Dedication ceremony marks launch of Mountain Top Hometown Heroes banner project
Jun. 15—FAIRVIEW TWP. — Mountain Top has joined the many communities that have honored local military veterans through the organization of a Hometown Heroes banner project.
A dedication ceremony for the project, in which 117 men and women have so far been recognized, was held Sunday afternoon at Christ United Methodist Church.
The project is sponsored by American Legion Post 781, Mountain Top Historical Society and Mountain Top Rotary Club. The banners can be found on main roads around the area.
Opening remarks were given by Christine Solliday — who, with Cathy Malkemes, spearheaded the project. They also read the names aloud in church.
The road to completion took a few years, but Solliday said the effort was well worth the time involved.
"One day I made a simple post about how nice it would be to see veterans banners along the parade route, starting at 309 and going down South Main Road," Solliday recalled. "Cathy Malkemes responded to that post and she said 'we should do this.' I agreed and said 'if you do it with me.' Little did I know then what it would take to make that happen."
The effort started with the historical society and the American Legion, "and then COVID happened," she said.
"Fast forward to last summer: The rotary hopped on board and planning went into hyperdrive," Solliday added.
"This past Friday, Cathy and I were there as the first banners went up, and it was an absolutely incredible feeling," she said.
The banners can be found on North Main Street, South Main Street, South Main Road and Route 309.
An opening prayer was given by JP Bohanan, Alyssa Golden sang "The Star-Spangled Banner," and Post 781 Vice Commander Al Finn performed "Taps."
Patriotic-themed cake and other refreshments were served after the ceremony.
Solliday said she was glad to meet many of the families in-person Sunday for the first time after months of communicating electronically or on the phone. She noted that many shared stories of their loved ones as part of the registration process.
One of those people was Luzerne County Judge Richard M. Hughes III, whose father, Richard M. Hughes II, is among those honored with a banner.
Hughes — whose father served with the 101st Airborne, the famed "Band of Brothers," during World War II — was guest speaker during the event.
The tribute banners honor people who served between 1907 and the present, Hughes noted.
He encouraged the audience to see the banners both as an honor to those who served and the families who supported them, but also as a chance to reflect on the history of that service and how military life has changed over time.
"Take for instance Charles A. Kahley, who represents the oldest banner, when he served in the U.S. Army Cavalry from 1907 to 1911. You will see him proudly on the banner on horseback," Hughes said. "Ladies and gentlemen, imagine what it was like during his years of service, a time when warfare was changing, and with that change the usefulness of the cavalry was being discussed ... because of the advent of armored vehicles and more sophisticated weapons."
Hughes also reflected on the service of Mountain Top native Lt. Col. James H. Harvey III, an African-American who served as a fighter pilot in the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Pursuit Squadron, an elite all-Black fighter group best known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
Harvey served in WWII and Korea, but also had to fight two foes — the Axis powers, and discrimination on the homefront.
"When you look at his banner, we pay tribute to his remarkable service, be we should also remember the difficulties he must have faced as an African-American ... and how given those challenges, he was able to succeed," Hughes said.
Hughes recalled meeting Harvey when he returned to the area from Colorado in recent years to be honored by Crestwood High School.
"He was modest, and credited much of his success to his Mountain Top upbringing and the education he received," Hughes said.
The judge closed by reading from a letter his father wrote home in December 1944, after being evacuated to a military field hospital as American troops were fighting off a German offensive at Bastogne, Belgium.
The elder Hughes wrote of his frozen feet, the good care he was receiving, the "great bunch of kids" he was fighting with, but also how he had "a lot to tell you that can't be written."
"We must not forget that for each person honored on a banner there is a family behind them," Hughes said, filled with pride but also filled with concern and making sacrifices.
Thinking of those sacrifices on Sunday was John M. Henry, 98, of Blytheburn. He served as a Navy gunner aboard the USS Intrepid in World War II.
Aided by daughter Eileen Hoyson, Henry proudly rose from his wheelchair with the other veterans in the church who stood to be honored.
"He cries a lot when he thinks about him coming back and the others not coming back, but he's very happy that people are willing to recognize those who served," Hoyson said of her dad.
A full list of honorees can be found with this story online at timesleader.com.
The honorees
Mariann Aigeldinger, U.S. Army Reserve
Robert C. Ambrose, U.S. Navy
William Aton, U.S. Marine Corps
Olin Balliet, U.S. Army
John J. Biros, U.S. Navy
Clarence Ray Blackford, U.S. Navy
Barry Boone, U.S. Navy
William M. Breen, U.S. Army
Chester Lee "Chet" Buff Sr., U.S. Army
William Columbo, U.S. Marine Corps
James Cornelius, U.S. Army
Cpl. Thomas S. Cox, U.S. Army
John M. Dalton Jr., U.S. Army
Allen F. Daubert, U.S. Army
Stanley Dempkoski, U.S. Navy
Joseph Dempkosky, U.S. Army
Pasquale DeRosa, U.S. Marine Corps
Donald Dickinson, U.S. Army
Robert T. Derwin, U.S. Army
Daniel English, U.S. Army 82nd Airborne-paratrooper
Al Finn, U.S. Army
Gabriel Fornitt, U.S. Navy
Joseph Michael Gallagher, U.S. Army
Walter E. Godshall, U.S. Navy
Sam Goyne, U.S. Air Force
Thomas M. Granoski, U.S. Navy
Tanya Gregory, U.S. Army
Michael Hanlon, U.S. Marine Corps
Joseph G. Hartmann Jr., U.S. Army Air Corps 81st Fighter Group
Lt. Col. James Harvey III, Tuskegee Airmen Air Corps
Michael Heffinger, U.S. Marine Corps
Shad Heffinger, U.S. Army
John M. Henry, U.S. Navy
Charles Hollock, U.S. Army
David Michael Hollock, U.S. Air Force
Emil "Irish" Holock, U.S. Army
Eric C. Hollock, U.S. Army Reserves
George Hollock, U.S. Army Reserves
John Hollock, U.S. Army Air Corps
John J. Hollock, U.S. Air Force
Joseph Hollock, U.S. Army
Kevin James Hollock, U.S. Army
Mark Hollock, U.S. Air Force
Metro Hollock, U.S. Army
Michael Hollock, U.S. Army
Nicholas Hollock, U.S. Navy
Nicholas "Sam" Hollock, U.S. Navy
Theodore Hollock, U.S. Army
William Hopersberger, U.S. Air Force
Joseph Louis Horn, U.S. Navy
William H. Hudock, U.S. Navy
Richard M. Hughes II, U.S. Army
Charles Kahley, U.S. Army Cavalry
George Kirn, U.S. Army
David B. Kline, U.S. Army Reserves
Andrew C. Kollar, U.S. Army
Paul Robert Hopersberger, U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division
Joseph Kosmack, U.S. Army
August J. Kreuzer, U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division
Jacob Krommes, U.S. Navy
Justin Krommes, U.S. Army
Michael Kutzmonick, U.S. Army
Sgt. Ryan Lake, U.S. Army
Gene Lehman, U.S. Air Force
Richard T. Lewis, U.S. Air Force
Howard Linbuchler, U.S. Air Force
James McGeever, U.S. Army Air Corps
Edward F. McGinnis Jr., U.S. Army Air Corps
Dennis McNaughton, U.S. Marine Corps
Kristen McNaughton, U.S. Army National Guard
Robert J. Metzger, U.S. Army
William Metzger, U.S. Army/U.S. Air Force
David L. Morris, U.S. Army
James J. Murphy Jr., U.S. Navy
Gary L. Myers, U.S. Army
Donald S. Myers Sr., U.S. Army
Robert B. Myers Sr., U.S. Army
Rev. Edward P. Nolan, U.S. Air Force
Henry William Nork Jr., U.S. Navy
Edward J. Palsha, U.S. Navy
William T. Pavlick, U.S. Army
Thelma Perkins, U.S. Women's Army Corps
Paul A. Peters, U.S. Army
Leo Petroski, U.S. Army
Jerome Peznowski, U.S. Air Force
John Michael Reilly, U.S. Army
John F. Richmond, U.S. Army
Lonnie Rinehimer, U.S. Army
Martin Ritsick, U.S. Navy
Edwin Rose, U.S. Navy
Paul Sakowski, U.S. Army
Raymond Samolis, U.S. Army
Jeffrey Robert Siegfried, U.S. Army
Edmund Sieminski, U.S. Army
Thomas A. Simms, U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division
George A. Skiro, U.S. Air Force
Major Alexander M. Slussear, U.S. Army Infantry
Todd A. Solliday, U.S. Navy
William Thomas Strauss Jr., U.S. Navy
Kenneth L. Strittmatter Sr., U.S. Air Force
Robert Strittmatter, U.S. Army
Andrew Teslicko, U.S. Navy
Jay A. Thomas, U.S. Navy Seabees, steel worker constructionman
Jay Allen Thomas, U.S. Marine Corps
Charles D. Thomas, U.S. Navy
John A. Thomas, U.S. Marines
Frank E. Vandermark Jr., U.S. Air Force
Frank E. Vandermark Sr., U.S. Army
George J. Venesky, U.S. Army
John N. Wambold, U.S. Navy
Sgt. Anthony J. Wasko Jr., U.S. Army
Taylor J. Weigand, U.S. Army/U.S. Army Reserves
Robert Wildes, U.S. Army/U.S. Air Force
Robert J. Wolfe, U.S. Navy
Joseph V. Yale, U.S. Army
Christian Andrew Yurkanin, U.S. Navy
