South Ozone Park man, 99, inducted
into Senate Veterans Hall of Fame
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | NOV. 20-NOV. 26, 2020 29
BY JACOB KAYE
The race to replace Councilman
Barry Grodenchik in
District 23 has grown larger.
Debra Markell, who serves
as the district manager of
Community Board 2, announced
her candidacy for the
City Council seat this week.
Markell joins five others in
the race to fill Grodenchik’s
shoes, after the councilman
recently announced he would
not seek reelection in 2021.
In her announcement,
Markell cited her experience
in local government — in addition
to working as a district
manager, she served as
a community board member,
president of the 109th Precinct
Community Council and chair
of the Flushing Hospital advisory
board — as a feature that
separates her from the growing
field of candidates.
“My experience in government
and as a community
leader uniquely prepares me
for this race,” Markell said.
“When I look ahead at the
daunting challenges facing
our city, it is evident that experience
is crucial to getting
our city back on track. While
COVID-19 changed our way of
life on many levels, I know we
can come back stronger.”
The North Shore Towers
resident said her focus
would be on senior services
programs, transportation issues,
championing co-op and
condo owners’ rights, public
education and public safety if
elected to represent Bayside
Hills, Bellerose, Douglaston,
Floral Park, Fresh Meadows,
Glen Oaks, Hollis, Hollis Hills,
Holliswood, Little Neck, New
Hyde Park, Oakland Gardens
and Queens Village.
Markell previously ran for
City Council in 2009, when she
ran to represent the 19th District.
Markell, who was born,
raised and educated in Queens,
will face a crowded field of candidates
during the 2021 Democratic
primary in June.
Five others have announced
their candidacy for
the City Council seat including
Jaslin Kaur, an organizer
from northeast Queens; Linda
Lee, the executive director
of Korean Community Services
of Metropolitan New
York; Steve Behar, a member
of Grodenchik’s staff; Sanjeev
Jindal, a public relations official
at the India Association of
Long Island; and Christopher
Fuentes-Padilla, who works
in asset protection at Bloomingdale’s.
BY BILL PARRY
On Veterans Day, state Senator
Joseph Addabbo honored the life and
sacrifices of a Queens member of the
Greatest Generation.
Ermondo “Butch” Puccio, 99, a
lifelong South Ozone Park resident,
was presented with a proclamation
celebrating the World War II soldier’s
induction into the New York State Veterans
Hall of Fame.
“It was an honor and a privilege
to be able to present butch with this
plaque and to thank him for his years
of service to our country,” Addabbo, a
member of the Senate Veterans, Homeland
Security and Military Affairs
Committee, said. “There are not too
many of our World War II veterans left,
so it means a lot to recognize Ermondo
for his service time during the world’s
greatest conflict.”
Puccio was born in South Ozone
Park on April 15, 1921, and at the age
of 21, he enlisted as a private in the
United States Army and completed
his basic training at Camp Davis
in North Carolina. Before being deployed
to California in 1943, Puccio
married his wife Jeannie, and on
Aug. 28, 2020, they celebrated their
77th wedding anniversary.
On Sept. 18, 1944, he departed San
Francisco aboard the USS Arthur
Middleton arriving in New Guinea
where he remained for five months.
On March 2, 1945, as part of a 100-
ship convoy, he left New Guinea for
combat zones in the Philippines. The
following day their LST, or Landing
Ship Tank, experienced engine
trouble which left them abandoned
mid-ocean. On March 12, they finally
arrived at San Jose, where they would
spend the next eight months in various
parts of the Philippine Islands before
their November 1945 departure.
While serving in combat, Mr.
Puccio was injured by a .50 caliber
machine gun which fell on him. In
January 1946, he returned to the
United States where, on Feb. 2, 1946,
he was honorably discharged from
the Army.
World War II Staff Sergeant Puccio
bravely served our country. In a letter
provided by Puccio from Franklin
D. Roosevelt to Army Expeditionary
Forces, the president stated “Upon
the outcome depends the freedom of
your lives: the freedom of the lives of
those you love – your fellow citizens –
your people.”
“Our, including time at home with
their families, while some make the
ultimate sacrifice and lay down their
lives for our country,” Addabbo said.
“It is a great feeling to beagle to give
back tour veterans, and this induction
to the NYS Veterans Hall of Fame
for Butch is one small way that I can
help honor a great soldier, especially
on Veterans Day.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail
at bparry@schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
State Senator Joseph Addabbo visits with Ermondo”Butch” Puccio on Veterans Day.
Courtesy of Addabbo’s offi ce
Debra Markell is now the district manager for Community Board 2
in Sunnyside and has a long track record in government.
File photo
District manager announces
campaign for City Council seat
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