Troy– Senator Roy McDonald (R-Saratoga) recognized First Sergeant (1SG) Patrick Abrams of Brunswick, induction into the State Senate Veterans Hall of Fame at a local ceremony on Saturday, May 12, at the Veterans of Lansingburgh Club. 1SG Abrams will be inducted into the Senate Veterans Hall of Fame, where all 2012 inductees will be recognized, at a ceremony in the Capitol on Tuesday, May 22.
“These are the heroes that live next door. They are your mechanic, your kids’ coach or your co-worker, ordinary men and women who made extraordinary sacrifices to defend our freedom,” said McDonald. “We honor athletes and celebrities every day, but now is the time to pay tribute to our veterans—these are the real heroes.”
The recipient of Two Purple Hearts, 1SG Abrams’ outstanding military career spans over 30 years, with combined service in the United States Army and the New York Army National Guard. He served two combat deployments: the Vietnam War from 1971-72 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004, during which he was seriously wounded twice.
In his civilian life, 1SG Abrams was a City of Cohoes Police Officer for 26 years, retiring as a Lieutenant in 2003. He retired from the Army in 2007 and currently volunteers at the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center. He also volunteers with the STRIDE/Wounded Warrior program and has served as the co-chairperson for the Wounded Warrior ski weekend event during the past two years.
The Veterans of Lansingburgh Club has a distinct honor of having two members inducted into the State Senate Hall of Fame, the first being Troy icon Marty Mahar, a decorated WWII Marine Corps veteran who endured 13 days of combat in Iwo Jima. McDonald, a lifelong member of the Vets of Lansingburgh, is himself a combat veteran who served in the U.S. Army’s First Cavalry Division as a Forward Observer in the Vietnam War.
Other inductees from the 43rd Senate District include: former Mayor of Saratoga Springs Ellsworth Jones, who among the first Americans to land in Normandy, France, during the D-Day invasion of WWII and who also served in the Korean War; Clarence Dart of Saratoga Springs, a member of the famed WWII Tuskegee Airman; and Thomas Sharpe of North Greenbush, a Korean War Veteran who earned a Purple Heart at the age of 18.
