Saratoga County Deceased Veteran Ceremony honors Corinth native

BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. — Since August of 1999 Saratoga County has hosted a monthly Deceased Veteran Ceremony in which on a rotating basis one of the municipalities from within the county will identify a veteran they wish to honor.

To date, more than 300 Saratoga County Veterans have been honored.

For April, Corinth selected Donald C. Monica as a way to honor a US Army Veteran who served from 1965 to 1968 and died on Feb. 9, 2021.

Monica was born in 1945 in Malone and graduated from Corinth High School in 1963. In 1965 he entered the Army and was first ordered to Fort Dix, NJ for basic training before being trained as an Engineer Equipment Repairman at the US Army Engineering Center at Fort Belvoir, VA.

Later Monica was ordered to Vietnam in April 1966, where he was assigned to the “B” (Bravo) Company, 84th Engineer Battalion. This unit was responsible for the construction of major bases, depot facilities, warehouses and airfields. After completing his tour of duty in Vietnam, Monica returned to the US and completed his service at Fort Belvoir where he assisted in the training of incoming soldiers.

On Sept. 27, 1968, Monica was honorably discharged at the rank of Sergeant and received the Good Conduct Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and the National Defense and Service Medal for his service. Monica returned to his wife Susan, whom he married on leave in 1967, and together they had three sons Andrew, Timothy and Scott.

Upon his return home, Monica worked for the Corinth Central School and was head mechanic on its school bus fleet until his retirement. Along with this, as a fourth-generation maple sugar producer, Monica owned and operated Maple Valley Farm in Hadley and eventually passed this tradition down to his sons Tim and Scott as well as his granddaughter Abby.

Monica was also involved in Horace D. Washburn American Legion Post 533, the Knights of Columbus where he acted as a BINGO caller, a Boy Scout Leader, a member of the Grange, a Fire Commissioner of the Hadley-Luzerne Fire Department, a founding member of the Maple Producers Association, and a board member of the Saratoga County Soil and Water District.

Many members of Monica’s family, as well as from the community came out to the ceremony to hear local leaders share their thanks for his service and honor the deceased Veteran. Director at Saratoga County Veterans Service Agency Frank McClement shared a biography of Monica and touched on his service in Vietnam and the impact that knowledge must have had on those he trained when he returned home.

“While one year in Vietnam doesn’t seem like a long time, in Vietnam it’s a lifetime and I’m sure Don’s experience allowed him to pass on knowledge that you can’t get from a book to the incoming soldiers who would replace him and so many others in Vietnam,” McClement said. “You have to think about that and the experience that Don had, and being able to pass that on and how many lives he may have saved by sharing what he knew.”

Another individual who spoke was Corinth Town Supervisor Eric Butler who talked about Monica’s involvement, but also who he was as a person. From his dedication to how pleasant he was to interact with, Butler spoke about what an asset and light Monica was in the community.

“What I really remember about Don is that every conversation I ever had with Don, he just made it easy to talk to him,” Butler said. “He was just a great guy, not a guy that stood up and wanted a lot of attention, but every time you engaged with Don he always seemed to have a little smile on his face when he explained anything to you and talked to you. It just made it comforting to have a conversation with him.”

At the Ceremony Monica was honored with several accolades which were presented to his family including a plaque from the town of Corinth, a Saratoga County Vietnam Service Medal, a Saratoga County Vietnam Challenge Coin and a Saratoga County Board of Supervisors proclamation. Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Veterans committee chairman and Supervisor from the Town Of Saratoga Ian Murray also presented a citation on behalf of the United States and President Joe Biden.

Assemblyman Matthew Simpson (R,C-Horicon), state Sen. James Tedisco (R,C-Ballston Lake) and U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-Amsterdam) also sent representatives in their steed who also spoke and presented the family with a citation from the NYS Assembly, New York State Senate Liberty Medal and two NYS Senate citations as well as a flag that was flown over the nation’s capital which was to be raised on a flag pole outside the Saratoga County Offices in a flag raising ceremony.

Monica’s wife Susan shared how cool she found the ceremony, and how she was not aware of any of the things her husband did during his service and was very appreciative of all the research that was done to put on such a special ceremony.

“These ceremonies are so special because they tell the county what these soldiers did,” Susan Monica shared. “I was counting how many soldiers were here, and there were a lot of them because they know people couldn’t write home and just tell anybody what they were doing or where they were doing it — but now because of these ceremonies you know.

“You know many people have died there, but then soldiers died here too and we get to hear their stories.”

The deceased veteran ceremonies happen once a month at the Saratoga County Government Buildings at 40 McMaster St. in Ballston Spa.