Alisa Moore, Jan Race and Judy Hart
The PebbleCreek Democratic Club dedicated its November 7 meeting to veterans and to bettering our community.
Two Vietnam War veterans, Mike English, a staff sergeant in the Air Force and Chuck Veltri, an Army sergeant, shared their experiences with the club. A third scheduled speaker, retired Navy Quartermaster Kyler Kenny, could not attend because of jury duty. The club also heard from the daughter of a WWII Filipino veteran who was honored in Washington, D.C. in 2017.
Mike English, son of a World War II veteran, enlisted in the Air Force in 1968 and worked in Thailand loading the bombs and listening devices on F4Cs that were to be dropped along the Ho Chi Minh trail. While there, a flare went off near ammunition igniting a fire and Mike helped pull a soldier away from the fire. Mike noted that “like most young men, I hated the war. But I didn’t mind being there, serving.” In July 1970 he was reassigned to Luke AFB. He has lived within a ten-mile radius of Luke since leaving the service in 1972. He moved to PebbleCreek in 1999.
Chuck Veltri decided to enlist in the Army in January 1969 after receiving his draft notice. “I was profoundly anti-war and believed the country had started a horrible, unwinnable war,” he said. But he agreed to a 180-day delay, allowing him to complete college. Instead of serving in Supply, as promised by his recruiting officer, he was placed in artillery and sent to Vietnam in August 1970.
He served six months in Cambodia, providing close range support of infantry. As a 24-year-old sergeant, he was in charge of eight men and told of days of boredom followed by days of terror and hard work. Chuck was then assigned to a unit firing big artillery guns where he served his final six months. That unit was overrun by the enemy on February 23, 1971, killing six and wounding 31. “I’ve been home now for 46 years and everything from that year is still crystal clear.”
Irene Manalili’s father, Sgt. Cristanto Manalili, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal presented to Filipino WWII Veterans. Part of the U.S. Army Forces in the Far East during the battles of Bataan, Corregidor, Leyte and Southern Philippines, he served for 20 years. On behalf of her father, Irene received the award in April at a special ceremony in Washington state.
The club also presented a check for $1,000 to the Arizona branch of Hayden’s Totes to help provide 100 duffle bags for foster children. Michelle Byerly, the mother of Hayden Byerly, accepted the donation. Hayden, now 18, founded Hayden’s Hope to provide a duffle bag for foster children to use for their personal belongings when they are removed from their families.
The club will meet January 9, 2019 at the Tuscany Falls Clubhouse. Social hour starts at 6:00 p.m. and the meeting is at 7:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome. For more information on the club, please visit https://pcdemclub.org/.