2024 Veteran of the Year

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"I am honored to be with you today to present Tony Oddo, Army veteran,

and our East Haven Veteran of the Year.

Tony served with distinction in the Cold War Era. Hmmm…. what is that you

say? Following World War II we entered an era of international post-war

tension, Red Scare, and espionage and fear mongering. Some was relatable

to the frightening power of atomic weaponry.

Tony, a new recruit, was found to excel in languages. Greek, Italian, Russian,

German, Latin to name a few.

It is easy to picture a service member in combat, but take a moment to

picture Tony in Germany, monitoring the Berlin Wall separating East and

West Germany. Until, the wall came down in 1989 after President Reagan’s

famous challenge to Soviet Premier Gorbachev to “tear down this wall”. For

historians, the Cold War officially ended in 1991.

Tony has taken his military experience in languages, diplomacy, and

international relations, along with his GI Bill to develop an academic career

in language and library science at Yale, Albertus Magnus College, and

Southern Connecticut State University.

He has additionally served with distinction for several years as Adjutant to

the Commander, Harry R Bartlett American Legion Post 89, and is a member

of East Haven’s Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 484, having also

served during the Vietnam Era.

For our young people present today, I invite you to hear from Tony, about

how his military experience shaped his life and career."

- Wendy Bellmore - Chaplin - American Legion Post 89