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20 | THE COLONY NEWS | DECEMBER 2020 | Again this year and as a community service, the Rotary Club of Murrieta in partnership with the City of Murrieta presented its Field of Honor event in Town Square Park from Nov. 7 to 14. As has been a tradition, the Rotary Club honored four special heroes during its Field of Honor, which this year took place under pandemic conditions. The special events normally held during the Veteran's Day week did not occur, nor did the city's annual Veterans Day parade. The heroes nominated by friends and family and selected by the Rotary Club this year included a community volunteer and three veterans whose service ranged from World War II, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan. Each received a special medallion and flag on the Field. The three veterans honored were: Sergeant William Galbraith, U.S. Army 1942-1947 Bill enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and volunteered to join the airborne. Four months later, he was parachute certified and earned his jump wings with the rest of 3rd battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. After intense weapon training, military tactics and maneuvers, the regiment was attached to the 101st Airborne Division and moved to England for more training. Bill was one of the last group of paratroopers to land in France before the troops landed on the beaches of Normandy for the D-Day invasion. His war ended when he was seriously wounded while involved in Operation Market Garden. Bill was honorably discharged on June 18, 1947. First Sergeant Kenneth J. Lepore, United States Army Reserve (Ret.) First Sergeant Lepore was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1967, and his military career spans over 40 years and three wars: Vietnam, Saudi (Gulf ), and Operation Enduring Freedom. He was assigned to the elite 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) performing counter-insurgency operations in the Republic of Vietnam. After 383 days of duty, he returned home and was released from active duty. He subsequently served in the California Army National Guard as a reservist, and later in the U.S. Army Reserve from which he retired in 2008. SG Lepore has been awarded the US Army's prestigious Combat Infantry Badge, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, the Air Medal, and over 33 other awards for Valor, Service, and Achievement. In addition, he earned the US Parachutist Badge, Pathfinder Badge, and the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) Ranger Badge, Parachutist Badge, and the COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD 2020 MURRIETA FIELD OF HONOR