BETHLEHEM, Pa, (WLVT) - Richard G. Schimmel is a World War II veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor.
"We had one thing in mind; do our job," he said Wednesday as he was honored during a ceremony at the National Museum of Industrial History.
But it wasn't a ceremony just for Schimmel. All veterans who served were honored.
That sentiment is etched in steel on the Steelworkers Veterans Memorial in the plaza outside the museum, says Don Trexler, president of the Bethlehem Steel Veterans Committee.
"I tell people this monument represents every veteran," he said. "I don't care if you're the clerk at Fort Dix after the Korean War. If you served somewhere, you're a veteran."
Local elected officials were on hand as were veterans, including Timothy "Sarge" Parsons, president of the Lehigh Valley Nam Knights motorcycle club, a veterans advocacy group.
"We are a charity organization," he said. "We spend our money to give back every year to fallen veterans and law enforcement families. We also take care of children in need and anyone else we can afford to while we're out and about."
Parsons presented the Steelworkers Veterans Memorial Committee with a $1,000 check to help with upkeep of the memorial. It was dedicated in 1989 at the old Bethlehem Steel employee entrance at Third and Polk streets. The memorial was moved several weeks ago to the industrial museum and was rededicated Wednesday.