In this Nashua Telegraph photo by staff journalist Don Himsel, Army veteran Albert Coffey of Legion Post 3, salutes as the American flag is posted at the beginning of Thursday's memorial dedication on Deschenes Oval in Nashua.
A brick walkway, which contains 2,500 veterans names was dedicated along with a Sept. 11 memorial during a visit by guest speaker, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi.
Also in attendance was a white haired veteran with a hearing aid in his ear and a Bronze Star medal pinned to his jacket.
"The boys were being slaughtered," said Spiro Linatsas as he waited Thursday for the ceremony to get under way.
The medal is for the valor Linatsas showed as a staff sergeant with an Army unit fighting to oust Japanese soldiers from the Pacific island of Okinawa.
The radio specialist had to get to high ground to communicate with the general offshore on a ship. Getting to the hill meant scurrying behind enemy lines. He did it not once, but three times. He save a lot of lives.
