With an average of 1,000 World War II veterans passing away each day
nationwide, it's becoming more and more important to recognize the men
and women who served our country and helped to make the United States
the great nation it is today.
On October 26, the Saratoga County Veterans Committee and Board of Supervisors gathered to honor more than 300 veterans who were in attendance at the Saratoga Springs City Center.
Wilton resident Everett W. Cleveland worked hard to get to the ceremony in his choice of attire. For the months leading up to the event Cleveland watched what he ate and worked out on a treadmill to lose more than 30 pounds in order to fit into his original Marine Sergeant uniform that he wore more than 60 years ago when he served in San Diego and in Japan, notably Okinawa and Kawashima.
"It wasn't that bad losing weight. I've always been able to do it when I put my mind to it," Cleveland said. "I couldn't believe I was the only one in my uniform."
Cleveland and the rest of the county veterans will receive medals that feature the Saratoga County logo on one side and a World War II dedication on the other.
Cleveland joined the marines in 1944 when he was 18 years old.
"A lot of my friends were enlisting and we knew we'd be drafted in a few months anyway," he said. "I really liked being a marine, though. The training was strenuous."
He was stationed in the San Diego area in an Air Raid Warning Squadron which kept ground control of incoming planes from the Pacific Ocean. Cleveland had prior knowledge in electricity so he was trained to run telephones. His squadron was in charge of picking up radar signals from incoming enemy planes and directing the American planes to shoot them down.
In 1945 he was sent to Okinawa and Kawashima. Because Kawashima was a small island and there was only a bulldozed runway, planes had trouble bringing in proper supplies resulting in each soldier losing more than 10 pounds each.
"Our squadron lost 3,000 pounds. We also ran out of soap and cigarettes. Piper Cubs (small military planes) would drop boxes. I had more corned beef and dehydrated eggs and potatoes than I can say," he said.
Christmas Day 1945 was a much better meal, however. So good, in fact, Cleveland sent the menu home to his mother; it is still intact today in a memory album.
"That was a very good meal," he said.
Following the war, Cleveland was discharged and went to work at Finch Pryun and worked with his father doing horse-related work.
When the United States entered the Korean War, Cleveland enlisted in the Marine Reserves and was put into the same outfit he served in during World War II. He was reunited with six of his former comrades and carried out the same telephone duties for one year. When he was released from duty, he had 45 months under his military belt, three months shy of receiving the Good Conduct Medal.
"I just didn't serve long enough," he said. He added that he comes from a long line of soldiers; his father fought in World War I, three uncles served in the Army, his great-grandfather and his brother and two sons served in the Union Army during the Civil War and generations back, ancestor Governor William Bradford came to the colonies on the Mayflower and served in the militia.
After his duties in the military were over, Cleveland worked at New York Telephone in Glens Falls and Saratoga until he retired in 1986. Today, 84-year-old Cleveland lives with his wife Betty in an old farm house in Wilton. Together they care for horses and chickens and tend to gardens in the summer.
"Through the military I learned the telephone business which gave me a career," he said. "It was a very good experience for me."
Wilton resident Everett W. Cleveland worked hard to get to the ceremony in his choice of attire. For the months leading up to the event Cleveland watched what he ate and worked out on a treadmill to lose more than 30 pounds in order to fit into his original Marine Sergeant uniform that he wore more than 60 years ago when he served in San Diego and in Japan, notably Okinawa and Kawashima.
"It wasn't that bad losing weight. I've always been able to do it when I put my mind to it," Cleveland said. "I couldn't believe I was the only one in my uniform."
Cleveland and the rest of the county veterans will receive medals that feature the Saratoga County logo on one side and a World War II dedication on the other.
Cleveland joined the marines in 1944 when he was 18 years old.
"A lot of my friends were enlisting and we knew we'd be drafted in a few months anyway," he said. "I really liked being a marine, though. The training was strenuous."
He was stationed in the San Diego area in an Air Raid Warning Squadron which kept ground control of incoming planes from the Pacific Ocean. Cleveland had prior knowledge in electricity so he was trained to run telephones. His squadron was in charge of picking up radar signals from incoming enemy planes and directing the American planes to shoot them down.
In 1945 he was sent to Okinawa and Kawashima. Because Kawashima was a small island and there was only a bulldozed runway, planes had trouble bringing in proper supplies resulting in each soldier losing more than 10 pounds each.
"Our squadron lost 3,000 pounds. We also ran out of soap and cigarettes. Piper Cubs (small military planes) would drop boxes. I had more corned beef and dehydrated eggs and potatoes than I can say," he said.
Christmas Day 1945 was a much better meal, however. So good, in fact, Cleveland sent the menu home to his mother; it is still intact today in a memory album.
"That was a very good meal," he said.
Following the war, Cleveland was discharged and went to work at Finch Pryun and worked with his father doing horse-related work.
When the United States entered the Korean War, Cleveland enlisted in the Marine Reserves and was put into the same outfit he served in during World War II. He was reunited with six of his former comrades and carried out the same telephone duties for one year. When he was released from duty, he had 45 months under his military belt, three months shy of receiving the Good Conduct Medal.
"I just didn't serve long enough," he said. He added that he comes from a long line of soldiers; his father fought in World War I, three uncles served in the Army, his great-grandfather and his brother and two sons served in the Union Army during the Civil War and generations back, ancestor Governor William Bradford came to the colonies on the Mayflower and served in the militia.
After his duties in the military were over, Cleveland worked at New York Telephone in Glens Falls and Saratoga until he retired in 1986. Today, 84-year-old Cleveland lives with his wife Betty in an old farm house in Wilton. Together they care for horses and chickens and tend to gardens in the summer.
"Through the military I learned the telephone business which gave me a career," he said. "It was a very good experience for me."
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