Serving us, serving them: More volunteers needed for Garfield County Fair and Rodeo beer garden, Western slope Veterans Coalition says
Written by Black Hot Fire Network on July 2, 2023
Michael Stuemky adjusts the U.S. flag hanging above the Western Slope Veterans Coalition office in Glenwood Springs.Ray Erku/Post Independent
Michael Stuemky fed 75-pound rounds into a 54-caliber artillery gun mount astern. As a gunner’s mate, he also readied 50-caliber machine guns every time a foreign vessel approached. These were his busy days serving aboard the U.S.S. Chandler, a DDG-996 guided-missile destroyer formerly operated by the U.S. Navy.
Stuemky’s days, however, weren’t all heavy lifting. He remembers dolphins and whales . . .
