedicates Veterans Corner

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Veterans will be forever honored in the Village of Montgomery, as the corner of Goodwill Road and Roosevelt Avenue was named Veterans Corner during a dedication ceremony on Saturday.

“This sign was created by the village board because of the sacrifices these veterans made...,” said Michael Hembury, a village trustee. “I hope when you look at that sign, you salute it or you say a prayer.”

Hembury acknowledged some members of the greater Village of Montgomery community who could not attend the ceremony, as they were serving in the armed forces. Among them were Montgomery Town Supervisor Brian Maher, a reservist in the U.S. Navy, who was at a military detail. William Corrigan IV and Chase Weaver are deployed as first and second class petty officers in the navy. Village of Montgomery resident Donovan Murphy is deployed as a sailor in the navy and is training to be a pilot. After listing these residents, Hembury urged members of the audience to yell out the names of their family members currently serving in the military. Many attendees acknowledged their relatives for their service.

“This is just a portion of our service members serving their country right now as we speak,” Hembury said. “We wish them a safe return.”

Members of the audience also paid tribute to four residents of the greater Village of Montgomery community in attendance who returned safely from combat. Jim Sweikata served in the navy while Kevin Conroy was deployed with the marine corps. Skip Chambers was honored for his time in the army. The crowd gave an especially big hand to Tony Marano, a 96-year-old World War II veteran. During that conflict, Marano served as a radioman in B-24 Liberator planes in the Pacific Ocean from 1943-1946. At one point he was flying over the ocean when his aircraft ran out of fuel. Marano and his fellow servicemen floated on lifeboats for a few days until they were rescued by the U.S. Navy. He was thankful that the sign will forever honor veterans.

“I’m very proud of it,” he said. “I’d like to see something like this all over the villages. It brings back memories when I go by there. And I do say prayers for the veterans every time I see something like that.”

American Legion Post 521 Montgomery Commander Mark Merring was amazed by the support the Village of Montgomery gives its veterans.

“I’m 67 years old, I’ll be 68 next week. Throughout that time, I’ve traveled all over the world both in the military and privately,” he said. “I have never encountered any community so behind their veterans as the Village of Montgomery and you won’t find it anywhere else.”