HONORING THE FALLEN
Local war hero remembered
TROY, N.Y.» A local war hero who died in Vietnam was honored by his community on Sunday with a new monument unveiled ahead of Memorial Day.
A year after the Troy Housing Authority’s Peter M. Guenette Apartments for veterans in Lansingburgh were dedicated to Army Specialist 4th Class Peter Guenette, a monument was placed at the property’s flagpole site in his honor.
A group of family members, Troy Housing Authority leaders, representatives from the Veterans of Lansingburgh, area elected officials and members of the community - as well as the color guard from Guen- ette’s unit, the Second Battalion 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which traveled to Troy from Fort Campbell, Ky. to be part of the special occasion - gathered on Sunday morning for a monument unveiling ceremony at the 6- 8 115th St. site in Lansingburgh.
“These apartments were named after Peter so that his legacy of deeply caring for his fellow soldiers could carry on, “Troy Housing Authority executive director Deborah Witkowski said during the event, before the monument was revealed. “The entire community of the Troy Housing Authority takes great pride in honoring Peter, along with all of our veterans and current members of the armed forces of the United
States of America, on this Memorial Day weekend.”
Congressman Paul Tonko, Assemblyman Jake Ashby, Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin and Troy Mayor Patrick Madden all spoke highly of Guenette and his sacrifice in the Vietnam War, during which the 20-yearold Troy native smothered the blast of an enemy hand grenade with his body in order to protect those around him.
A Medal of Honor recipient, Guenette performed this heroic act 50 years ago
on May 18, 1968.
A half- century later, Guenette’s family and community are doing their best to keep his memory alive.
“Please never forget the 40 men who sacrificed themselves for our country, whose names are written on the Rensselaer County Vietnam Memorial in Troy,” Guenette’s brother Michael said at Sunday’s event, standing next to his sisters Mary and Margaret.
At the ceremony’s closing, Mayor Madden presented Troy public with a challenge as they finish out their long Memorial Day weekend. “This weekend as you gather with family and friends, think of the empty chair at the Guenette family,” he said. “Find a young person, a teenager - tell them about Specialist 4th Class Peter Guenette. Tell them about his sacrifice. Talk to them about values, about real values. They are depending on us to teach them, and this country is depending on us to teach them.”
Right in front of the Peter M. Guenette Apartments, the monument was then unveiled, and a wreath was laid by the Veterans of Lansingburgh Ladies Auxiliary. The monument reads a quote from John 15:13 in the Bible: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”