A4 APG News • November 14, 2019

Maj. Gen. John George, commander of the Combat Capabilities Development Command, waves to the crowd while riding in a vintage U.S. Army jeep with World War II-era ‘Soldiers’ and ‘Molly the Riveter’ during the inaugural Veterans Day parade in Havre de Grace, Maryland, Nov. 11, 2019.

A ceremony at Joseph L. Davis American Legion Post 47 followed the parade, which was led by Command Sgt. Maj. Frank Gutierrez, Communications-Electronics Command, and the Aberdeen Proving Ground color guard, followed by another vintage jeep carrying APG Senior Commander Maj. Gen. Mitchell Kilgo.

Photo by Yvonne Johnson, APG News

Veterans Day Parade in Havre de Grace

Jack Harris, a Korean War-era veteran and

a member of the Legion, said seeing a parade

for veterans made him feel good.

“I think it was a great idea,” he said, after

saluting the commanders. “I love it. It makes

me proud.”

Paul Gring of Aberdeen, a Vietnam veter-

an and former Prisoner of War, attended the

parade with his family; son Tony; daughter

Debbie; daughter-in-law Tiesha; grandson

Matthew, 14; granddaughter Bethany, 17;

and his wife of 56 years, Peggy Gring.

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania and raised

in Delaware, Gring said he joined the Army

in 1963. He attended the Ordnance Cen-

ter and Schools at APG and took addition-

al training at Fort Benning, Georgia and Fort

Polk, Louisiana, where he served as a drill

sergeant for a time.

Gring had two tours in Vietnam, the first

in 1968, during the Tet Offensive. He was

captured during his second tour - which he

calls his “extended tour” - in late 1969.

“We were on patrol and suddenly we were

surrounded,” he said. “There were just too

many of them.”

He and two comrades were taken into the

jungle and “put into holes” where the lived

for about six months until they were rescued.

“One guy didn’t make it, and the oth-

er one I saw on the hospital ship but I don’t

know where he is today.”

Large parts of his incarceration is blanked

out and Gring still meets with therapists to

deal with the residual effects of his ordeal.

His rescue is a bit clearer, he said.

“I remember this big black arm reaching

for me and then I blacked out,” he said. He

said he met his rescuer after he regained con-

sciousness on the hospital ship.

“He was a big black Marine and he

looked like [former NFL player and actor]

Rosie Greer,” he said. “He had a bandage on

his hand and he told me that’s where I bit him

before I blacked out.”

The two became friends but soon part-

ed company when Gring was flown back to

the states.

His homecoming wasn’t very welcom-

ing at first - people in the airport cursed and

threw food at the uniformed Soldiers and

they had to retreat to a hangar where they

were reunited with their families.

Today, Gring said he is grateful for his

family, his wife who stood by him all these

years, and the counselors at the VA who are

helping him deal with his past while facing

his future.

“I’ll be 74 in January and I still feel like

there’s a lot in front of me,” he said. “I’m still

in therapy, but I’ve learned you deal with it

the best way you can.”

“He deals with it every time lightening

strikes,” added Peggy Gring, “but we’re a fam-

ily and we’re in this together and we take it one

day at a time. “I’m proud of my husband and

I’m proud of my whole family.”

PARADEContinued from Page A1

Korean War-era veteran Jack Harris of Joseph L. Davis American Legion Post 47 salutes the military contingent during the inaugural Veterans Day Parade in Havre de Grace, Nov. 11, 2019.

Photo by Yvonne Johnson, APG News

Special guests included APG Senior Com-

mander and commander of the U.S. Army

Communications-Electronics Command Maj.

Gen. Mitchell Kilgo; Brig. Gen. Adam Flasch,

Director of the Joint Staff, Maryland Nation-

al Guard; CECOM and APG Installation

Command Sgt. Maj. Frank Gutierrez; and

Ms. Veteran America 2019, former Air Force

Reserves Lt. Col. Naviere Walkewicz. Kilgo

and Flasch participated in the honoree presen-

tations with BISM President Frederick Puente

and Commissioner Pleasala Collins.

The eight honorees included:

Jerry Wolf, a U.S. Marine Corps World

War II veteran and former Prisoner of War;

John Fay, a USMC veteran of the Vietnam

War; Susana Perez, a U.S. Navy Gulf War

veteran; and Operation Iraqi and Enduring

Freedom veterans Eugene Harris, U.S. Air

Force; Tasawur Shah, USMC; Curtis Jones,

USMC; Genoa Leon Graves; U.S. Army; and

Pierre O’Dell Larkin, USMC.

The Aberdeen Proving Ground color guard

presented the colors and cadets from the

Freestate ChalleNGe Academy greeted guests

and handed out programs.

From left, Frederick Puente, BISM president and Commissioner Pleasala Collins look on as former U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Pierre O’Dell Larkin is presented a certificate by APG Senior Commander Maj. Gen. Mitchell Kilgo during the Veterans Day Concert.

Photos by Yvonne Johnson, APG News

FOX 45 Evening News Anchor Kai Jackson, left, and Ms. Veteran America 2019, former Air Force Reserves Lt. Col. Naviere Walkewicz sing the national anthem during the opening ceremony of the Veterans Day Concert at the Water’s Edge Events Center in Belcamp, Nov. 9, 2019.

CONCERTContinued from Page A1