WEST HARTFORD – This year marks 70 years since the end of World War II and 40 years since the end of the war in Vietnam. Jewish military veterans will be honored at the Chai Society of Beth El Temple’s annual Veterans Day Celebration on Friday evening, Nov. 6.

Keynote speaker Rick Kinyon, a Beth El member, is a Vietnam veteran who served in Phu Bai (Camp Eagle) with the 101st Airborne Headquarters as a G2 Intelligence Analyst from 1969 to 1970. He was then assigned to Fort Knox, Ky. as a Specialist 5 with an Intelligence Detachment for the U.S. Army Armor Center. After seven months, he received orders to return to Vietnam and was assigned to Military Assistance Command, Vietnam with an Intelligence Detachment in DaNang from May 1971 to September 1971. He was then curtailed as part of Pres. Richard Nixon’s downsizing of U.S. forces in Vietnam.

Kinyon’s decorations include the Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Unit Citation for the 101st Airborne’s 1970 Campaign, and Vietnamese Staff Service Medal.

A resident of Avon, Kinyon retired last year from Horizon Health, where he was a senior account executive.

“I chose to participate [in the Veterans Day program] to remind our Beth El community about the Vietnam experience, as well as to provide just a modest review of what initial military training entails,” Kinyon says. “I have found that most Americans seldom ask what is actually done in basic training and what core teachings are part of the army experience. I am hoping the talk will [inspire] some individuals to ask me questions privately regarding the larger questions regarding the historical, moral, and political issues the war generated.”

Beth El Temple Veterans Day Celebration: Friday, Nov. 6, 7:30 pm, Beth El Temple, 2626 Albany Ave., West Hartford | All veterans and their families are welcome. To participate in the roll-call, contact Marcia Slotnick: (860) 236-2630. Info: bethelwesthartford.org / (860) 233-9696.

CAP: Rick Kinyon