Local man receives Vt.'s highest veterans' honor

RUTLAND | Former Vermont state legislator, teacher, founder of Northwood Park, and U.S. Army veteran Don Chioffi was recently awarded the Vermont Veterans Medal for service to nation and state. Chioffi is a familiar face to viewers of PEG-TV where he appears as a regional public-affairs program host on "Straight Talk". He is currently running for Rutland Town Select Board. Chioffi, a resident of Rutland County, was notified of the honor by Gov. Phil Scott on Veterans Day. He recently displayed the honorable service medal on his Facebook page. A commissioned officer (ROTC at UVM, 63-67) in the Army Security Agency for two years, Chioffi spent half of the time attached to the 4th Infantry Division in Pleiku, Vietnam. According to the West Point Center for Oral History, "From May 18 to 26, 1967, soldiers of 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, fought a series of five battles over a period of nine days in Pleiku province near the Cambodian border. American leadership wanted to fight infiltrating North Vietnamese as close to the Cambodian border as possible to prevent them from gaining a foothold in South Vietnam... During the battles that ensued, at least 369 North Vietnamese were killed, along with 69 Americans (259 were wounded in action)." Of his time in Vietnam, Chioffi said, "We had a highly classified mission to provide information on enemy troop movements, unit size, and equipment capability which ended up saving many U.S. troop lives. It was a very satisfying mission in the midst of a terrible war."

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Local man receives Vt.'s highest veterans' honor

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