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Honored
American Legion Post #13 of Putnam honored three veterans on Veterans Day. Left to right: Post Past Commander and program chairman Ronald P Coderre, Peter Trama, Charlie Leach, Commander Alan Joslin and Dr. Michael Therrien. Trama, Leach and Therrien were recognized for their military service. Courtesy photo.
American Legion Post #13 of Putnam honored three veterans from various wars and conflicts at its annual Veterans Day Tribute and Celebrity Bartender event. The event raised more than $13,000.
The honorees this year were WWII and Korean war Merchant Marine and Army veteran Peter Trama of Putnam, Vietnam war Army vet Charlie Leach, also a Putnam resident; and Dr. Michael Therrien, a cardiologist and Air Force veteran who served in the Middle East in the Iraq war.
“These three men are most deserving of the recognition we accorded them this evening. They are three American heroes who’ve made our community very proud of their military service in defense of our country,” said Commander Alan Joslin.
The evening was also a huge success financially as the event raise $13,528.29. The proceeds from the evening, which include tips for the bartenders, a super drawing and auction, benefit the Post #13 charity efforts and programs. The Post provides Americanism programs in the Putnam Elementary School, an oratorical contest in the high school, sponsors young men to Boys’ State, supports the TriTown American Legion Baseball Program, provides a scholarship to a high school senior and a veteran at Quinebaug Valley Community College and offers assistance during the holidays to a veteran’s family. The “Hometown Hero” banner project and the flags on the WWI Veterans Memorial Bridge are also part of the Post’s funding programs.
The evening opened with the singing of the National Anthem by Putnam Air Force veteran Maurice “Moe” Coderre. Linda Colangelo provided a musical tribute to the five branches of the armed forces and the Merchant Marines. She also performed her special version of “God Bless the USA” and “God Bless America.”
Since its inception in 2010 the Veterans Day Tribute has raised in excess of $50,000 for the community programs of Post #13.
“I can’t say thank you often enough for the support we received from the community, members of the Post and all those individuals who served as guest bartenders. This outpouring of support makes us realize that the work we’re doing is meaningful to the people of Putnam and surrounding areas,” said Joslin.
The organizing committee was spearheaded by Immediate Past Commander Ronald P. Coderre and included Commander Joslin and his wife Jo-Anne, Dee Carnahan, Brian Maynard, Michael Vassar, Victor Kratz, Donald Steinbrick and Eric Quinn.
Trama was a member of the Merchant Marines during WWII from 1943 to 1951, ferrying fuel and supplies to the troops in the European and Pacific Theaters. He was later drafted into the Army, where he served two years, during the Korean Conflict. Leach who was discharged from the Army as a Warrant Officer in 1986, spent 12 months in Vietnam at Long Binh and Tay Ninh as a signalman with the 25th Infantry Division. Dr. Michael Therrien enlisted in the Air Force at the age of 53 in 2008 when the military experienced a shortage of physicians. Following intensive stateside training he was deployed to Air Force Theater Hospital at Joint Base Balad in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he treated critical care patients.
They join a litany of local heroes who have been honored at this program in the past. Those individuals include Tom Pandolfi, Paul Martell Sr. and Victor Lippiello (2017); Caroll E. Spinney, Roy J. Simmons and Richard C. Tremblay (2016); Victor J. Kratz, and Charles “Chuck” Mahoney ((2015); Armand J. Jolly and Robert F. Clemens (2014); Robert O. Harris, Calvin Heath (Posthumously) and Bert “Chief” Heath (2013); Norman “Barney” Seney and Rick E. Carnahan (2012); and Joslin (2011).
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