Amongst the 511,000 veterans in Maricopa County, there are seven who will have the honor of serving as Veterans Grand Marshals in the Phoenix Veterans Day Parade set for Friday, November 11th, on the streets of Phoenix.
The selectees were chosen from a pool of candidates submitted by community members. The winners are:
- World War II, U.S. Army veteran Samuel Weinstein. Weinstein earned the Bronze Star for heroic achievement in action during World War II for carrying wounded soldiers through enemy fire to safety. On one of his subsequent tours, Weinstein was injured in battle, facing a gunshot wound to the mouth. After months of recovery, he returned home to become a sheet metal worker.
- Korean War, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Lew Bradley. Bradley was responsible for rescuing pilots the enemy shot down during the Korean War. In one instance, he used two ropes to hoist a man to safety while waiting in frigid waters. After leaving the military, Bradley worked as a field service engineer with many kinds of aircraft.
- Vietnam War, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Edward McCourty. “Machete Eddie,” as he became known, served two tours of duty in Vietnam. During his first tour in 1965, he was transferred to the 2nd battalion, Third Marine Regiment, as part of a build-up of Marines going ashore in DaNang, S Vietnam, as part of expanded operations against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong.
- Cold War, U.S. Navy veteran Chaplain Lt. Tom Tostenson. Tostenson was a chaplain in the Navy from 1985-1998. He served during the Cold War, was deployed to Kuwait during the Gulf War, attached to the 8th Tank Battalion 2nd Marine Division for Desert Storm, and served in Saudi Arabia for Desert Shield.
- Desert Storm, U.S. Air Force veteran Michael Quezada. Quezada has served his country for over thirty years as an active duty enlisted member specializing in aircraft communication and navigation systems and a first sergeant for over 300 assigned members.
- Operation Enduring Freedom, U.S. Air Force veteran George Poppe. Poppe served several times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He led his weapons technicians to a 100% aircraft weapons release rate that directly supported American troops under fire.
- Operation Iraqi Freedom, U.S. Marine Corps veteran John Rosenberg. Rosenberg is a 22-year Veteran who completed multiple combat deployments as a Force Recon Marine and Marine Scout Sniper in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was personally decorated on four separate occasions for valor in combat, including the Bronze Star Medal with Combat V for valor.
In the coming weeks, you will read the stories of these seven veterans on Honoring America’s Veterans website. You will also see them serve as grand marshals in the Veterans Day Parade in Phoenix on November 11th at 11 a.m. For more details, check out our site or subscribe to our newsletter.