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Veterans share memories of service, get ready for St. Bernard parade

Army veterans Hilton Preau and Tony Calabresi are getting ready for the Veterans Day parade Monday in St. Bernard Parish.

ST. BERNARD PARISH, La. — As we approach Veterans Day on Monday, we take time to thank the men and women who have served in our Armed Forces.

Here we bring you the reflections of two men, whose service in different wars, is bound by the invisible string of the front lines.

Army veterans Hilton Preau and Tony Calabresi are getting ready for the Veterans Day parade Monday in St. Bernard Parish. Hilton served in Cambodia and Vietnam and says it's like the welcome home he and his fellow soldiers never got.

“And they're just coming out," said Hilton Preau, 75. " They're just feeling that pride, and when they see all these people lined up on the side of the thing, waving the flags, and everything, it means a lot.” 

The welcome home for World War II veteran Mr. Tony was different. It was a celebration, and still is to this day. 

“I got a letter from the navy commander thanking me for being in the army transport," said Calabresi. "And he said we saved the country,” he said, as tears came from his eyes. “I'm just proud, very proud.” 

Mr. Tony loves hanging out with the Vietnam Veterans of American chapter in St. Bernard. They recently put up a memorial near the parish government complex.

“You lived with them 24 hours a day in Vietnam. You slept side by side on the ground with these people. It's just a brotherhood you'll never forget,” said Preau.

Some of those brothers are still paying the price.

“We have several members who just passed from Agent Orange illnesses. So, the families are touched, not just the veterans,” said Preau.

We asked Mr. Tony if we could show a picture of him in uniform or any memorabilia that he had from WWII, and he said no because he lost every bit of it in Hurricane Katrina.

“I rebuilt the same house four times. It cost me over $500,000 to rebuild the same house. I only paid $12,000 for it,” Calabresi said.

Hilton remembers the Vietnam memories washed away in a photo album.

“It was probably two years before I could actually throw it away. I could just look at the binder, but there were no pictures left,” Preau regrets.

Both men want young people and children to come out to the parade, to understand the cost of their freedom.

“I'm concerned about all what the boys went through. Some of them went through stuff nobody could handle,” Calabresi remembers.

The St. Bernard Vietnam Veterans chapter also helps parish veterans make sure they are getting all the benefits that are due to them, as well as any help getting appointments with the VA hospital. 

Call St. Bernard Parish at 504-278-4200 and ask for the Veterans Affairs office.

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