web1_gavel.jpg

Exeter man sentenced on charges of assault, fleeing from police station

web1_tl.jpeg

Times Leader editor takes leadership role with Gannett

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; One of Neno Sartini&#8217;s best friends called him &#8220;a veteran&#8217;s veteran.&#8221;</p><p>Sam Greenberg worked alongside Neno for years, advocating for veterans &#8212; always trying to make life better for war heroes and to guarantee them honor and respect.</p><p>And never forgotten.</p><p>Neno died Tuesday at the age of 85. Saying the world has lost a good one would be a huge understatement.</p><p>When I heard the news of his passing, I called Sam Greenberg.</p><p>&#8220;I had my cry this morning,&#8221; Sam told me. &#8220;Neno was a beautiful, beautiful gentleman. There aren&#8217;t enough words to describe him. He was a veteran&#8217;s veteran. We will miss him.&#8221;</p><p>Sam said Neno was a veterans&#8217; champion. The two friends last spoke a couple months ago.</p><p>&#8220;We spoke on the phone,&#8221; Sam said. &#8220;You could tell he was ailing.&#8221;</p><p>Sam and Neno would always address each other as &#8220;Brother Sam&#8221; and Brother Neno.&#8221; They were that close.</p><p>&#8220;We always greeted each other with a hug and a kiss,&#8221; Sam said. &#8220;We often talked about good times.&#8221;</p><p>Neno was always at the forefront of veterans&#8217; issues. He fought in two wars &#8212; Korea and Vietnam. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam, where he said Agent Orange exposure caused serious health issues.</p><p>During one interview with Neno, the subject turned to Agent Orange. Despite the reality of how it had wreaked havoc on the health of many U.S. soldiers, like Neno, he managed to put it into perspective for those of us who were not &#8220;in country.&#8221;</p><p>Neno told me about Agent Orange &#8212; one of several herbicides and pesticides used in Vietnam to try to expose the enemy &#8212; and how it left many Vietnam veterans with lingering health issues.</p><p>Neno said he saw &#8220;an entire forest&#8221; eradicated in three days after it was sprayed heavily with Agent Orange.</p><p>&#8220;And they don&#8217;t think that stuff would hurt you?&#8221; Neno asked, his tone one of sarcasm.</p><p>That was Neno. He knew the story. Always.</p><p>That&#8217;s why he became an advocate at all levels &#8212; county, state and federal. It was his leadership that resulted in memorials to Korean and Vietnam veterans being built on the Luzerne County Courthouse lawn. And Neno was a faithful servant in other ways, like volunteering at the VA Medical Center in Plains Township. He loved to interact with fellow veterans, always bringing joy into their lives.</p><p>&#8220;We served our country and served it proudly,&#8221; Neno once told me. &#8220;We did what our country asked us to do. We&#8217;re all proud &#8212; we served in an outstanding manner.&#8221;</p><p>Neno also remembers the difficulties he and many Vietnam veterans had when they returned home to the country they fought for and were sometimes treated as outcasts.</p><p>&#8220;I recall times when we couldn&#8217;t walk across Public Square,&#8221; he told me.</p><p>Neno told me the story of when he landed in San Francisco. He was told to change into civilian clothes to avoid confrontations with anti-war activists. When he got to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, he said, only his wife and kids were there.</p><p>There was no hero&#8217;s welcome. Like all heroes, he deserved so much more.</p><p>Despite all his experiences &#8212; both good and bad &#8212; Neno said veterans, especially Vietnam vets, have always &#8220;hung together.&#8221;</p><p>Even though most Vietnam veterans don&#8217;t like to talk about their time in service to their country &#8212; except among themselves &#8212; Neno said all veterans have a strong bond.</p><p>&#8220;Even when we are apart, we&#8217;re always together,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Neno told me about what it was like in Vietnam &#8212; how they fought in a country most soldiers had never heard of against an enemy they sometimes couldn&#8217;t see. He said the jungles were hot and humid, and they dealt with impediments such as insects and vegetation that contributed to the uncertainty of every moment.</p><p>But, Neno would tell me, they all served and served proudly, never questioning their duty. He told me all veterans have visible scars on the outside and deeper, sometimes never-healing, wounds on the inside.</p><p>Neno constantly urged his fellow Americans to keep the fire of patriotism burning &#8212; to never forget.</p><p>He told me about his brother, John. When Neno was 11 years old, Pearl Harbor was attacked &#8212; on John&#8217;s 17th birthday.</p><p>&#8220;He ran out of the house and tried to join the Navy,&#8221; Neno told me, proud of his brother and his patriotism.</p><p>Neno didn&#8217;t see that same level of spirit in today&#8217;s world.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s very contagious among older people &#8212; it should be for everybody,&#8221; he said. And then the retired Air Force master sergeant, who had served in two wars, said, &#8220;We can&#8217;t allow them to fade away to nothing.&#8221;</p><p>Long live red, white and blue patriotism.</p><p>Long live Neno Sartini and all he stood for.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_Oboyle_Bill-2-1-15.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bill O'Boyle</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_Oboyle_Bill-2-1-15.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bill O'Boyle</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_korean2_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">In this Times Leader file photo, Neno Sartini leads the Pledge of Allegiance during a Korean Conflict Service in 2014. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_korean2_faa.jpg</photo1><caption1>In this Times Leader file photo, Neno Sartini leads the Pledge of Allegiance during a Korean Conflict Service in 2014. </caption1><photoCredit1>Times Leader file photo </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Neno Sartini, who died Tuesday, was a veteran’s veteran