The Albany County Legislature and Albany County Executive Dan McCoy unveiled banners honoring veterans of the Capital Region on Friday, Nov. 7.
The banners, in the Thelma P. Lally School of Education building on the former campus of the College of Saint Rose, are part of an ongoing effort to recognize the contributions and sacrifices of veterans from WWI, WWII, the Vietnam War, and onwards. The County plans to unveil another round of banners before Memorial Day next year. 22 veterans were honored Friday, adding to 11 others who were honored in May.
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said the banners were made to honor the “bravery and dedication” of the veterans from the Capital Region.
Specialist McCell Longmire, who was born and raised in Cohoes, was in attendance with his family, and said he was honored to be recognized. Longmire served with the 2nd and 16th Rangers in the Vietnam War, and was sent out during the Tet Offensive, one of the largest military campaigns of the war.
“I'll be 82 years old next week, and I never expected to be here to see this or anything like this," he said. "It's just heartwarming to be here.”
Longmire was especially grateful to be there with his family.
“I have family that helps take care of me, grandchildren, and they're all around me," he said. "My children, grandchildren, some that I really helped raise. They're all been around me and they're here today.”
Sgt. Terry Kindlon, longtime defense attorney in Albany, was the third generation of his family to serve in the Armed Forces. He served in Vietnam, and was injured and medically retired in 1968.
“I quit college and joined the Marine Corps in 1966, went to Vietnam, was shot during the Tet Offensive and ended up medically retired," he said. "So in certain circles, I'm still a sergeant.”
Kindlon was there to see the banners unveiled along with his son, Albany County District Attorney Lee Kindlon, who said that recognizing veterans was a “civic responsibility” for Albany.
“Today is a great day to recognize all the contributions that veterans have had to the city of Albany, and it's really nice to see the city and the county of Albany, acknowledging that service, because it's such an important part of our civic responsibility,” he said.
Some of the veterans honored lost their lives while deployed, like Specialist Hayes’ Coleman’s friend, Wilbert Branch. Coleman served in the Army in Vietnam as well, from 1959 to 1962. He pointed to Branch’s banner and told the story of his shock at losing his friend.
“Wilbert Branch, he was one of my best friends, and
he got killed in the Philippines," he said. "And I was working at that time, and I heard it on the radio, and I couldn't believe it. I said, 'He just went back!' because he got caught in a storm in January. He got caught in a storm [when] he was here. He was supposed to go back, but the planes weren't flying, and he was late getting back, and then they shipped him straight to the Philippines. He wasn't there for [more than] three days.”
Longmire also mourned the friends he lost while deployed during the second phase of the Tet Offensive, which in May 1968 killed more than 2,400 American troops.
“I had a lot of friends that I lost and you can't never replace that, and you never replace the people you lost," he said. "And I don't know where the ones that survived, that came back home, I don't know where they are now, or anything like that, but I would love to see them and unite with them.”
