Veterans Share Memories at Adult Day Center

Maurice Cortinovis remembers meeting a beautiful woman while serving in Germany. He asked her to return to the states with him and marry him. She told him all American men were gangsters, and she wouldn’t marry one.

He laughs as he says, “She did give me her picture, though, and I carried it around for a long time.”

Three veterans who attend the Community Nurses’ Adult Day Center sat around the table and recounted stories of their days in the service. Maurice served in the Army and was stationed in Germany during World War II. Chuck Patterson is a Korean War vet, and also served in Germany for the U.S. Army. A Vietnam vet, Bill Weisner served in Army Transportation.

Chuck laughs at the joy rides he took while serving his country. He hauled gas for mechanics, and having all that gas gave him the ability to drive around and see the sights.

“At night, we’d play football,” remembers Chuck. He says his commanding officer knew about all his shenanigans, but didn’t mind. “We got our work done, too.”

Maurice, who had been trained for office work, was in charge of keeping service records.

“If the boys tried to do anything they shouldn’t, I’d put it in their records. They were so afraid their mothers would find out they were acting up, that they stopped right away.”

He also remembered how he and some of the other soldiers would march around the barracks each night on protection detail. He explains they carried their guns on their shoulder, but no one knew they had no shells.

Bill served a one-year tour of duty in Vietnam, and shares this funny story. One night he was traveling on a road where he wasn’t allowed. The MPs caught him and threw him in the stockade for the night.

Bill shifts gears and says, “You can’t imagine what happened out there.”

He tells of a time when his unit was stopped by a higher-ranking officer. The man told Bill and his comrades to turn around and head back the other way, even though Bill had been told never to travel there after 5 p.m. when tactical maneuvers started. They were fired upon. Bill was injured, but others were killed.

On Veterans’ Day, Community Nurses, Inc. and the staff of the Adult Day Center would like to take the opportunity to honor and thank veterans everywhere for their service to our country.

CNI is an affiliate of Penn Highlands Elk and is a home care agency providing home health, hospice, private duty/home support services, and adult day care to the residents of Cameron, Elk and McKean Counties, and parts of Clearfield, Jefferson and Potter Counties.