The Albany County Legislature and Albany County Executive Dan McCoy unveiled banners honoring Capital Region veterans on Friday, Nov. 7.
The banners, displayed in the Thelma P. Lally School of Education building on the former College of Saint Rose campus, are part of an ongoing effort to recognize the contributions and sacrifices of veterans from World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and beyond.
The county plans to unveil another round of banners before Memorial Day next year. Twenty-two veterans were honored Friday, adding to 11 others who were recognized in May.
McCoy said the banners were created to honor the “bravery and dedication” of veterans from the Capital Region.
Specialist McCell Longmire, who was born and raised in Cohoes, attended 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 deployed 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 said he was especially grateful to share the moment 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’ve all been around me, and they’re here today.”
Sgt. Terry Kindlon, a 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 attended the ceremony with his son, Albany County District Attorney Lee Kindlon, who said recognizing veterans is a civic duty.
“Today is a great day to recognize all the contributions that veterans have made to the city of Albany,” he said. “It’s really nice to see the city and county of Albany acknowledging that service, because it’s such an important part of our civic responsibility.”
Some of the veterans honored lost their lives while deployed, including Wilbert Branch, a friend of Specialist Hayes Coleman. Coleman, who served in the Army in Vietnam from 1959 to 1962, pointed to Branch’s banner and recalled his shock at learning of his friend’s death.
“Wilbert Branch, he was one of my best friends, and he got killed in the Philippines,” he said. “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 was supposed to go back, but the planes weren’t flying, and he was late getting back. Then they shipped him straight to the Philippines. He wasn’t there more than three days.”
Longmire also mourned the friends he lost during the second phase of the Tet Offensive in May 1968, which killed more than 2,400 American troops.
“I had a lot of friends that I lost, and you can never replace that,” he said. “You never replace the people you lost. 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 reunite with them.”
