DUPONT — Dupont resident Bernie McDonald will be the principal speaker at the annual Dupont Memorial Day Parade.
American Veterans (AMVETS) Department of Pennsylvania named McDonald the 2015-16 state commander last June.
McDonald was born June 28, 1962 in Scranton. He attended Pittston Area High School and later served in the United States Army from 1980-86. McDonald was a combat engineer, having trained at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. He became a paratrooper at Fort Benning, Georgia, and then was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He became an armorer and NBC (Nuclear, Biological, & Chemical) specialist in his unit.
McDonald was then sent to Hanau, Germany; Seoul, Korea; and the Panama Canal. He received an Army Accommodation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Ribbon Army Service Ribbon, Presidential Citation, Expert Marksmanship Badge, Expert Grenade, Wheel Vehicle Driver Badge, Recondo Badge, and Airborne Wings.
McDonald served the Greater Pittston AMVETS Post 189 as commander for six years. He was the Eastern Region Commander for two terms.
He is a full-time employee of Raymour & Flanigan Furniture and has been married to his wife, Patty, for 33 years. The couple lives in Dupont and has three sons.
