Posted on Jan 29, 2016
85-year-old still fighting to help fellow veterans
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RallyPoint Members one of the early Post back in 2016 that just got lost in a black hole, but a great inspirations story of an Airman that still helps veterans at the age of 85 - enjoy his story.
I can only hope that at 85 I'm still doing great things for my brothers and sisters! Woooha!
Preview....
Bernard “Bernie” Corona does not like to talk about himself.
But Corona agreed to an interview, hoping that sharing his experiences might spur others to help veterans.
That attitude — doing whatever it takes to help others — is what keeps Corona, 85, volunteering as a veterans’ advocate and driver for those who need a ride to medical appointments.
“I enjoy doing it,” said Corona, a Hartford native who spent 39 years in the military. “I know I’m helping somebody.”
A lifelong sports fan, Corona played varsity baseball as a catcher at Bulkeley High and with the Hartford Cubs, a team made up of teenagers formed in 1946. They racked up a winning record and claimed titles in the East Hartford Twilight League and Hartford playoffs. Corona was voted MVP in 1949, but the Cubs disbanded the following year, when most players left to fight in Korea.
In 1951 at age 20, he enlisted in the Air Force with six friends from Hartford.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” Corona said.
They took a train to basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, which was crowded with recruits, and “that was the first time I ever lived in a tent,” Corona said.
He served in Germany and what was then French Morocco, where he again found himself living in a tent during construction of a new base. He returned home for a few months after his service ended before joining the Army Reserve full time in June 1955. He served until mandatory retirement at age 60 on Sept. 30, 1990.
I can only hope that at 85 I'm still doing great things for my brothers and sisters! Woooha!
Preview....
Bernard “Bernie” Corona does not like to talk about himself.
But Corona agreed to an interview, hoping that sharing his experiences might spur others to help veterans.
That attitude — doing whatever it takes to help others — is what keeps Corona, 85, volunteering as a veterans’ advocate and driver for those who need a ride to medical appointments.
“I enjoy doing it,” said Corona, a Hartford native who spent 39 years in the military. “I know I’m helping somebody.”
A lifelong sports fan, Corona played varsity baseball as a catcher at Bulkeley High and with the Hartford Cubs, a team made up of teenagers formed in 1946. They racked up a winning record and claimed titles in the East Hartford Twilight League and Hartford playoffs. Corona was voted MVP in 1949, but the Cubs disbanded the following year, when most players left to fight in Korea.
In 1951 at age 20, he enlisted in the Air Force with six friends from Hartford.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” Corona said.
They took a train to basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, which was crowded with recruits, and “that was the first time I ever lived in a tent,” Corona said.
He served in Germany and what was then French Morocco, where he again found himself living in a tent during construction of a new base. He returned home for a few months after his service ended before joining the Army Reserve full time in June 1955. He served until mandatory retirement at age 60 on Sept. 30, 1990.
85-year-old still fighting to help fellow veterans
Posted from bendbulletin.com
Edited 5 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 15
Posted 5 y ago
Thank you, my friend COL Mikel J. Burroughs for making us aware about 85-year-old Bernard “Bernie” Corona and his dedication to helping fellow veterans including serving as a veterans’ advocate and driver for those who need a ride to medical appointments.
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SSgt (Join to see)
5 y
LTC Stephen F. We need more guys like him. But there a guys who do this. Like DAV drivers who are generally more elderly. Use your lives wisely, you can be that man.
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LTC Stephen F.
5 y
Thank you my friend SSgt (Join to see) I hope to have permission from the neurosurgeons to drive in a few weeks.
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SSgt (Join to see)
5 y
Col Carl Whicker LTC Stephen F. I am still having absence seizures. Ataxia, etc. But God is greater than any issue we may have. No driving here.
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Col Carl Whicker
5 y
SSgt (Join to see) - Keep up the good fight, Larry. We appreciate you and all you do.
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Posted 5 y ago
He’s a good man COL Mikel J. Burroughs. I have a friend who has some mental health issues and I’ll usually drive him to his appointments at the VA Hospital.
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SPC Margaret Higgins
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SFC William Farrell - I am so very proud of you, William. You could not be a better man/person: if you tried.
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SSgt (Join to see)
5 y
SFC William Farrell SPC Margaret Higgins We should listen who are humble, respecting the older who live who a fuller life than us. Good afternoon friends.
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Posted 5 y ago
Great one to pass on!
Col Carl Whicker PO3 Lynn Spalding LTC (Join to see) PO1 H Gene Lawrence SSG William Jones Maj William W. 'Bill' Price COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen F. ] Alan K. SGT John " Mac " McConnell LTC (Join to see) Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SPC Douglas Bolton Lt Col Charlie Brown Sgt Randy Wilber MSgt John McGowan Cpl (Join to see) PO3 Bob McCord SPC Margaret Higgins
Col Carl Whicker PO3 Lynn Spalding LTC (Join to see) PO1 H Gene Lawrence SSG William Jones Maj William W. 'Bill' Price COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen F. ] Alan K. SGT John " Mac " McConnell LTC (Join to see) Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SPC Douglas Bolton Lt Col Charlie Brown Sgt Randy Wilber MSgt John McGowan Cpl (Join to see) PO3 Bob McCord SPC Margaret Higgins
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