Veterans
Veterans honored at national war memorials in DC
Stars and Stripes
November 11, 2023
Diane Carlson Evans, left, whose efforts led to the creation of the Vietnam Women's Memorial, gets a kiss from another vet Saturday morning on the 30th anniversary of the memorial's dedication. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — Of the more than 16 million men and women who served their country in the U.S. military during World War II, fewer than 120,000 are still alive.
Saturday morning at the National World War II Memorial, six of the survivors were honored at the annual Veterans Day ceremony.
The members of the “Greatest Generation” who attended the ceremony and mingled with grateful Americans of all ages were:
Navy veteran Robert Marovelli, a torpedo man who survived the sinking of two PT boats while serving in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Dutch West Indies and Southern Philippines;
Army veteran George Arnstein, who was born in Germany and came to the U.S. in 1938, and whose World War II service included taking part in the Battle of the Bulge;
Retired Army Col. Frank Cohn, also born in Germany, who fought across Europe and met the Russians at the Elbe River, then guarded Nazi prisoners who were later tried at Nuremberg;
Army and Air Force veteran Harry Miller, who was in the Battle of the Bulge as well as the Korean War, and was with the Air Force in Vietnam;
Navy veteran Dixon Hemphill, who fought in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters during World War II and stayed in the Navy until 1965;
and George McCarthy, who was in China with he Army Air Forces during the war, assigned to the 14th Air Force Air Transport Command supply technician on te China-Burma-India service.
Later, further down the mall, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial ceremony celebrated the 30th anniversary of the dedication of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial. The keynote speaker was former Army nurse Diane Carlson Evans, whose perseverance in the face of criticism – and even hostility – led to the creation of the statue, which depicts nurses tending to a wounded service member.
World War II veterans Robert Marovelli, George Armstrong and Frank Cohn, front left to right, were among six veterans of that conflict honored during a Veterans Day ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
The Armed Forces Color Guard departs after the playing of the national anthem during Veterans Day ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Three Vietnam veterans relax as they await the start of a Veterans Day ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Nov. 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Veterans Mel Gunderson, left, and Ed Times await the start of Saturday’s Veterans Day ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Veteran Harry Miller poses for a photo before the Veterans Day ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Veteran Steve Kovalchik of Silver Spring, Md., at the Veterans Day ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Veteran Steve Kovalchik of Silver Spring, Md., and the Armed Forces Color Guard await the start of the Veterans Day ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
World War II veteran Frank Cohn talks to kids before the Veterans Day ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
World War II veterans Harry Miller, Dixon Hemphill and George McCarthy, left to right, were among six veterans of that conflict honored during a Veterans Day ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
World War II veteran George Arnstein and Friends of the World War II Memorial chair Jane Droppa take part in the wreath-laying ceremony on Veterans Day at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
World War II veteran Marovelli and National Park Service Direcor Charles Sams III prepar to place the first wreath during the Veterans Day ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Visitors listen to Jeffrey Reinbold, souerintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, before the Veterans Day ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Honor Flight visitors from Oklahoma wait for the start of the Veterans Day ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
World War II veteran Harry Miller talks with Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Will Horton before the Veterans Day ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
A visitor looks at names on the Korean War Memorial. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Floral tributes at the Korean War Memorial on Veterans Day in Washington, November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Bands from around the country gather at the Lincoln Memorial to salute the nation's veterans in Washington, November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
World War II veteran Marovelli meets a young admirer after the Veterans Day ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
An Army bugler plays taps to conclude the Veterans Day ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Veterans Day 2023 at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)
Veterans Day 2023 at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., November 11, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)