Published: May 24, 2009 11:26 pm      

Persons of the Week: Veterans pay homage to fellow soldiers year-round

Members of Menoher Post 155 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Geistown have served their nation not only on the front lines but also on the home front.

The members not only remember veterans on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, but throughout the year.

And when it’s time to say goodbye, they honor their fallen comrades through the post’s Military Funeral Honors Team.

Harry Plows of Morrellville, who as sergeant major of the team is one of its leaders, said the team conducts services at about 120 funerals each year.

“It’s important for me to be involved with anyone who has ever served in the military,” said Plows, who served as an Army squad sergeant during World War II in Italy, Sicily and Africa.

“They deserve a military funeral because they are the brave men and women who have fought in our wars. Therefore, they should not be laid to rest without the proper recognition.”

The services mean a lot to families, because the families sacrificed just as much as the veterans, said Plows, a retired barber who owned and operated Harry’s Barber Shop in Cambria City.

“There is nothing in this world that will bring a tear to your eye quicker than hearing taps played at a military funeral, and that includes the people who are performing the ceremony,” he said.

Marty Campanella Jr., a Vietnam War veteran and member of the team, said the services show how much veterans care about others.

“I do it for the veterans and the families of the veterans, said Campanella, who served as a petty officer 2nd class in the Navy. “It’s an honor to do this for a fallen veteran.”

Campanella, whose father, Marty Sr. of the Jerome area, had been a longtime member of the team, said the group also participate in parades and flag-raising ceremonies.

The Geistown resident, who is a past commander of the post and currently is its chaplain, said the VFW is a great organization.

He said the post helps veterans and their families and supports the community in various ways, such as sponsoring sports teams for children.

Campanella is employed as a team leader in the mail center at MetLife in Richland Township.

Another member of the team, Bob Tinsmith of Riverside, who served as a technical sergeant with Gen. Patton’s Army during WWII, said all veterans – whether serving in wartime or peacetime – deserve a military funeral.

“If they served our country, I think they deserve the prestige of having a military funeral,” he said. “They made sacrifices for our country.”

“We’re doing a good deed for our veterans.”

Tinsmith, who just a few years ago was awarded a gold medal from France for helping to liberate the country, said the families appreciate what the team does.

Tinsmith is a retired draftsman for both the former Johnstown plant, Bethlehem Steel Corp. and former Griffith-Custer Steel Co., Johnstown.

Each of the three has been on the team for around 30 years.

For their efforts, the three are the Persons of the Week.

Bob Haberkorn, team coordinator, said the three are the backbone of the team.

The three and the other members of the team are dedicated and care about honoring their fellow veterans, said Haberkorn, a Vietnam War veteran.