Monessen War Veterans Memorial Trust founders honored for their service

Of the original members of the trust, only three veterans remain.

For the MVI

The three surviving members of the Monessen War Veterans Memorial Trust were honored for their service during a presentation this week.

The war veterans memorial trust was created thanks to an idea by Steve Major Sr. and Art Trilli, who then shared it with Westmoreland County Judge Gilfert Mihalich. In May 2011, they took their proposal to the membership of the Thomas McKee American Legion Post 28 and the Allison Lescanac Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1190, both in Monessen.

The first commanders and adjutants responsible for initiating the trust were Gregory Dacko and Wayne Vlasic of American Legion Post 28, and James Pallini and John Cheroki of VFW Post 1190, along with the members of both organizations.

Mihalich and John Billy were instrumental in preparing all the legal aspects of the trust and the by-laws were written with input from all members of both organizations.

Sadly, all but three of the original group are now deceased. The three remaining members, Dacko, Pallini and Vlasic, the magisterial district judge in Monessen, were honored Sunday at the St. Spyridon Hellenic Center. Trust Chairman Ron Chromulak presented them with plaques to recognize them for their service to the trust and to the City of Monessen.

“They are our outstanding veterans,” Chromulak said.

The plaques were donated by an anonymous donor.

Chromulak explained the objectives of the Monessen War Veterans Memorial Trust are to instill patriotism in youth by perpetuating the names and memories of the Monessen War veterans, and to maintain the city’s war memorials.

The city’s veterans organizations were concerned that future maintenance, cleaning and repair would be neglected, so the trust was established for the preservation of the war memorials in the city’s Eastgate section, the Honor Roll, the Sherman tank, numerous memorial plaques located in City Park, the memorial plaque at Memorial Stadium, the Keystone Memorial at 12th Street and the memorial plaque at City Hall.

“Those are the only bona fide war memorials, established by the veterans organizations, all other memorials are either private or belong to other organizations,” Chromulak said.

Anyone wishing to donate to the trust can make out their check to the Monessen War Veterans Memorial Trust, P.O. Box 145, Monessen, PA 15062