PA Adjutant General honors WWII veterans
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — It was a memorable day for some veterans in Lackawanna County.
Pennsylvania Adjutant General and members of the National Guard came to town for a surprise visit. It’s the season of giving and one World War II Veteran was given a special honor Monday in the Electric City.
“Thanks for paving the way for the rest of us,” said Major General Mark Schindler, Pennsylvania Adjutant General.
It’s a moment 99-year-old Stanley Frable of Old Forge wasn’t expecting. Pennsylvania’s adjutant general Mark Schindler came to meet him at the Gino Merli Veterans Center and presented him with a coin.
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“On the backside, it says “for excellence” and I think that’s the most important part of the coin because that’s what you represent, sir,” stated Schindler.
Frable is a United States Marine Corps veteran. He served in the World War II Pacific Theatre and by pure chance, witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor.
“It was an accident that we were to be there, we weren’t supposed to be. We were on our way to the Marshall Islands, to invade the Marshall Islands,” added Stanley Frable, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran.
Schindler and members of the National Guard met with veterans around the center. Frable told them about how he enlisted in the service when he was just 14 years old.
“I wasn’t supposed to. I lied about my age, and I was a healthy boy, I went to work when I was real young and did hard labor, and the age didn’t mean anything to them, they only could see a body,” added Frable.
Frable says he feels proud to be honored for his service to our country.
“All I could say is, I had a whirlwind life, a whirlwind life,” Frable added.
Our state is home to more than 700,000 veterans.
To learn about the many programs and services available for veterans and their families, head to the Department of Military Veterans Affairs website.
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