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My hometown with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins: Tyler Biggs prefers small-town life

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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Mike Stachowiak was reluctant to be interviewed at Saturday&#8217;s 28th anniversary ceremony of the Luzerne County Vietnam Memorial on the courthouse lawn.</p><p>Stachowiak, who lives in the Honey Pot section of Nanticoke, is a Vietnam veteran.</p><p>&#8220;Maybe you should talk to somebody else,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I kind of stand out in a crowd.&#8221;</p><p>Stachowiak is a triple amputee, having lost both of his legs and his right arm in Vietnam. He said he was attending the ceremony to celebrate the 83 names on the monument &#8212; those killed in action, missing in action and prisoners of war in Vietnam &#8212; who lived in Luzerne County.</p><p>&#8220;I knew a few of those whose names are engraved on the monument,&#8221; Stachowiak said. &#8220;They gave all of their tomorrows for our wonderful todays.&#8221;</p><p>Stachowiak looked at the monument and said too often people just see the engraved names.</p><p>&#8220;They were all real people,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They never got to live their lives. And we are all poorer because of that.&#8221;</p><p>Rev. William Lewis, who is retired now, offered the prayer at the original dedication ceremony on Feb. 21, 1988, and he performed the same duty Saturday.</p><p>&#8220;We remember today those gave the ultimate sacrifice,&#8221; Lewis said. &#8220;We also remember those who are still with us today and who still wear the scars of war. Those who returned home to scorn and ridicule. We remember, too, those who are still grieving the loss of their husbands, wives, sweethearts and children.&#8221;</p><p>The memorial also stands in honor of the 11,000 servicemen and women from Luzerne County who served during the Vietnam War era. It was designed by Gerhard Baut of Swoyersville.</p><p>Baut recalled working with the late Neno Sartini, who is credited with spearheading the effort to get the memorial constructed. Baut said Sartini brought out the best in everybody and everything.</p><p>&#8220;Even a rock,&#8221; Baut said. &#8220;Neno persevered until the monument was built and Vietnam veterans could take their rightful place in history. Vietnam veterans were forgotten after the war, but now they are remembered forever.&#8221;</p><p>Sam Greenberg, a World War II veteran, was a close friend of Sartini. Greenberg called Sartini, &#8220;a veteran&#8217;s veteran.&#8221;</p><p>Greenberg said he worked alongside Sartini for years, advocating for veterans, always trying to make life better for war heroes and to guarantee them honor and respect &#8212; and to assure they were never forgotten.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sure Neno is with us today,&#8221; Greenburg said.</p><p>Don Swartz, originally from Kingston, drove to the ceremony from his home in New Jersey. Swartz was a member of the committee that was formed to get the memorial built at a cost of around $60,000.</p><p>&#8220;One of my best friends, Neno Sartini, is not here,&#8221; an emotional Swartz said. &#8220;Neno was more a part of this memorial than anyone.&#8221;</p><p>John &#8220;J.R.&#8221; Richards, who hosted the ceremony, said, &#8220;Neno is here in spirit.&#8221;</p><p>Richards said it&#8217;s important to hold the ceremony every year.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s important to remember our heroes,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The people on the memorial gave everything they could for all of us.&#8221;</p><p>Suzanne Hall of Tunkhannock sang the National Anthem and God Bless America &#8212; Sartini&#8217;s favorite song. Hall sang at the original dedication 28 years ago and she said she hasn&#8217;t missed one since.</p><p>Members of the 2nd Brigade Motorcycle Club of Wyoming Valley read the names of the 83 veterans on the memorial. Rich Pries, commander at the Kingston American Legion, rang a bell after each name was read.</p><p>Mike Truszkowski of AmVets Post No. 59 in Breslau, played the bugle. He offered the theme song of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard and played Taps at the conclusion.</p><p>State Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-Kingston, was among the crowd of about 150 who attended the ceremony.</p><p>Lewis ended the ceremony by stating, &#8220;Go in peace and let us never forget.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Sam Greenberg salutes while the national anthem is sung by Suzanne Hall at the 28th anniversary ceremony for the the Vietnam War Memorial on the south lawn of the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_vietnammemorial01-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Sam Greenberg salutes while the national anthem is sung by Suzanne Hall at the 28th anniversary ceremony for the the Vietnam War Memorial on the south lawn of the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_vietnammemorial02-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Don Swartz, right, sheds a tear and is comforted by John &#8220;J.R.&#8221; Richards when talking about their late friend Neno Sartini during Saturday&#8217;s ceremony marking the 28th anniversary of the Vietnam War Memorial on the south lawn of the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_vietnammemorial02-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Don Swartz, right, sheds a tear and is comforted by John &#8220;J.R.&#8221; Richards when talking about their late friend Neno Sartini during Saturday&#8217;s ceremony marking the 28th anniversary of the Vietnam War Memorial on the south lawn of the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_vietnammemorial03-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Gerhard Baut, designer of the Vietnam War Memorial on the south lawn of the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre, makes his remarks on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_vietnammemorial03-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Gerhard Baut, designer of the Vietnam War Memorial on the south lawn of the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre, makes his remarks on Saturday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Ceremony marks 28th anniversary of WB&#8217;s Vietnam Memorial</subheadMeta></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>

Ceremony remembers those ‘who gave all of their tomorrows for our wonderful todays’