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Weatherbug chautauqua ny5/30/2023 27, 2023, as Vietnam and Vietnam-era Veterans Day. Part of the county executive's proclamation also declared Jan. "I didn't think it was going to be as moving as it was, but the speeches and the people coming out is what we deserved when we came home the first time," said Jim. And, like the others, received a special token of appreciation Veterans like Jim, who stood proudly on those steps, say he was overwhelmed by the overdue welcome home. "And I encourage strongly, all residents of Chautauqua County to recognize and thank our veterans for their dedicated service to our country," said Wendel. Wendel read a special proclamation recognizing the end of the war as well as the names of the Chautauqua County men and women who lost their lives serving in Vietnam. "We felt it only fitting, this 50 years later, we would take time to recognize and welcome you all home," said Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel.Ĭhautauqua County leaders recently held a Welcome Home ceremony at the courthouse in Mayville for all Vietnam-era veterans living in the area. "I just wanted somebody to just say welcome home," Jim said. That was four years before the war officially ended with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords 50 years ago, on January 27, 1973. When he got home to Dunkirk, only his parents, siblings and friends were happy to see him. "We got off the plane and they started throwing things, and actually one of them came through the lines and spit on me. He left Vietnam in January 1969 and flew into McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, where he, like many others, was not met with a hero's welcome, but instead groups of protesters he was advised to ignore. A quarter of an inch to the left you lost an eye, a quarter inch to the right and it would hit your temple and you'd be dead." When the mortar rounds came in, I rolled out of bed and got hit in the forehead above the eye here. "It means I served my country and I shed blood for it. Jim was wounded in combat and has a purple heart to prove it. He last served as a radio and telephone operator, who had to move around every five days or so to prevent his unit from getting hit by a mortar or rocket. Vets on hand say the welcome home is overdue.The ceremony marks the 50th anniversary of the Paris Accords that ended the war.Chautauqua County leaders recently held a welcome home Vietnam vets event.To leave a remembrance or to post condolences to the family, please visit freayfuneralhome. Memorial donations can be made to Chautauqua Hospice and Palliative Care (20 W. A memorial service will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, June 10th, 2023, at the Hurlbut Memorial Community United Methodist Church (21 Scott Ave, Chautauqua, NY 14722). There will be no immediate services observed. “Johnny” Albert, a brother-in-law Eric Brownell and a nephew Martin Wright. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a stepson Louis J. Albert, whom she married on March 2, 1962, a daughter Lisa Paulus of Dewittville, NY, a stepdaughter Donna (Hosien) Kamelbake of Whispering Pines, NC, five grandchildren Brittney (Alex Hass) Paulus of Salamanca, NY, Leah (Michael) Lyons of Batavia, NY, Robert Paulus of Mayville, NY, Ashley (Derek Johnson) Paulus of Woodbridge, VA, and Rahmean Kamelbake of Grimesland, NC, five great- grandchildren Scarlet and Harper Hass, Kennedy and Bennett Lyons, and Isabella Kamelbake, three siblings Linda Brownell of Bluffton, SC, Eunice (Melvin) Baldwin of Mayville, NY, and Jerald (Karen) Shaw of Port Charlotte, FL, six nieces and nephews Christine (Bill) Peterson, Kenneth (Jesse) Brownell, Matthew (Carly) Brownell, Lynette Forsythe, Laurie (Al) Krampits, and Roxie Shaw, and many cousins. She is survived by her loving husband Louis J. She was loved by so many, and the matriarch of her family. She also enjoyed reading books, antiquing, traveling, interior designing, and spending time with her family. In her younger days, she was quite the artist. MJ was a member of the Chautauqua Rails to Trails and the Chautauqua Women’s Club at the Chautauqua Institution acting as treasurer for both groups. Her family was some of the original founders of the Chautauqua Institution and they continue to be active members of the community through their successful family business Shaws’s Laundry/Ministers Union, currently managed by third generation family. She had worked as an Administrative Assistant for the American Institute of research in Washington, DC, and was also the Finance Manager for the Town of Chautauqua for many years. MJ was a 1953 graduate of Chautauqua Central School and earned an associate degree in Interior Design from the Rochester Institute of Technology. She was born October 29, 1935, in South Bend, IN, the daughter of the late Spencer L. Home on Friday, February 10, 2023, following a lengthy illness.
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