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    Saturday, May 11, 2024

    Three servicemen to receive Quilts of Valor on Saturday in Norwich

    Norwich — Two Connecticut veterans and one current serviceman will be honored at 11 a.m. Saturday during the 86th annual Meetinghouse Rocks Fair at the First Congregational Church at the Norwichtown Green.

    Each will be awarded a Quilt of Valor from the Quilt of Valor Foundation, which presents quilts to service members and veterans “touched by war” to provide comfort and healing.

    The First Congregational Church recommended Santo James Zito Jr. of Norwich, who served in the U.S. Navy with four years of active duty and two years of reserve service. He was honorably discharged in 1964 and retired from Pfizer after 30 years.

    Franklin Laundria of East Hartford served in the U.S. Army from 1965 to 1967. He fought in Cu Chi, Vietnam, from March 1966 to February 1967 and retired as a combat veteran with the rank of Army specialist.

    The third serviceman is Lt. Col. Jeffrey LaPierre of Prospect, who has served for 26 years in the Connecticut National Guard. LaPierre has had two overseas deployments, to Kuwait/Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2008-09, and Kosovo in support of NATO Peacekeeping mission, Operation Joint Guardian, in 2015-16. He currently is a state Army aviation officer and state safety officer in the Connecticut National Guard.

    Admission to the Meetinghouse Rocks Fair is free and open to the public.

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