Yard Veteran is committed to honoring and serving vets in our hometown. This month, we showed our gratitude to Paul Pickering by taking him to lunch and helping him downsize for a move.
Here’s how Mr. Pickering described his service:
After graduating from college, I realized that I had a military obligation to fulfill; as did many others at the time. After considering my options, I decided on becoming a citizen-soldier and joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 1960 as a member of the 333rd Engineer Company (Pipeline) located in Northeast Philadelphia.
Following six months of initial training at Fort Knox, KY, I returned home only to be recalled to active duty–along with 155,000 of the reservists–by President Kennedy as a result of the Berlin Crisis and the erection of the infamous Berlin Wall. This event resulted in activating our unit which was then ordered to Fort Bragg, NC, for the duration of the crisis. Two-week summer training was scheduled annually at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, for our company. I received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army on Jan 31, 1966.