By Phil Corso
In recognition of Memorial Day, state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) invited four decorated veterans into his northeast Queens district office with resolutions in hand to honor them for their service.
The senator sits on the Senate Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs Committee and said he holds a similar ceremony twice a year, at 38-50 Bell Blvd., on Memorial and Veterans days to commemorate the heros who live within his district.
This year he welcomed Yeong Bae Choi, Mu Hwan Kim, Kwang Nam Lee and Joseph Panzardi from Flushing, Whitestone and Queens Village to thank them for their service overseas.
He also paid tribute to Loretta Weiss by inducting her into the Senate’s Veterans Hall of Fame.
The vets were joined by family members, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Vietnam Veterans of America members and friends to pay tribute to their service.
Choi, also president of the Korean Marine Corps Veterans Association of Eastern USA, served as a sergeant in the Republic of Korea Marine Corps from 1975-78. After arriving in the United States in 1980, the Flushing man started his own beauty supply business.
In 2005, the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations commemorated Choi with the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, an award given to Americans of all ethnic backgrounds who have made significant contributions to society.
Kim, a Flushing resident and president of the Vietnam War Veterans Association of New York, enrolled in the Republic of Korea Army in 1965 and served alongside U.S. armed forces in the Vietnam War. He spent more than 36 months on wartime duty before retiring as a sergeant in the Republic of Korea Army.
After graduating from college, Flushing resident Lee also joined the Republic of Korea Marine Corps’s Officer Candidate School and later attended the Marine Military English School and the Army Military Intelligence School. He was deployed as a captain to serve in the Vietnam War in 1968 in the ROK Blue Dragon Brigade, one of the three main units deployed at the time.
By 1984, he had immigrated to the United States and served as president of the Korean Veteran Association in 1994. He also served as major of the New York National Guard from 2002-10.
Queens Village native Panzardi joined the military in 1967 and served overseas in both Vietnam and Bad Kissengen, Germany. He received an honorable discharge in August 1973 and was eventually awarded the Air Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Vietnam Service and Campaign medals, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, Presidential Unit Citation and National Defense Medal.
He is first vice commander of Edward McKee American Legion Post 131 and quartermaster of Whitestone Community VFW Post 4787. He also serves as a life member of Queens Chapter 32 VVA.
Weiss, another member of Whitestone VFW Post 4787, served in the U.S. Army from 1942-45 during World War II and went back to serve in the Korean and Vietnam wars. She was discharged in February 1975 as a supply sergeant and received the World War II Victory, Army Occupation, National Defense Service and Good Conduct medals, among other awards.
Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
