Log In

Reset Password
Welcome, User
LEHIGH VALLEY WEATHER
Bethlehem Catasauqua East Penn Northampton Northwestern Parkland Salisbury Whitehall-Coplay

Valley salutes servicemembers for first time since pandemic

Published May 24. 2022 11:25AM
by Douglas Graves Special to the Bethlehem Press

A high-spirited annual dinner returned to the social calendar May 6 for the first time since the Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council canceled their premier social event during the pandemic years.

LVMAC hosted about 100 people at the Steel Club in Hellertown to support the U.S. military and to provide a free dinner for all active-duty servicemembers who attended in uniform as guests of the military-oriented service organization.

Coast Guard Rear Admiral David W. Kunkel (retired) was the keynote speaker. He recounted his career as a Coast Guard pilot and flag officer. Kunkel described the Coast Guard as the longest continuous military service among the six services. It was also the smallest until the Space Force was established.

Considering the number of ships, aircraft and personnel, according to Kunkel, the Coast Guard constitutes the sixth largest navy in the world.

The Parkland HS graduate (1967) enlisted in the Coast Guard after graduating from Kutztown University and was commissioned, then sent to flight school where he became a helicopter pilot.

Kunkel entertained the room with some of the incongruities of life in the service. He got a ripple of laughter as he told of the time he asked for service on the East Coast, and the Coast Guard sent him and his wife to Kodiak, Alaska.

Later, he again asked for duty on the East Coast, then ending up in Puerto Rico. More laughter.

Retired Air Force Major General and President of LVMAC Gerald “Jerry” Still and his staff organized the dinner followed by dancing.

Louis Dieruff HS Junior ROTC students provided a color guard for the event.

Press photos by Douglas Graves James G. Petrucci received a “Patriot” award in recognition of his faithful and generous support of Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council's military support and outreach programs. From left: Air Force Major General Gerald “Jerry” Still, President of LVMAC; Board of Directors LVMAC U.S. Army Colonel Shawn Welsh, J. G. Petrucci Company Inc.; President and founder Jim Petrucci and author and retired Morning Call journalist David Venditta.
Coast Guard Rear Admiral David W. Kunkel (retired) was the keynote speaker. He recounted his career as a Coast Guard helicopter pilot and flag officer in “the world's sixth largest navy.”
DeSales University was well represented at the gala event. From left: Steve Badman and his wife, Wendy Badman. She is the Office of Veterans & Military Affairs Coordinator, Veterans Administration School Certifying Official at DeSales University. The Badman's own Badman Construction. DeSales University student leader Pennsylvania National Guard Second Lieutenant Kiera McMinn and Lina Barbieri, DeSales' Associate Vice President for Annual Giving.
Dieruff HS Junior ROTC students provided a color guard for the event, as they presented and retired the colors. Lisa Scheller, in white, is saluting the colors. She is the president and chair of Silberline Manufacturing Co. Inc. Silberline Manufacturing is an associate member of the LVMAC.
U.S. Army Capt. Andrew Scott, a mechanical engineer with the Naval Surface Warfare Center in the Philadelphia Navy Yard, with his wife Florence Brown, director of engagement for Klunk & Millan Advertising, Natasha Pelak, and LVMAC Board of Directors member Major Richard Hudzinski.