celebrate | wellington
Sergeant-at-Arms John Isola, 1st Vice Commander James Napuli, Adjutant/ PR Officer John Shwiner, 2nd Vice Commander Laurence Williams, Historian Mike Pancia, Immediate Past Commander Bill Bartels and Post Commander Jay Froehlich.
SERVING WELLINGTON’S VETERAN COMMUNITY Wellington’s American Legion Post 390 Provides Social Outlet And Crucial Services For Veterans STORY BY DEBORAH WELKY | PHOTOS BY DENISE FLEISCHMAN
Wellington is a community that is home to many veterans, and one of the primary organizations providing services and representation for those veterans is Wellington’s American Legion Post 390. When American troops returned home from World War I, the U.S. Congress chartered a new organization, the American Legion, to be made up of and serve veterans who fought overseas in the Great War. Since then, successive
waves of veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have found camaraderie and support through their local American Legion posts. Wellington Post 390 was founded in 2008 by a handful of local veterans, including David Knapp,Tom Wenham, Brian Munsterteiger, David Benedict Schaffer, Peter Granata, Allen Ziker, James Napuli,Thomas Diocson,Thomas Clapp,
Dorothy Mitchell, Justin Marcoux, Jeffrey Rhody, Dr. Carmine A. Priore, David Vazquez Sr., William Bischoff and Jamia Webb. David Knapp served as the post’s first commander, followed by former Wellington Mayor Tom Wenham. A long line of local veteran leaders has worked hard to keep the post going and growing since that time. The post’s current commander is Jay Froehlich, who took over in July 2021. wellington the magazine | november 2021
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