Maureen Sullivan Air National Guard, American, Army NG, Army Reserves, Cold War, Massachusetts, Peacetime, USAF Reserves

Nicholas M. Zallas

“How can I make your job easier” was the directive that guided Nick Zallas through a 40-year career in the military. He served with National Guard and Reserve units in the Army and Air Force in communications and military police. Zallas was part of a response unit during the Blizzard of 1978 in Boston, as well as the Ramstein Air Show disaster in Germany in 1988. He retired from the Air Force Reserves in 2009 with the rank of colonel.

Maureen Sullivan Army NG, Massachusetts, Navy, Vietnam

Frank “Chip” Sinclair

 

Frank “Chip” Sinclair grew up in Natick, and joined the U.S. Navy shortly after graduating from Natick High School in 1970. He would become a machinist’s mate on board the USS Little Rock and USS Capodanno. Sinclair also served 16 years in the Army National Guard.

 

 

USS Little Rock

 

Engine room, USS Little Rock

 

USS Capodanno

Maureen Sullivan Army, Army NG, European

Sheila Pogarian

 

Sheila Ryan Pogarian joined the Army National Guard as a way to help pay for college. After graduation from UMass-Amherst in 1984, she went on active duty and became an artillery officer; she helped with the Lance missile system in what was then West Germany. She talks about her 20-plus years in the service, especially about her experiences as one of the few women Army officers in the field.

 

 

Sheila Pogarian, center

 

Sheila Pogarian, Germany

 

Sheila Pogarian, newspaper articles

Maureen Sullivan Afghanistan, Army, Army NG, Natick

Kenneth Pitts

 

Ken Pitts grew up as an “Army brat,” moving every three years to new postings, including Panama and West Germany. Shortly after he joined the Army in 1989, Pitts would return to Panama, this time as part of “Operation Just Cause,” the campaign to oust Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. As a member of the Massachusetts National Guard, Pitts would take part in missions to Kosovo and Afghanistan, in addition to Counterdrug Support Operations. He retired from the Army in 2012 as a master sergeant.

 

 

Kenneth Pitts as a sergeant, 1994

Maureen Sullivan Army, Army NG, Korea

Nicholas Paganella

 

Nicholas Paganella was born and raised in Marlborough, Mass., and joined the U.S. Army from the Mass. National Guard for the G.I. Bill. He spent more than a year in Korea at the DMZ, where “they looked at us and we looked at them.” Paganella speaks of his experiences in Korea and the National Guard, as well as his career as a beauty shop owner, teacher at Keefe Tech in Framingham and “Veterans Corner” columnist for the MetroWest Daily News.

 

Maureen Sullivan Afghanistan, Army NG, Massachusetts, Natick

Thomas Lamont

 

Thomas Lamont was born and raised in Natick, and was studying for a career in the media at Worcester State College when he decided to join the military. He enlisted in the Army (Mass. National Guard) in 1985 and was trained as a tank commander. Lamont has received additional training as a UH-1 Huey helicopter pilot, contract officer and human resources tech. He served in Afghanistan from 2010-11. As of the interview in 2014, Lamont is a chief warrant officer with Joint Force Headquarters, Mass. National Guard.

 

 

Thomas Lamont on board a plane

 

Thomas Lamont in Afghanistan

 

Thomas Lamont early in his military career

Maureen Sullivan Army NG, Baghdad, Iraq, Massachusetts, USAF

William “Bill” Callahan

 

Bill Callahan is a “30-year” man with service in both the U.S. Air Force and the Mass. Army National Guard. His active service with the Guard includes two tours of Iraq, during which he helped provide logistics and supplies for coalition forces (2003-04), as well as helped provide security around Camp Liberty near Baghdad (2007-08). Callahan would earn two Bronze Stars for his work.

 

 

Bill Callahan, formal portrait

 

Col. Callahan in Iraq briefing security guards from Uganda.

 

Col. Callahan at Camp Victory in Iraq

 

Natick Veterans Oral History Project Army NG, Baghdad, Fallujah, Iraq

Brett Conaway

National Guard 2003-2022

While at Roger Williams University, Brett Conaway joined the ROTC program. Following the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, he was called to active duty with the 211th Military Police Battalion of the 772nd Military Police Company, overseeing security at Otis Air National Guard Base and at airports on Cape Cod and the islands off the coast. He was then sent overseas for Operation Iraqui Freedom, where his battalion handled security for a base in Baghdad and conducted missions throughout the Sunni Triangle. A former palace of Uday Hussein became their headquarters. While training police in Fallujah, members of the 211th came under attack, and Conaway helped rescue wounded soldiers. After many years of active duty, Conaway talks about returning home and reuniting with his family.

Brett Conaway with a humvee.

An apartment building in Iraq.

Brett Conaway, inside one of the palaces.

Brett Conaway, at home with his sons

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