SOMEONE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Tour of duty sparks advocacy for veterans
by DAVID F. SHERMAN

Patrick Welch

Fulfilling a dream he had since he was 5 years old, Patrick Welch enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on his 17th birthday. Four days later he was on his way to Parris Island, S.C., for training that would prepare him for a tour of duty in Vietnam.

Welch became a squad leader with the Third Marine Division before he had been "in country" more than six months. Then one day in early 1965, on patrol near Da Nang, he tripped a booby trap and suffered wounds that kept him in a military hospital for two years. He was just 18 years old.

After receiving a medical discharge, the Kenmore native attended Niagara County Community College and earned a degree in accounting from the University of Buffalo. He soon felt the reluctance of potential employers when it came to hiring him.

"No one wanted to hire a Vietnam veteran," Welch said. "We weren't welcomed back. But Service Systems gave me a chance, and I worked there for seven years. The personnel director was an Army guy."

He later took a job with a Florida firm, working for a resort in the Bahamas, then returned to the Buffalo area to be director of administrative operations with Turgeon Brothers Restaurants. In 1985, he helped found Adaco Services, a Clarence firm that markets software to restaurants and hotels in 53 countries. Welch is currently vice president of operations.

Yet his military experience remained a distant part of his past. Like many Vietnam veterans, he did not feel he fit in with traditional organizations for those who had served in the military. Then in 1989, he met some comrades who told him about a new group, the Vietnam Veterans of America.

"I got involved and found my way into it," he said. "I've been a member of the local chapter for 17 years."

He has been president of Chapter 77, serving Western New York, a total of six years. Welch is also a member of the public affairs committee and vice chairman of the government affairs committee for the national organization. In July, he will be seeking election to the national board of directors.

Vietnam Veterans of America is the only national veterans group that focused initially on the problems and needs of Vietnam era veterans and their families. Its programs have now expanded to encompass all veterans.

Welch has also become involved in the Small Business Development Center at Buffalo State College and the Women's Business Center at Canisius College.

Welch's current passion, however, may have the most lasting impact of all.

He and fellow members of Chapter 77 are lobbying for a National Veterans Cemetery in Western New York. He said the Veterans Administration promotes having such a cemetery within 75 miles of any major veterans population center.

"We have the fourth largest veterans population in the state," he said. "The closest National Veterans Cemetery to Buffalo is 115 miles away, in Bath, N.Y."

Burial in such a site is merely an option for American veterans, not a requirement. Yet with an estimated 1,100 World War II and Korean War veterans passing away each day, the demand may become as strong as the honor itself.

"I just buried three friends, and each one had to go to Bath," he added.

Chapter 77 members don't have to go searching for a location to develop. Officials of Mount Calvary Cemetery in Cheektowaga have pledged to provide a site on their grounds at Harlem and Genesee that would hold 20,000 plots. Welch said it could be ready for use "virtually tomorrow."

All that is needed for the official designation is action in Albany. State Assemblyman Jim Hayes has already introduced such a bill, with State Sen. Dale Volker expected to do the same shortly. Welch made a presentation to the entire Western New York delegation in Albany on March 2.

"I brought them petitions signed by more than 5,200 people during the past few months," he said.

The New York State Cemetery Commission favors Alabama, N.Y., or the Cheektowaga site for such a cemetery, but the former location would take about five years to develop, Welch added.

Welch and his wife, Carol, have four children and four grandchildren.

Visit www.vva77.org for additional information.

(To suggest someone to be featured in this column, contact Managing Editor David F. Sherman at 204-4905, by e-mail at dsherman@beenews.com or by mail at Bee Group Newspapers, P.O. Box 150, Buffalo, NY 14231-0150.)