Hometown Heroes of WWII
McNally: Medal winner in aerial combat
By Michael Rocchetti
Russel I. McNally (1920-1984) was born in Putnam on June 3, 1920, the eldest son of Iskah and Agnes McNally. He had three younger brothers – all of Putnam.
He graduated from Putnam High School in 1938 and was working for the CT Light & Power Company when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in October 1942. Shortly thereafter, he volunteered for the Air Corps.  After qualifications and flight training, he was sent to England in early 1944, assigned to the 355th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force, based at RAF Steeple Morden. He was a fighter pilot, flying the “Morphine Sue II” P-51D Mustang.
By the end of 1944 he had flown 73 combat missions with 300 hours of combat. He was credited with the destruction of two Luftwaffe planes – a Focke Wulf Fw 190 and a Junkers JU-88 Stuka. He was awarded the Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for extraordinary achievement in aerial combat.
His DFC citation reads: “The skillful and zealous manner in which Lieutenant McNally has sought out the enemy and engaged him, his devotion to duty and courage under all conditions serve as an inspiration to his fellow fliers. His actions on all these occasions reflect the highest credit upon himself and the armed forces of the United States.”
By early 1945 he returned to the U.S. where he served as an Air Corps flight instructor. He married Muriel Hutchins Grosvenor in 1943, and they had three children. After the war he returned to Putnam, where he worked as an industrial engineer, and he was very active in the local community, serving as an alderman and on several committees for the Town of Putnam. He died May 1 1984 in Scotland, Conn.
Hometown Heroes is a series published in the Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger with this mission: We owe it to our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines to make sure that they are never forgotten, and that the memory of their service and sacrifice will forever live on in the hearts and minds of the grateful people of Putnam.

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Trash: No payment;no pickup
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Some residents noticed the next phase of the town’s new Casella trash program. Yes, the town is serious: If you don’t pay the trash collection fee on time, trash pickup stops.
As promised, by mid-August those who had not pay the first half of the trash collection bill saw their trash hang out at the end of the driveway, untouched.
The bills for trash collection went out with the town’s tax bills. The charge for a 95-gallon cart (bin) for a year is $395. The charge for a 65-gallon cart is $350 a year. Both programs include the required 95-gallon recycling carts.
The trash bills went out to about 2,400 property owners. Like a property tax bill, payment is split in half, with the first half to be postmarked by Aug. 1. The second half is due at the end of January 2025.
As promised, said Town Administrator Elaine Sistare, the town gave Casella a list of those who had not paid their trash collection bills. And then those carts were not emptied.
On Aug. 26 the list included 100 to 200 names of those who had not paid. “Don’t pick up trash from these sites. When folks noticed their trash wasn’t being picked up, the payments rolled in. “We were getting a couple dozen each day — 100 or so payments in the last four or five days,” she said last week.
Some who were on the “not paid” list had actually paid. Another glitch was those whose tax bills are paid by a mortgage company, from escrow. Sometimes the trash bill just wasn’t noticed in the tax bill envelope. The town may consider making it a different color. The list is being double checked with Casella’s list and corrected.
Sistare said she is pretty pleased that 100-plus property owners or more have paid in the last few days.
The town will ask Casella, probably in mid-September, to pick up the carts of those who still have not paid.
She added that she’s confident “we’re on target as far as revenue from this.” The goal is for the (user-paid) system to be self-sustaining. The selectmen’s goal is for this to be self-sustaining,” she said.
At the beginning of the program the town ordered 500 65-gallon carts, figuring that would cover the number of residents who would opt out of the 95-gallon carts. But more than 500 residents opted for the 65-gallon carts. Those who did not get one were put on a waiting list.
Sistare said in mid-October or into part of November, when the first round is settled out, “65-gallon bins can go to those on the wait list. We need to see how many (65-gallon carts) come back,” she said. If a resident swaps out for a 65-gallon cart, when they come into the Town Hall in January to pay the second half, the bill will be adjusted.
Blight Officer Russell Downer, this fall, will continue watching for trash problems. Sistare said if trash bags are overflowing out of the bin and it’s still there two or three weeks later that will be dealt with. “I haven’t seen any blowing trash,” she said.
Bulky waste is another matter. When the new program started in earnest July 1, bulky waste was no longer collected. Sistare has seen several instances of couches or chairs on the curb. “I will say that nine out of 10 times, when they get a letter from the blight officer, they respond to the letter,” she said. “The goal is compliance, not revenue,” she added.

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Local man is Legion's nationalcommander
NEW ORLEANS — James A. LaCoursiere Jr. of Moosup was elected national commander of the nation’s largest veterans organization during The American Legion’s 105th national convention.
He named Woodstock resident Everett G. Shepard III as national sergeant-at-arms.
It’s been about 70 years since District 4 has had a local national commander.
An Air Force veteran, LaCoursiere has been a longtime field representative for The American Legion Department of Connecticut’s Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines Fund, which assists veterans and their families.
LaCoursiere has held many leadership positions at The American Legion post, department (state) and national levels. He is a member of American Legion Post 91 in Moosup. He has also served as a national vice commander, Connecticut state commander, and chairman of the organization’s national legislative commission.
LaCoursiere is married to his wife, Lisa, and has two children (Patrick and Meghan), and three stepchildren (Jason, Kaylene and the late Johnathan).
Born to a military family in Honolulu, LaCoursiere attended Montville High School where he played junior varsity football, varsity football and varsity track.
As national commander, LaCoursiere is strongly committed to raising awareness for The American Legion’s “Be the One” efforts to prevent veteran suicide.

Everett Shepard
Born in Putnam, Shepard was raised and educated in many locations due to his father’s career as a Navy pilot.  He graduated from high school in Springfield, Va.  He served in the U.S. Army from June 1967 to October 1970, as a Military Intelligence Coordinator assigned to the staff of the Army Intelligence School.  In 1974, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Nichols College in Dudley.
He is an honorary life member of Benson-Flugel Post 111 in Woodstock, which he first joined in 1976. He served four terms as post commander and as 4th District Commander from 1982 to 1983. He has held many positions in the department, including as department (state) commander, 1999-2000, and as department adjutant, 2006-2016.
His first interest in The American Legion was the Connecticut Boys State Program, where he has served as a counselor since 1977.  He still serves his post as adjutant and treasurer of the Tri-Town American Legion Baseball program, which is sponsored by three posts (13, 67, and 111).  He continues to serve the district as judge advocate and the department as chairman of the Convention & Conferences Committee. He is also the president of the Connecticut American Legion Foundation, Inc.
At the national level, Shepard served on the former Magazine Commission from 1989 to 2006, and has been a member of the Media & Communications Commission since 2017.  
Shepard worked as a computer programmer for 28 years before being hired as the Connecticut Department Adjutant in 2006, and now enjoys retirement.  From 1983 to 2005, he served in part-time elective offices in the town of Woodstock, and has been a justice of the peace since 2001. He and his wife, Patricia, have been married since February 1970 and have one son and a granddaughter.  When weather and his busy schedule permit, he enjoys playing nine holes of golf at least two times a week, preferably three or four.   

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James A. LaCoursiere of Moosup is National Commander of The American Legion for 2024-2025.  To his left is his Aide, Harry “Butch” Hansen, and on the right, National Sergeant-at-Arms Everett G. Shepard III of Woodstock.