By Pat Schmidt
For well over 100 years the American Legion has been about helping people and various organizations for anything ranging to sponsorship for the local Legion baseball team to individuals and families in need.
It is especially gratifying when Legion members can assist one of its fellow veterans. Such was the case with a Third Street South resident who was in need of a wheelchair ramp to give him better access to his front door.
Ron Neussendorfer, a Vietnam era Marine Corp Veteran received word recently that a neighborly woman named Sharon Marcotte noticed that Neussendorfer was in need of a wheelchair ramp. She contacted Legion Post 455 in Cold Spring to see if they could come to his aid; they did, and materials and labor were supplied cost-free.
“I enlisted in the Marine Corps in May of 1969 and received a draft notice while I was in boot camp in San Diego for a four year hitch,” said Neussendorfer. His 3516 MOS was as a truck driver, but he specialized in the operation of a M60 (“The Pig”) machine gun. While most Marines at that time were being shipped off to Vietnam, the bulk of his tour of duty was spent stateside and in Hawaii.
“I am very thankful for what Sharon and the Legion did for me. The ramp lets me get outside for fresh air,” noted Neussendorfer.
