Veterans honored before it’s too late

[The Straight Story]

Veterans honored before it’s too late

HARPERSFIELD TOWNSHIP — James “Birdie” Puffenbarger remembers his days on Iwo Jima.

He remembers the military rations and the fog of gunsmoke in the air. Above all, he remembers the boys that were lost on that island and he knows he was lucky to see his 23rd birthday, let alone his 88th.

“I always felt lucky I got through that,” he said. “Iwo Jima was a mean place. Of course, you’ve got to think you’re going to die when you’re in a place like that.”

Puffenbarger’s clear blue eyes smiled more than his mouth as volunteer veterans Richard Mead and Fred Grimm of the Hospice of the Western Reserve read him a letter of recognition Thursday and placed a pin on his shirt, honoring his time in the U.S. Air Corps.

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“Around here, we don’t take days for granted anymore,” Dale Puffenbarger said. “I know this (ceremony) is for him, but it does something for all of us. It is amazing that hospice does this for our veterans, but they have to know that they do it for us, too.”

http://starbeacon.com/local/x471034982/Veterans-honored-before-it-s-too-late