LHS Military Service Page 1

Viet Nam 1972

Ok, here's mine,
where's yours?

May 1970
Lackland AFB, Texas

Here's the Leominster Enterprise Announcement that I got through Basic and was heading for Lowry AFB to training in the Armaments field. I ended up in PME School, the USAF calibration school. I left after 9 years as a SSgt., T32470, Master Technician and Master Instructor.

1970 - 1971
Lowry AFB, CO

1971-1972
Westover AFB, MA

1972
Tan Son Nhut AB, RVN

1972 - 1973
U Tapao AB
Thailand

1973-1976
Lowry AFB, CO

1976-1977
Osan AB, ROK

1977 - 1979
Griffiths AFB, NY

I have the Tee Shirt!

June 1973,
U Tapao AB
Thailand

I had to pose for this Mugshot when I applied for Instructor duty back at Lowry AFB in Colorado.

Diane Cormier,
Thanks so much for the
ride home from Boston !!

LHS '69

SSgt. Thom DiGeronimo USAF 1970 - 1979

Korean War & Viet Nam

Camille Alfred "Joe" Melanson LHS '47, at home and serving in the Army in Korea.

Joe later served in the Air Force in Viet Nam.

North Korean women (prisoners of war) being sent to internment camps. Many of
these women would cut their wrists and write in blood on the train windows.

Photo courtesy of the
Melanson Family Foundation

Camille Melanson collection.

Submitted by his son,
Paul Melanson LHS '84

LHS '47 TSgt. Camille "Joe" Melanson
USA 1952 - 1953 USAF 1953 - 1972

Joe's son Paul Melanson writes about his Uncle Arthur:

My father's brother, Arthur Melanson, served in the Navy during the Second World War. He earned the Navy's Distinguished Service Cross in the process. Arthur was killed when his plane went down over the Pacific during a training exercise. His body was never recovered.

Like so many others, Arthur gave up his very life for a country he loved and ideals shared by generations of men and women. Ideals such as duty, honor and country. We forget the sacrifices of these brave men and women at our own peril.

The link below the medal takes you to a listing of Massachusetts Hometown Heroes.