Civic Register
| 11.9.17

State of the States: Veterans Edition

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In With The Old

A 93-year-old WWII veteran won an upset victory in Tinton Falls, NJ, to become the oldest first-term mayor in U.S. history.

Vito Perillo, who served with the U.S. Navy in the Pacific theater, defeated incumbent Mayor Gerald M. Turning with 53% of the vote.

"I wanted to run because I was upset with some of the things this administration is doing," Perillo said. He was referring to a pair of whistleblower lawsuits against the local police department, of which Turning served as police chief from 2004 to 2011.

Perillo told app. that he wore out two pairs of shoes going door to door for his campaign.

Leave No Man Below

The military has longed promise to "Leave No Man Behind" — now, it will include those buried 60 to 350 feet below ice.

The Fallen American Veterans Foundation (FAVF), Defense Department, Coast Guard, and Google Earth are "preparing to embark on the search and recovery of U.S. service personnel missing in action during World War II in some of the most inhospitable parts of the planet," according to Fox News.

Their first mission: locating and bringing home the bodies of three veterans who are believed to be buried deep beneath Greenland’s icy surface.

"Our extensive analytics indicates a very specific area indicated in hand-drawn treasure maps, where we actually have an ‘X marks the spot," Lou Sapienza, chairman of FAVF, said.

Sapienza will lead a 15-person team - which includes scientists, engineers, and explorers – to try and locate a biplane that crashed during rescue operations near Køge Bugt, Greenland on Nov. 29, 1942.

"The Coast Guard has offered to provide aircraft and helicopter support for a properly funded and expertly planned search," Sapienza said. “This is very significant for the U.S. Coast Guard – Pritchard and Bottoms [who were on the downed plane] are the last two coastguardsmen missing from WWII.”

Off With The Army Fatigues, On With The Dresses And Sky-High Heels

Pin Up For Vets, based out of Claremont, California, has just launched its 12th annual "Pin-Ups For Vets" calendar, which features a group of female veterans transforming into 1940s-style pinup girls. Twenty-one veterans from all branches of the military - including a weapons instructor, a surgery technician, an intelligence officer, and a military vehicle operator - posed for the 2018 version.

Jennifer Marshall, who served in the Navy for five years, told ABC news her photo shoot on Hofer Ranch, Ontario, California, "was wonderful."

"And speaking for the other ladies, everyone has expressed how much it means to them to recapture our femininity, give back to the community and have that long-lasting friendship with other veterans," Marshall said.

The calendar, available here, helps raise money for veterans’ healthcare needs.

—Josh Herman

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