James McAnulty

Airman provided supplies to airplanes flying into Iraq.

By Natalya Bucuy, Correspondent


It’s Veteran’s Day 2010 and Lt. Colonel James McAnulty of the United State Air Force is looking through two large photo albums dedicated to the three and a half months of his life spent in the Middle East.

In January 1991 McAnulty, then a captain, left his quiet post as a supply officer at the Willow Grove Air Force base and headed to Thumrait Air Base in Oman. There he assisted the airmen who fought in the Persian Gulf War, providing supplies for the airplanes that flew into the battles of Iraq.

McAnulty’s entire unit was activated to leave for what became known as Operation Desert Storm. His duties on the base included overseeing the aircraft supplies and fuel operations. McAnulty recalls serving closely with active duty officers and airmen – working seven 12-hour days a week.

“We were in the fall-back position for the aircrafts,” he said. “Myself and the commanding officer went up to Saudi Arabia to do the fall back requirements in case we needed to get out of there. We did a study and put all that information together.”

McAnulty remembers his time at the base “not much different” from home. While the base was located in the desert, he says, everything else felt as if he never left home.

“People were different when we went into town,” he says. “Omani population is very small and they hire foreigners as their laborers – Indonesian, Pakistani, Chinese. But it wasn’t any different. You go downtown, certain places felt like I never left the States.”

Though his experiences in Oman were as close as he ever got to a hot spot, McAnulty’s military career began long before the war erupted. He joined the armed forces reserves in 1966, a few years after receiving his bachelor’s degree in Marketing from St. Joseph College. He spent two years in the Army reserves, but then switched to the Air Force. He later earned his master’s degree in public administration from Penn State University.

“I always liked the military,” he says. “As a little kid I played with airplanes. I just always liked it.”

Back at his home base in Willow Grove McAnulty maintained the supply chain for the base’s aircraft on the daily basis. Administrative work in various leadership positions took him up the ranks all the way up to lieutenant colonel, which he received in 2000 before retiring in 2001.
McAnulty’s 37-year-long career in the Air Force took him places he would never otherwise have visited. Every year he would leave for training oversees for two weeks.

“I enjoyed the military. It was great for me because of all the travel experiences,” he says. “I met so many different people. I loved it.”

And world travel, which for McAnulty included most of Europe, Hawaii, and much of the continental United States, wasn’t the only perk of serving in the reserves.

“Military teaches you to be organized, meet schedules, do things correctly the first time; otherwise it is life-threatening, if you don’t,” McAnulty says. “It teaches you confidence and leadership skills.”

Out of all he gained and learned, McAnulty names leadership as his favorite part of being in the military.

“Trying to shape these young kids into something that would be beneficial to themselves and to the military and also to see them come up through the ranks with their skills is great,” he says.

Now retired, McAnulty lives with his wife Maggie in Warwick. He is involved with his church, enjoys time at his shore house, and recently was voted to the Commander post of the American Legion Post 119 of Warwick. In his spare time McAnulty builds model railroads in his basement.
“No airplanes though,” he laughs.

Jim McComb

A proud U.S. Marine and Vietnam veteran.

By Bob Staranowicz, Correspondent


“The Marines had comradeship and spirit and I wanted to be a part of that,” is the reason Jim McComb gives for his decision to join the U.S. Marine Corps before he graduated from high school.

“High school was not challenging for me and I guess I was looking for a challenge. The Marines certainly provided that. I was looking for the opportunity to be part of a greater effort – a team,” he adds.

McComb was born in the Frankford section of Philadelphia not far from the Bridge and Pratt streets elevated station. He attended Warren G. Harding Junior High and Frankford High School, both within walking distance from his home.

McComb was the first from his family to join the Marines and he looked forward to the challenge and the opportunity to be part of a team.

“I joined the Marines three months before I graduated from Frankford High on the delayed entry program,” McComb recalls. He was originally leaving for basic training in July of 1969 but since several of his classmates had also joined the Marines and were leaving in June, he called his recruiter and had his entry date changed so that he could be in basic training with them.

Before McComb left home for Vietnam, he told his family that his orders would most likely send him to Mainland Japan or Okinawa. “I did not tell them I was going to Vietnam until I was in Staging Battalion just before going overseas,” he recalls.

McComb went to Vietnam as a radio operator and was assigned to the 1st Marine Air Wing. From April 1962, when Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM)-362 flew into the Mekong Delta to set up operations at the Soc Trang airfield in, through April 1975, when helicopters of HMM-164 evacuated the last Americans from the embassy in Saigon, thousands of Marines served as members of the First Marine Aircraft Wing (First MAW) during the Vietnam War.

“There was not a great need for radio operators, so I began driving in convoys,” said McComb. Convoys were used to resupply a remote communications site just west of Khe Sanh. McComb’s route took him through a nine-mile stretch on Route 9 that was known as Ambush Alley, but by 1971 the threats of ambush were minimal.

“We were always greeted with sniper fire that usually just hit our vehicles and sometimes they would hit one of our guys, but it was never fatal as far as I knew,” McComb remembers.

Unlike many Vietnam veterans, when McComb returned to the states, he was met with no adverse greetings.

“One of the officers told us we should expect a hostile reception at the airport. He suggested we change from our uniforms into civilian clothes. I was proud to be wearing my uniform so I did not change. I encountered no problems at the airport,” he says

“But, when I got to my home it was as if I arrived at a new place. Things were not as I remembered them. None of my old friends were around. I became anxious to get to my next duty station and to a life I knew.”

McComb set many goals for his return to civilian life. There were four major goals agreed upon by him and his buddies, who sadly, did not return. One was to grow a beard; he grew one and still has it. Another goal was to get an education; McComb completed his Doctorate in Business Administration at the age of 49 from Kennedy-Western University and had accomplished what he considered to be the complete educational experience. The third goal was to get married and raise a family. McComb has been married for 31 years to Sophie, whom he says has been the greatest influence on his life. They have one daughter, Erin, who was recently married.

The last goal has been the most difficult to measure or complete. “I now have to focus on the last goal – helping others. I am trying to accomplish this now,” McComb reflects.

Those four goals are very important to McComb for several reasons; the most important is that he and his buddies spent many hours talking about them. Jim returned from Vietnam but they did not. “I think about those goals often. Every time I help someone in some way, it is in honor of those guys.”

McComb is currently a member of American Legion Post 210, the Central Bucks Detachment of the Marine Corps League, Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 210 and the Doylestown Post 175 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars where he is a Past Commander. His is also the District 8 Patriots Pen Chairman, a VFW-sponsored essay writing contest, a member of the Doylestown Lions, and a volunteer with the Toys for Tots program.

McComb believes that “on graduation day, when we were finally called Marines, that was the proudest day of my life and remains so to this day. From that day forward, we were part of a brotherhood that bonds all Marines to mutual helpfulness. When we got out of the Marines that spirit of helpfulness was to extend to all – Marines and non-Marines.”

Herbert Freedman

Korean War vet aided wounded soldiers on hospital trains.

By R. Kurt Osenlund, BucksLocalNews.com


Discussing his service as an Army medical assistant on a hospital train during the Korean War, Newtown resident Herbert Freedman says he had “a very cushy job,” which wasn’t harrowing, but “pleasant.” He knows a great many other veterans can’t say the same, and that many of them endured military experiences that altered their lives forever.

But Freedman also found ways for his service to alter his life, channeling the energy he devoted to his duties overseas into a fruitful, fulfilling career.

Freedman was born on June 18, 1928 to parents Abraham and Clara. Along with his younger sister, June, he grew up in Atlantic City – “a quiet little town, before the gambling and casinos.” He graduated from Atlantic City High School in 1946. He pursued higher education, first attending George Washington University in D.C., then transferring to Temple University, where he studied business administration and earned his diploma in Feb. 1951.

While at Temple, Freedman was selected for the draft; however, the Army allowed him an extension so he could complete his courses. In April, less than two months after graduation, he headed to Fort Dix for 14 weeks of basic training. Freedman remembers it being “pretty rough,” and that his first time firing a rifle “knocked [him] on [his] rear end.”

Following a very short break, Freedman boarded a boat to Germany, told by his superiors that he’d eventually wind up in Korea. Luckily, though, he didn’t, and instead he and many of his peers remained in Germany throughout their tours of duty. Freedman first landed in Bremerhaven in 1951, then moved on to Sonthoven and then to Degendorf.

He eventually ended up in Munich, which he’d call home for the next six months. It was there that Freedman got assigned to the hospital train, ferrying wounded and disabled soldiers to and from hospitals in Germany and beyond. Freedman and those like him were tasked to serve food, wash dishes and tend to the soldiers’ needs, all the while receiving medical training to prepare them for the worst.

In April of 1952, Freedman relocated to Kaiserslautern, where he continued to serve on the hospital trains, this time traveling with patients to and from a facility in Verdun, France.
Freedman stayed in Kaiserslautern until the end of his service, which wrapped up in January of 1953 (he received an early discharge, having served overseas for more than 21 months).

It took three weeks for Freedman to venture home across the English Channel. He finally set down at Camp Kilner in East Orange, N.J., and was formally discharged on Feb. 19, 1953 as a private first class. He dabbled in retail for a bit, taking part in his father’s shoe business and opening a store of his own in Baltimore. Also in Baltimore, he worked for the U.S. Postal Service and even taught Spanish to elementary school students.

But, ultimately, Freedman settled into a counseling career, parlaying his experiences of tending to strangers on trains into advising individuals as part of the Department of Social Services.
A talkative gentleman, Freedman says he enjoyed chatting with people about their concerns. He continued to do similar work with the Social Security Administration, which employed him until he retired in 1997.

Along the way, Freedman met his wife, Marcia, whom he married in August of 1955 and with whom he had two children, Michelle and Neal. Marcia passed away from complications with diabetes in 2001, and these days, Freedman finds comfort in his grandchildren, Margo and Alex, and a new companion, Patricia, whom he met on Match.com.

He enjoys traveling (he’s visited Argentina, Greece, Thailand and Beijing), theater (he sees shows through his synagogue, Shir Ami), serving as a secretary with his Jewish War Veterans chapter and movies.

And what does he think of his military service now?

“It was a good experience,” he says. “I learned a lot.”

David William Jacoby

U.S. Navy Reservist back home after Iraq deployment.

By Jeff Werner, BucksLocalNews.com


On Veterans Day, First Lt. David William Jacoby of the U.S. Naval Reserve will deliver the keynote address during ceremonies at Council Rock North High School in Newtown, Pa. The program begins at 9 a.m.

The Council Rock social studies teacher, who returned home in May after a one-year deployment to Iraq, will share his experiences, talk about the special camaraderie that is shared in the military service and personally thank all veterans for their service.

“I’ll be talking to some enormously impressive people so I’m humbled by that,” said Jacoby. “They’ve all served just like me and some of them have done extraordinary service, putting their lives on the line as a young kid, crawling in holes and getting shot at. It’s amazing the stories that I can’t even compare to,” he said.

Jacoby said veterans like his father, Robert Jacoby, are the reason he joined the military. “I joined so at least I could relate to them, to say, well, I did my duty as an American and hopefully it was enough. I hope it is.”

He also wanted to be part of the fight.

Jacoby, a Churchville native and Council Rock graduate, joined the U.S. Naval Reserves at the age of 35. “It was sort of a whimsical thing. I was driving past the recruiting office and I saw a sign that they were looking for adventurous people.

“I just wanted to do it,” he said, adding that his dad had also served in the Navy as a reservist at Willow Grove.

“He was localized to Korea early on and was on an aircraft carrier for a year. I heard stories about that. Both his brothers were in the service. I grew up in a very military and patriotic family,” he said.

Six months after he joined, terrorists attacked America on Sept. 11, 2001. After 9/11, he said, “suddenly it got serious. We knew that we were now at war and people were going to die. It really separated the men from the boys and solidified who we were.”

Over the next seven years, while teaching at Council Rock South High School, he served weekends, two-week and summer deployments to places like England, Italy and Hawaii. He also completed a six-month deployment in Naples, Italy, and earned a commission as a Navy Ensign.
But Jacoby was restless. “A lot of guys around me were being mobilized and a lot of guys were volunteering. It was time for me to step up,” he said. “I was having a lot of fun but I didn’t join to have fun. I joined to be part of the fight. I joined to be a warrior.”

Jacoby approached his superiors and asked to be put at the top of the list for mobilization. “I told them, ‘If you are about to mobilize a father or a new husband, I want you to replace that person with me.”

In 2009, the Navy Reservist took military leave from the classroom and mobilized to Iraq, this time as a member of the U.S. Army.

He arrived just as the combat mission was ending and troops were transitioning to a support and training role.

While in Iraq he worked at a military compound north of the capital city of Baghdad where he served as a liaison between the ground forces and the officers making the decisions.

“I felt very proud of the job I was doing. I felt very proud of the guys that I was supporting. And I felt an enormous amount of responsibility to get the accurate information to the decision makers on a daily basis,” he said.

The ground forces were charged primarily with training the Iraqis to protect their own people and provide security for the mass population and the new government of Iraq, said Jacoby.

Mortar and rocket attacks were daily occurrences at the compound. “Some of them were serious – they came over the fence and blew up fairly close to where we were. Some of them blew themselves up before they reached the fence line,” he said.

“For the most part, we remained unscathed by the ubiquitous attacks. Some of our comrades were not so fortunate, and during my time there, we did have several memorial ceremonies. Every one was solemn.

“I never saw so many tough guys with tears streaming down their cheeks, completely unashamed of their emotions as they stood like statues, proud to be honoring their fallen comrades, sad for the wives and kids left behind, resolved to fight on bravely and do their job well, do their duty to country, and continue to honor the memory of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

Jacoby said it was at one of the memorial services that he felt closer to his comrades then to anyone else in his life.

“It’s something extraordinary to be with these brave men and women. It’s just amazing,” he said.

As for Iraq’s future, Jacoby said he’s not worried. “We set them up for success,” he said. “The younger generation isn’t interested in the religious fanaticism. I think by the time they are our age it will be a different world in the Middle East.”

Not one to miss a beat, Jacoby is using his experiences in the military and in Iraq to teach his students about the Middle East. “We’ll be talking about not only what happened in Ancient Egypt, but also the struggles the people are going through today.”

The Iraqis, he said, are “truly nice people that care. But I can’t relate to them at all because they just think differently. Their goals are very different in life. We’re a very ambitious society. They are not. We don’t mesh that way, so we have to be careful.”

America, he said, is a very unique society in the world. “We can be very proud of ourselves and I am absolutely convinced that the people to thank are the ones in uniform. They made it happen. They made our society and our world a better place.”