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Marines Honor One of Their Own
By Brian Richardson, Canaan
The Northwest Detachment of the Marine Corps League, based in Canaan, honored one of their own, Detachment Commandant Nicholas Gandolfo of Canaan, at the Detachment's April meeting.
This League was officially re-activated on July 13, 2001 at the CT Marine Corps League State Convention. In the presence of all CT Marine Corps League members at the convention, Nicholas Gandolfo, Bill Gordon, Brian Richardson and Litchfield County Commandant Sharon Barbato were requested front and center. The Department of CT Commandant, William Cardow, presented these men their Northwest Detachment Charter. Reactivating this Detachment was the result of approximately two years of work. Five men took charge in this ongoing endeavor, which included paperwork and a membership drive. Nicholas Gandolfo played a key role in making this project a reality.
At the end of the Detachment's April meeting in Canaan, following all official business, the Sergeant-At-Arms, Brian Richardson, requested permission to approach the Detachment Commandant. He then ordered front and center three other Marines: Bill Gordon, Detachment Senior Vice-Commandant, Past Chaplain; Matthew (Champ) Nagle, Junior Past Detachment Commandant; and Russell Duntz, Detachment Chaplain, Past Commandant. They stood with Brian Richardson, Sergeant-At-Arms, Past Detachment Adjutant.
The Sergeant-At-Arms, standing with these three Marines, requested Detachment Commandant Nicholas Gandolfo to please stand. Mr. Richardson said that we four Marines, in front of other League members, would like to take this time to thank Mr. Nicholas Gandolfo for being the main force to re-establish our League and devoting a great deal of his time, along with our Litchfield County Commandant, Sharon Barbato, and our Department of CT Commandant, William Cardow.
Mr. Richardson said to Mr. Gandolfo that the four Marines would be honored if he would accept tokens of thanks from his fellow Marines. Being a Korean War Veteran, Nicholas Gandolfo was presented with a lithograph of the Korean War Memorial, the Korean War 50th Anniversary KaBar and a USMC Korea bumper sticker. Then the Detachment Senior Vice Commandant Bill Gordon presented Nicholas Gandolfo with a certificate, the Marine Corps League Distinguished Service Award.
The four men then came to attention and gave this good man a sharply executed Marine Corps salute, ending the meeting. Nicholas Gandolfo was very moved and thanked his fellow Marines for their thoughtfulness.
In less than a year, the Detachment has grown to about 29 members and has already begun providing scholarships to local youth. All Marines (men and women) are invited to join us on the first Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Couch-Pipa VFW Post 6851, 104 South Canaan Rd. (Route 7) in North Canaan, next to Becton Dickinson. For more info about membership, call Nicholas Gandolfo at 860-824-5565, or Brian Richardson at 860-435-2808.
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