A Central New York veteran recently celebrated turning 102 years old with the company of two ROTC students who were there to thank him for his heroic service to the nation.
As a member of “the Greatest Generation,” Stan Stanley of Fayetteville fought Nazis in World War II, became missing in action for 14 months after his plane went down and survived to tell the story.
The front-yard party had to stack up.
“It’s truly inspiring to see a lot of men before us who’ve done a lot more than I’ve done, and I can’t wait to pay my dues forward,” Syracuse University ROTC cadet Richard Bruschi said.
“I found out about this vet not too long ago, through the Honor Flight. They sent it down the chain of command and our battalion,” Bruschi said. “And my friend, cadet Towle, ended up texting me, asking me if I wanted to go, and we both made a decision that it was something that we had to be at, and it was very important to us.”
A parade, a flag flown over the nation’s capitol and a 21-gun salute were all part of the festivities that brought the two Syracuse ROTC cadets to the eastern suburbs.
“It’s just important to understand those who came before us and pay our respects to them, because those are the guys who paved the road for us young kids today,” cadet James Towle said.
Both Towle and Bruschi have aspirations to fly Blackhawk helicopters. No matter what their future holds, they’re on course to serve proudly like so many before them.
“Seeing men like this because you see what they went through, and they made a sacrifice, and you just want to pay it forward at that point,” added Towle. “It’s a great feeling for both of us, for him and us, and we’re just glad to be here.”
As they hope to build a similar legacy, they can see the support they’ll have along the way.
“This large crowd that came through and the trucks, the fire trucks, the police department, everybody that was here, the VFW. It really shows the impact that Stan had on his community and still has today,” said Bruschi. “Being dedicated to our community is just as important as what we do in our battalion.”
