Stamford Vets Share Their Memories With Students

STAMFORD, Conn. — Veterans from Stamford visited Stamford High School Friday morning to talk with students about the meaning of the holiday being celebrated this  weekend.

“When you look at the flag … think of the red,” said Mike Gonzalez, who served in the Army National Guard for 17 years and now works as a security guard at the high school. It symbolizes the blood of soldiers who have given their lives, he said.

The vets said Memorial Day stirs strong emotions for them because they easily could have become one those being remembered. Carmine Vaccaro, who graduated from Stamford High School in 1949 and served as a corpsman in the Navy, said half his unit was sent to Korea, where half were killed in the first few weeks of action. He could have been one of them, he said. 

Not all of the vets' thoughts were about the dark side of war. Bob Gaipa, who served in Korea with a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) unit, said he is proud how well South Korea is doing today.

“There are not many good things about war, but that’s one of them,” Gaipa said, adding that he is considering going back to see how South Korean has changed since the war.

Vaccaro ended the program leading the group in “God Bless America,” which he said he's always willing to do, if asked. “I follow orders,” he quipped. 

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