Vietnam Veterans Honored In Pittsfield
Anthony Pastore was honored for the numerous occasions he sang the 'Star-Spangled Banner' before ceremonies. More photos can be found here.
The 93-year-old has done it for years at every ceremony and on Saturday that constant remained as he once again belted it out at Park Square during the annual Vietnam veterans ceremony.
But this ceremony did have something else for Pastore in mind. The Vietnam Veterans of American Chapter 65 honored Pastore for his dedication to the organization with a plaque and recognition.
"You have displayed your patriotism by never saying no when asked to sing. No matter what the weather, you are always there for the service men and women and to this end, we salute you and thank you for a job well done," John Harding read off the plaque.
Pastore has sung at bitter cold ceremonies, in the rain, in the snow, and on days like Saturday when the sun shines. And Pastore said he will keep doing it.
"You give me a great honor every time you ask me to sing for you. I will never say no to you," Pastore said.
Saturday's ceremony honored the 27 Berkshire County people who were killed in action in Vietnam. A number of veterans organizations presented wreaths to lay at the memorial.
William A Gibney was the keynote speaker. A retired Marine with a 20-year career in his history, Gibney told the veterans to share their stories.
"I would recommend any and all veterans, I don't care what your job was, what service you were in, or how long you were in, get your military records and try to put down what you can remember. Take your time and believe me it will be well worth your wild because your children and grandchildren will want to know about what you did during the war," Gibney said.
Gibney lays claim to a Navy commendation medal, combat action ribbon, Vietnam campaign ribbon, and Vietnam Service Medal with four bronze stars. He served multiple tours of duty in Vietnam and his specialty was fixing anything his fellow Marines could shoot.
"They sent me to school to learn how to fix any artillery piece that the Marine Corps had. I learned my trade. I practiced my trade. And I went back and taught officers and enlisted men my trade. If they could shoot it, I could fix it," Gibney said of when he joined at age 17.
His first time to Vietnam was in 1965, moving in from Okinawa. He was then promoted to become an officer.
"They said you are now an officer and a gentleman. I always told them I don't know about the gentleman part," Gibney said.
His next trip was to Morocco and then later back to Vietnam.
"I knew that I had to do certain things. We had changed over the rifles we were using to the new rifles, the M16 in those days. I cut my leave short by two weeks. I told my wife and she was upset with me that I was going to report early," Gibney said of his second trip to Vietnam.
Eventually, he was overseeing some 184 people, much bigger than a typical Marine division.
"My job was to keep them all shooting," he said.
After yet another tour of duty and 20 years, Gibney decided to call it quits.
"I figured I had enough of people trying to shoot me and stuff like that so I decided to retire," he said.
He said throughout his career he had jobs he liked, and jobs he didn't. But, he is proud of the work he did during his career.
"I had more that I didn't like than I did like. But it was a rewarding experience knowing I was doing something that was right," Gibney said.
The ceremony all featured the calling out of names for those locals who died while overseas. The Dalton American Legion shot off a salute and taps was played.
Tags: veterans memorial, Vietnam,
