By Nathaniel Jastrzemski

njastrzemski@tnonline.com

The community is invited to this year’s Veterans Day commemoration sponsored by Embassy Bank and Phoebe Ministries on Nov. 11.

Beginning at 10 a.m. retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel and head of Lehigh University’s Veterans Association, Frank Gunter, will host “Coffee & Conversation: Reflections of Three Generations,” at the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinema at SteelStacks.

This will be followed by a screening of Christopher Nolan’s 2017 film “Dunkirk.”

The event will be held in person and streamed live on the SteelStacks Facebook page and website, Phoebe Ministries’ Facebook page and website, and Embassy Bank’s Facebook page.

“We’re forever grateful to our partners Embassy Bank and Phoebe Ministries for a shared commitment to our annual Veterans Day commemoration here at ArtsQuest,” said ArtsQuest President and CEO Kassie Hilgert.

“Our servicemen and women have made so many sacrifices for our freedoms.

“We’re honored to join with our partners and thank Embassy Bank for again providing the opportunity to recognize and personally engage with our Lehigh Valley veterans.”

The hourlong event features Col. Gunter interviewing multigenerational veterans, including U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Richard Schimmel, U.S. Army Specialist 5 Richard Bealer and U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Steve Ondrusek, who will share their personal experiences of the World War II, Vietnam and Middle East Conflicts.

Following the free program, guests are invited to stay for a live screening of Nolan’s film.

Featured veterans

Steve Ondrusek served for 28 years (1981-2009 in Iraq and Afghanistan) in the U.S. Army. He trained as an Army Ranger at Fort Benning, Ga. and served in this capacity in the Persian Gulf War during Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert and Operation Desert Sabre.

After that, he served at Fort Indiantown Gap, where he trained the National Guard and supported the deployment to Afghanistan.

After his service, Ondrusek worked for Bamburger’s Inc. as an HVAC specialist.

In 2017, he joined the Phoebe, Allentown, staff as an HVAC specialist.

He was then promoted to maintenance manager of the environmental services department.

Ondrusek, and his wife of 37 years, Ann, live in Lebanon County. They have three children.

Richard “Dick” Schimmel joined the U.S. Army in 1940 and was assigned to the 580th Signal Aircraft Warning Company (1940-1945 Hawaii, South Pacific) on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

He worked as a plotter and switchboard operator at an information center at Fort Shafter, just east of Pearl Harbor.

The center took calls from Oahu’s mobile radar stations.

Schimmel was the fifth person to know that Japanese planes were coming to Pearl Harbor Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941.

Several months after the Pearl Harbor attack, Schimmel was assigned to set up an information center on Maui.

After that, he spent six months on Guangzhou (formerly Canton) Island, north of American Samoa, where he endured three bombings by the Japanese. He then returned to Hawaii.

After his service, he worked at Sears in various capacities for more than 40 years.

He and his wife, Yolanda, who died in 2010, were married 63 years and had two sons, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Schimmel is a resident of Miller Personal Care at Phoebe, Allentown.

Richard “Mr. B” Bealer joined the U.S. Army in 1969 (1969-1971 Vietnam and Germany) and trained at Fort Belvoir, Fairfax County, Virginia, before being deployed to Vietnam as an U.S. Army Corps Engineer.

His job was to repair and maintain construction equipment which were important to integrate new road surfaces and construct bridges.

After his service, he returned home and worked for Keystone Cement for 30 years.

He served 35 years as a volunteer Scout Leader for the Boy Scouts of America.

He and his wife have been married for 50 years and have two daughters, one son and five grandchildren.

He is now retired but continues to work part-time as a member of the Event Services Department for ArtsQuest.