‘Salute to Veterans’ Archives
“I Thought I was Invincible!”
Coastal Breeze News salutes Gil Mueller in our ‘Salute to Veterans’ Series By Val Simon and John Patterson Gil Mueller started getting draft notices while he was still in high school in Park Ridge, Illinois. He was still too young to serve in the military. But as they say, the third time is a charm, at least for the government that [...]
Joe ‘Pepsodent Smile’ Capilets
Salute to Veterans: Continued from last issue When I was young we were children of the depression. My father had no work and raised four kids. So, I poured my heart into sports; it was free.” He dreamt of being in the big league someday. At 17 he was offered an opportunity to be in the minor leagues, 3-I League (Illinois, Indiana and [...]
Joe ‘Pepsodent Smile’ Capilets
“Hello Soldier! Welcome to your death.” Joseph C. Capilets was inducted into the US Army on February 11, 1943. He was assigned to the 87th Infantry Division, ‘The Golden Acorn’, 346th Regiment. After nine weeks of basic training, Joe was assigned to S-3 Section, Plans and Training at Camp McCain, Mississippi. The 87th trained new [...]
What was it Like?
A young man stopped me on the Washington Mall, I was reading the names on the Vietnam wall. He said “tell me, soldier, about Vietnam. What was it like to fight the Viet Cong?” I looked at him, straight in the eye and said “Okay, Son, I’ll give it a try. I’ll answer your question, if you’ll take the time to answer just a [...]
Salute to Veteran Owen Carr
This is the second in our series of Salute to Our Veterans! The handicap ramp and American flag flying high were unmistakable indications I was at the right place, veteran Owen Carr’s home. Owen had lost his leg during his military service. The memories many returning soldiers carry are difficult enough, Owen returned with those memories and [...]
Flag Etiquette
From the Official Site of the Veterans of Foreign Wars The federal flag code says the universal custom is to display the U.S. flag from sunrise to sunset on buildings and stationary flagstaffs in the open, but when a patriotic effect is desired the flag may be displayed 24-hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness. [...]
Veterans of foreign wars post 6370
Dave Gardner, a veteran of the Korean war and long-time Marco Island resident, removes flags from a receptacle at Veteran’s Community Park. “I remove the flags once a week in season and about every 10 days or so out of season.” This particular day the box is filled with flags, so much so the last flag didn’t drop down into the receptacle, [...]
