Ernie Pitts

By Peter Ciferri, BucksLocalNews.com

Ernie Pitts didn't spend too many years in the service, but the time he spent in the Army and later in the Reserves taught him the lessons of public service and commitment to family that would last a lifetime.

The youngest member of his family, Ernie saw his five brothers enter the service during World War II. And when three more guys from his neighborhood joined, he started to get a little jealous. Still in his early teens, he was deemed too young even for a military that made a lot of exceptions.

But in June 1946, he got his chance. The 17-year-old boy from Brooklyn, N.Y. was accepted into the service - with permission from his mother, of course.

"I think she wanted that star to put in her window," he joked, reflecting on a mother who saw all her sons join the military.

Signing up for three years, Pitts was put on a boat to Korea on occupational duty.

"It took a whole month to get over there on a troop ship, and I think I was sick every day," he remembered. "There's this stench of oil that comes from the bowels of the ship; it's always there."

Remembering he was so sick that he couldn't eat most days, Pitts said it was a good thing they didn't let him into the Navy (his first choice).

While there were a few minor skirmishes here and there, Ernie said the signs of the Korean War that lay just four years ahead were virtually non-existent.

Rather, as a supply sergeant, most of his time was spent in a giant warehouse full of ammo, Jeeps and uniforms, keeping all the other soldiers' supplies up to par.

Because Pitts's commitment to the Army was only three years, he was already in the Reserves by the time the Korean War started.

"That was the lucky part," he explained. "They didn't call me [to active duty] maybe because I had already done three years in the Army."

After leaving the Reserves in 1952, Pitts joked that he must have worked a dozen jobs before finding his place. "I worked in an ice factory and a bakery," he explained. "But the problem with that is I worked in the ice factory in the winter and the bakery in the summer."

But in 1955, the boy from Brooklyn put on his blue uniform - not Dodger blue, but the shirt and hat of a New York Police Department officer.

Ernie said he was kept fresh by changing precincts often as an officer, later working in the clerical office, and then going back on the street toward the end of his run. He even spent some time working with emergency services at New York Harbor, where he still thinks fondly of the times he rode in a patrol boat on the Hudson, cruised the streets on horseback or "buzzed" his house - wife Marilyn inside - while flying in a helicopter.

"It was very interesting, that was the best part of my duty there," he explained. "Some men stay in one precinct their entire time, I needed a change."

New York City, too, changed a lot during Pitts' 22 years on the force. In the late 1960s, he recalled being trapped in the 112 precinct on Queens Boulevard, preparing to respond to threats that members of the Black Panthers movement were planning an attack on the station.

"That was close to a major disruption," he explained. "We were on the verge of riots all the time."

And as New York continued to change, Ernie knew it was time for him to change, too. In 1977, he retired from the police force and began dedicating the rest of his life to his family.

He took up a job at the St. Johns University bookstore so his two sons could get free tuition to the school. It paid off, one has a doctorate and works as a chemist for Bristol Myers Squibb and the other is a pilot for UPS.

In the late 1980s, he and Marilyn - grade school sweethearts now married for 56 years - were looking to get away from New York. So, they packed up and moved to a 13-acre plot of land in rural West Virginia.

"I think that was the best idea we ever had," he said, explaining that mowing the land kept him in shape and vibrant landscapes and wildlife kept him and his wife in a good disposition.

In 1998, Pitts moved to Newtown and a few years later "accidentally found" Morrell Smith Post No. 440 in Newtown.

Today, he splits his time between sharing stories with "a great bunch of guys" at the Legion and staying active at the gym with his best friend and wife - not bad for a neighborhood kid from Brooklyn.

Charlotte Landreth-Melville

By Tim Chicirda, BucksLocalNews.com

One of the unique aspects of all those profiled in the "Saluting our Veterans" series is the extensive resume that they all have when it comes to world travel. And, no one is more accomplished in that category than Charlotte Landreth-Melville, a resident of Radcliffe Street in Bristol Borough, though she is not often home.

Charlotte also holds another distinction, as being only the second woman profiled in this weekly piece. Nobody deserves it more that Charlotte, as she is self-described as one of the "most senior women Marines."

Landreth-Melville served as a U.S. Marine in the volatile time between Dec. 1943 and November 1945. She was stationed at Camp Lejeune, near Jacksonville, NC. Here, Charlotte, work in the Engineer Quartermaster's Office in the heavy equipment section.

Charlotte continues to be a member of the Women Marines Association (WMA). The WMA, established in Denver, CO, in 1960, is a civilian non-profit veterans organization of American women who answered their country's call to serve, evolving but always retaining their proud traditions of honor, courage and commitment.

When Charlotte left the military, her active lifestyle did not diminish. In fact, it can be argued that Landreth-Melville became even more active. A fast-paced octogenarian, Charlotte still travels the globe today. A frequent contributor to the Bristol Pilot newspaper, Landreth-Melville thoroughly chronicled her travels through Asia in recent years.

Charlotte's lifetime travels do not end there by any means. The Bristol native has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the largest peak on the entire continent of Africa. The former Marine has also trekked across the Sahara Desert, the world's largest hot desert, also located in Africa.

Charlotte has bicycled through Europe and lived on a houseboat in India, and most of these trips were done in the active senior's free time. With that being said, Charlotte's largest passion remains spreading word about the WMA, attending their conventions every two years, former new friendships and keeping old ones alive.

Landreth-Melville's employment resume is just as thorough as her traveling accomplishments.
Charlotte in her life has worked for Kaiser Metal Products and Keystone Lighting Corporation for many years. She was even an entrepreneur for a good portion of her life, when she and former neighbor Ann Prairie operated a business called Rent-A-Governess.

Rent-A-Governess was an initiative that offered care service for children, senior citizens or any other family members. The business was mildly successful. Landreth-Melville also found enough time over the course of her life to create another business venture. She hosted private singles dinners. This idea did not prove to be as profitable.

"Well I get tired sometimes," said the highly-active resident, who still manages to walk three miles every day. "I take a nap when I get around to it."

Charlotte was married for 26 years to aircraft engineer Bob Melville. Together, Bob and Charlotte had two children: Truman High School grad and current Chinese resident, Ann; and Linda. Charlotte also has two grandsons, Eli and Isaac.

Charlotte has three siblings from parents Florence and David V: Meta, Emily and David VI, who died suddenly at the age of 13. Landreth-Melville clearly comes from the Landreth family, which runs one of the longest-operated corporations in the nation. The D. Landreth Seed Company is the fifth oldest corporation in America, founded in 1784. The company's claim to fame is the fact that the company sold seed to every American president from George Washington to FDR.

Charlotte says that she does not drink coffee or tea because "my kids tell me I'm hyper enough," and this hyperactivity is what makes her continue to live her continued active lifestyle. Charlotte says that she "loves adventure" and feels "more alive when she is traveling." This trend looks to continue for years to come.

Correspondent Cate Murway contributed to this article.

Francis W. O'Donnell

By R. Kurt Osenlund, BucksLocalNews.com

It's common to see Army vet Frank O'Donnell attending meetings as a member of the Northampton Township Veterans Committee. Or doing personnel work as an adjutant for American Legion Post 79, of which he was formerly post commander for two years. Or volunteering at St. Bede's church in Holland. Or playing father to his four children and grandfather to his 10 grandchildren, nearly all of whom live in the Bucks County area. What one isn't likely to find this spry 65-year-old doing is sitting down. However, he did take a moment to sit and reflect on his time served in the military which, albeit brief, taught him how to be an effective team player, a skill he's continued to augment throughout his life.

"I learned a lot about leadership in the service," says O'Donnell, who lives in Holland with Cathy, his wife of 43 years. "You're given responsibilities, like looking after and taking care of the men in your command. The military taught me a lot about the chain of command; not only the people below you, but above you as well. You learn how to deal with people - even the ones you may not like."

O'Donnell was born to parents Frank and Rita in Port Richmond, Philadelphia in 1943, but he grew up in Mayfair. The eldest of four children, he's big brother to Michael and future fellow soldiers Bob and Barbara. He attended high school at Philadelphia's St. Joseph's Prep before moving on to college at La Salle University in 1961. It was at La Salle that O'Donnell became involved with the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), which, back then, was mandatory for all college sophomores. He opted to continue with the program through his junior and senior years, immersing himself in rigorous training sessions and emerging from his higher education as a Second Lieutenant, a title that came with some strings attached.

"If you were in the ROTC program in your senior year, you were automatically committed to two years of military service and at least six years in the Reserves," says O'Donnell. "It was an eight-year contract."

With the basic training under his belt, O'Donnell was commissioned for the Army in 1965, the year he graduated from La Salle. He was given about five months off and then reported to Fort Bliss, Texas, for officer's training and air defense systems classes - his first true taste of leadership education. Along for the ride was new wife Cathy, who was pregnant with twins at the time. The babies, Tim and Kate, were born not far from the base in a hospital that, luckily, specialized in obstetrics and pediatrics. Since Cathy couldn't travel, the momentous occasion delayed O'Donnell's scheduled deployment to Germany by two months. Courtesy of the USNS Patch, a WWII-era transport ship, he and the family arrived in Bremerhaven on June 20, 1966 and then headed to Ansbach, a Bavarian town about 25 miles west of Nuremberg.

O'Donnell was assigned to a missile unit that was responsible for guarding a portion of the Czech border. The unit grew increasingly smaller as the escalation of the Vietnam War called on more and more soldiers. Eventually, it would usually be just O'Donnell and a captain at the post, where he spent up to 100 hours per week and often slept. Still, it was better than the alternative.


"By that time, the buildup of Vietnam was dramatic," says O'Donnell. "A lot of my friends were going over there. But I just didn't get that assignment - I won that lottery."

In the winter of 1967, O'Donnell was back in the U.S., assigned to a now-defunct NIKE-Hercules nuclear missile site near Philadelphia as part of the 3rd Batallion - 43rd Artillery (a similar site was once located at what is now Northampton Township's Civic Center). He left active duty the following November, but remained in the Army Reserves for another 20 years. In 1974, while he, Cathy, Tim, Kate and two more children, Maureen and Patricia, were back living in Mayfair, he obtained a job with the City of Philadelphia as Deputy Personnel Director. He spent his nights earning a master's degree in public administration at Temple University (he got in 1979). All the while, he remained active in the Reserves, attending conferences and the like as a member of a civil affairs unit, but he was never called to battle.

"You're kind of in a gray zone," O'Donnell says of the Reserves. "You're not really working for them anymore but you're not retired either. But the Reserves is more than just meetings. People have the idea that it's a weekend a month and a few weekends a summer - it doesn't work that way. In a given year, I'd have up to 100 days of duty."

O'Donnell is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College and the National Defense University - schooled in logistics and emergency training. His directorial position with the City of Philadelphia changed to Deputy Health Commissioner and he retired as such in 1998. He's spent time with Philadelphia's SPCA, overseeing the sheltering of stray cats, dogs - even horses. One of his final assignments with the Reserves was ensuring that military academies were providing optimum training for Reserve soldiers. O'Donnell says that in all of his endeavors and accomplishments, he put to use the leadership lessons and interpersonal skills he learned from his time served, which was short overseas but lengthy at home. He officially retired from the Reserves in 2003 at 60, the earliest age at which a Reserve soldier can do so. By then, he and Cathy had been living in Holland for about five years.

These days, O'Donnell doesn't travel much, but he's still on the move, hopping back and forth to various community and family engagements. He says he also enjoys reading, perhaps his only activity that requires a seat.