The Connecticut State Veterans Memorial, Inc., is a nonprofit organization established exclusively to raise funds for and build a state-wide memorial to honor all Connecticut veterans.
The spirit and goals of the organization are specifically :

• To create a lasting physical memorial to honor Connecticut veterans past, present and future.
   
• To draw upon the talents of Connecticut artists, architects, and landscape architects to identify design concepts for an inspiring “memorial expression” that celebrates those men and women who served and memorialize those who gave their lives.
   
• To select a design that will serve as a focal point and significant icon which illustrates the high regard, respect and esteem the citizens of Connecticut have for the men and women who have defended the rights and freedoms so cherished by this Nation.
   
• To provide a place of honor and tribute for the men and women who have served and are serving in the Armed Forces of the United States.
   
• To raise awareness of the contributions made by the veterans of the state.To establish a central site for the State of Connecticut to conduct official observances, activities and ceremonies to honor veterans including Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
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A dedicated committee of Connecticut veterans and volunteers are coordinating this landmark effort to honor veterans.

President, Connecticut State Veterans Memorial, Inc.                                                                        Dr. Linda S. Schwartz

Dr. Linda Spoonster Schwartz has a long history of involvement in nursing and veteran organizations and is known as an advocate and activist who has devoted her life to healing the wounds of war.  She was a member of the United States Air Force (1967-1986) and served on Active Duty and as a Reservist retiring1986 after sustaining injuries in an aircraft accident while serving as an Air Force Flight Nurse. She received a Masters in Nursing from Yale and holds a Doctorate in Public Health from the Yale School of Medicine. She has served as President of the Connecticut Nurses Association and Connecticut Nurses Foundation and was elected to the National Boards of Directors of the American Nurses Association, Vietnam Veterans of America and served as Treasurer of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial.  Among her many honors she has received the National Commendation Medal of Vietnam Veterans of America,; Legion of Honor Bronze Medallion from the Chapel of the Four Chaplains and was inducted into the Veterans Hall of Fame of her home State of Ohio in 2004.  She was elected to the American Academy of Nursing in 2001.  She is presently the Senior Vice President and Chairman of Health Care for the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs.  She has been Commissioner of The Connecticut Department of Veterans’ Affairs since 2003. Dr. Schwartz is the first woman in the 146 year history of the Home to be to head this agency.

John F. Droney is a veteran of the U.S. Army (1969-70), with service in Vietnam.

Droney is a partner in the law firm of Levy & Droney, with practice areas in litigation and government affairs. He is a member of the Connecticut and the American Bar Associations, the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association, the Association Of Trial Lawyers of America, the Federal Bar Council, the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, and the American Arbitration Association. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the University of Connecticut Health Center and was a Special State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford and the Judicial District of Waterbury (Appellate). Droney has served as a Special Assistant Attorney General (Banking), a Special Public Defender for the Judicial District of Hartford, and a member of the Voluntary Defender Program, Hartford County Bar.

Droney served on the State of Connecticut Public Health Council, and was a member of the Board of Directors of Hartford Neighborhood Legal Services, Griffin Hospital in Derby, Conn., and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. A prominent member of the Democratic Party, he was a member of the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Leadership Council, and was Chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee of Connecticut. He served as Senior Advisor to U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd when the senator was Chairman of Democratic National Committee. Droney was Co-Chair of the Connecticut Clinton/Gore Campaign in 1996. In 1992, he was the National Finance Co-Chair of the Bill Clinton for President campaign and the Chairman of Connecticut’s Clinton campaign. He held has many leadership positions in local town politics as well, having served on the West Hartford Town Council and the Democratic Town Committee, and as Democratic Town Chairman.
 

Mr. Janicki served as a Marine infantry squad leader with the 3rd Marines in the I corp area of Vietnam from September 1967 through October 1968 through the Tet Offensive and served with the Marines a total of 4 years. His military related awards are the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Meritorious Unit citation, Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Commendation Medal, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, Vietnam Campaign medal, Vietnam Service medal and the Good Conduct Ribbon.

Bob worked for AT&T for 31 years in their IT department finishing as a Senior Project Manager retiring in June of 2008. Early in his 31-year career he formed an internal Veterans organization originally called the SNET Vets in 1985, officially becoming the AT&T Veterans Organization on Veterans Day of 2006, with Bob taking the helm as the national president. AT&T Veteran members have conducted extensive outreach into the community in support of numerous Veteran related efforts, some at the national level.

Within his community, Bob has committed his personal time by serving on the Board of Education, as well as being a Rotarian. Bob was one of the initial board members for the Homes for the Brave in Bridgeport CT. Bob is also a board member of the Mental Health Community Advisory Board, a sounding board for Veteran related issues.

In August of 2009 Bob went back to work for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in West Haven as a Supportive Employment Specialist working out of the Errera Community Care Center. Bob’s team works with these Veterans to find gainful employment in the community.
 

Lenell Kittlitz

Lenell Kittlitz served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1977 to 1980, and was stationed in New London, Conn. and Charleston, South Carolina.

Kittlitz currently is a member of the Society of College and University Planners, and is an Individual Affiliate Member of the American Institute of Architects.

The Rocky Hill resident also serves on the Connecticut Department of Veterans’ Affairs Board of Trustees and on the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame Committee.
 

Paul W. "Buddy" Bucha is a Vietnam veteran and recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor. He is a graduate of West Point’s celebrated class of 1965 and received a MBA from Stanford. He completing his Airborne and Ranger Training between academic years and was assigned to 101st Airborne Division when it deployed to Vietnam in March 16, 1968. Captain Bucha received the Medal of Honor for his courage under fire in combat action near Phuoc Vinh, Binh Duong Province. He is also a recipient of the Bronze Star with V and Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple Heart. He returned to West Point as an Assistant Professor of Managerial Economics at West Point.

After leaving the Army, he joined du Pont Glore Forgan as a special assistant to H. Ross Perot becoming Senior Vice President of International Operations. In 1978, he formed his own international consulting company, Paul W. Bucha and Company, Inc. (PWBCO), and expanded to real estate development, building the environmentally acclaimed development Port Liberte on New York Harbor. In 2005, he established, Terra Mark II, LLC which specializes in residential and mixed use development in environmentally sensitive locations.

Bucha is actively involved in national security and veterans issues and was an advisor to candidate Obama during his 2008 campaign. He has been a member of the Board and an officer of The Fisher House Foundation and Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund which support military families and wounded warriors. He served as President of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. In addition to his military honors, he is a Gold Medallion inductee of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and an inductee of the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame. He is a resident of Ridgefield, Conn.
 

MG Thaddeus Martin

Major General Thaddeus J. Martin is the Adjutant General for the Connecticut National Guard. He is responsible to the Governor and the Chief, National Guard Bureau, for providing operationally trained, equipped and mission-ready forces to support both U.S. mobilization requirements and state emergency operations to include developing and coordinating counter terrorism and domestic preparedness contingencies for the State of Connecticut. He implements policies, programs, and plans as the direct link to all state assigned National Guard resources, providing information and evaluation, issue resolution and action recommendations.

General Martin began his military service in 1977. He was commissioned, through Officer Training School in 1980 and completed formal training as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer. Through his twelve years of active service, General Martin held several squadron and wing level assignments and completed a MAJCOM headquarters tour. Joining the Connecticut Air National Guard in 1990, the General held command positions at the squadron, group and wing level and completed a statutory tour with the National Guard Bureau. Prior to his current assignment, General Martin served as the Assistant Adjutant General for the Connecticut Air National Guard.
 

MAJ Lesbia Nieves

MAJ Lesbia Nieves is an OIF veteran and President of the Hispanic American Veterans Organization of CT. She has been member of the Connecticut Army National Guard since 1987. In May 1994, she enrolled in the Officer Candidate School with the Connecticut Army National Guard and graduated in August 1995. During her years as a commissioned officer, she has held various leadership positions that has included but not limited to the following: Platoon Leader; Executive Officer; Company Commander; Staff Officer for BN, Logistical Officer; Operations Officer (Major Command Group); and Operations and Training Officer for CTARNG Recruiting and Retention.

MAJ Nieves holds a B.S. degree with a major in Psychology and minor in Sociology and a Masters Degree in Counseling with the concentration in Marriage and Family Counseling. She is currently pursuing a Master Degree in Public Administration with concentration in National Security Administration.

She is married to Edward Nieves and they have three children. MAJ Nieves and her family reside in Manchester, Conn.

Jim Shelmerdine, Jr.

Jim Shelmerdine, Jr. is the President of the Connecticut Chapter of Korean War Veterans. Jim has been a member of the Connecticut Veterans Day Parade Planning Committee since the event’s inception in 2000. The lifelong East Hartford resident has devoted all of his years to the ensuing America’s freedom through military service. He joined the Connecticut Army National Guard in 1952 and, five months later, was drafted into the U.S. Army. He served as Combat Rifleman in the First Battalion 224th Infantry, 40th Infantry Division in North Korea. Two days after his discharge in 1954, he joined the Connecticut Air National Guard and served for three years as a Personnel clerk, First Sergeant and Legal Technician at Bradley Air Field in Windsor Locks. When his unit was eliminated after 37 months, he joined Army National Guard and was a Platoon Leader and Company Commander for nine years. Shelmerdine’s career includes work as General’s Aide, Operations, for the 76th Training Division in West Hartford. From 1973 to 1992, he was on sporadic Active Duty, balancing that responsibility with his civilian career as an insurance claims adjuster. Currently, he is Commander of the Final Honors Firing Squad at veterans’ funerals and is a member of ESGR (Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve). For the past 25 years, he has served as Marshal of the East Hartford Memorial Day Parade and has been a member of the Town‘s Patriotic Commission for more than 30 years. A retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Army Infantry, Shelmerdine is the recipient of many awards, including a Purple Heart, a Meritorious Service Medal, an Army Commendation Medal, an Army Achievement Medal, a Combat Infantry Badge, a Parachutist Badge, a Korean Service Medal with 2 bronze stars, a United Nations Service Medal, a Korean Presidential Citation, and a Republic of Korea Service Medal.

Board Member, Connecticut State Veterans Memorial, Inc.                                                             Laura Soll

Laura Soll is an award-winning public relations and event management specialist with 30 years of media experience in Southern New England. She is the Communications Director for the annual Connecticut Veterans Day Parade, one of the largest salutes to veterans in the U.S. Her firm represents a variety of businesses and associations, including the Connecticut Funeral Directors Association in its landmark partnership with the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs and the Connecticut chapter of the Missing in America Project (MIAP) to locate unclaimed cremains of Connecticut veterans and provide them with dignified military burials. Ms. Soll is proud that her father served in World War II in the U.S. Army. www.sollpr.com

Advisor, Connecticut State Veterans Memorial, Inc.                                                                         Mary M. Donohue

Mary M. Donohue is the Survey and Grants Director and Senior Architectural Historian of the Commission on Culture & Tourism. She serves as an advisor to the Foundation. She has written extensively on the state’s military history and is the co-author of award-winning volumes on Connecticut’s historic armories and the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Trail.  She serves as a founding member of the Militia Heritage Committee of the Connecticut Military Department and most recently, served as an advisor to the Ninth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers Monument Committee that placed a memorial on the grounds of the Vicksburg National Military Park, in Vicksburg, Mississippi.