Honor Barbara Caldara

Senate Resolution No. 2382 BY: Senator HINCHEY COMMENDING Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara upon the occasion of her designation as recipient of a Liberty Medal, the highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the New York State Senate WHEREAS, Members of the Armed Services from the State of New York, who have served so valiantly and honorably in wars in which this country's freedom was at stake, as well as in the preservation of peace in peacetime, deserve a special salute from this Legislative Body; and WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to commend Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara upon the occasion of her designation as recipient of a Liberty Medal, the highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the new York State Senate; and WHEREAS, The New York State Senate Liberty Medal was established by Resolution and is awarded to individuals who have merited special commendation for exceptional, heroic, or humanitarian acts on behalf of their fellow New Yorkers; and WHEREAS, Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara is being honored by the Greene County Honor a Veteran Committee during their Honor a Veteran Ceremony; and WHEREAS, Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara was born on October 25, 1946, in Catskill, New York, to Caroline and Percy Brandow; and WHEREAS, Proudly raised in Leeds, New York, Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara graduated from Catskill High School and furthered her education at Ellis Hospital School for Nursing in Schenectady, New York; and WHEREAS, As she prepared to enter her last year of nursing school, Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara made the decision to enlist in the military; the United States Army paid for Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara to complete her third year of nursing school in exchange for two years of military service; and WHEREAS, After enlisting in 1966, Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara was in the United States Army Student Nurse Inactive Ready Reserves as a private; upon completing nursing school, she got her first job as a charge nurse at the Ellis Hospital Emergency Room; and WHEREAS, In February of 1968, Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in New Orleans, Louisiana; on April 1,

1968, she began her first day of duty in the OB/GYN maternity nursing unit at Weed Army Hospital in Fort Irvin, California; and WHEREAS, Shortly after beginning her service at Weed Army Hospital, Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara married Bill Caldara on June 22, 1968; Bill Caldara also served in the military, and spent time on a naval ship in Vietnam for four years; and WHEREAS, On October 7, 1968, Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara was deployed to Vietnam and stationed at 312 Evac Hospital in Chu Lai/l Corps 91st Evac on the coast of the South China Sea where she was assigned to work as a nurse in the emergency room and later in the surgical ICU; and WHEREAS, One year later, Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara returned home to work at Fort McArthur Army Hospital in San Pedro, California, and later transferred to a Reserve Unit (349th General Hospital) in Los Angeles, California, in September of 1972; and WHEREAS, In 1980, after spending seven years on Inactive Ready Reserves while she raised her daughter, Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara rejoined the United States Army Reserves as an active service member and served in various roles at the 364th General Hospital in Albany, New York; and WHEREAS, Throughout her military career, Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara traveled to many army facilities across the country to complete trainings and served on missions in Guatemala and Panama; in January of

25 years; and WHEREAS, A true active member of her community, Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara is a member of the PH Medical Reserve Corps, several knitting groups, a poetry club, and volunteers with hospice; and WHEREAS, Residents of this great State must never forget the courage with which our Nation's veterans served their country; having exhibited her patriotism both at home and abroad, Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara demonstrated her love for her country and merits forevermore the highest respect of this State and Nation; and WHEREAS, Our Nation's veterans deserve to be recognized, commended, and thanked by the people of the State of New York for their service and for their dedication to their communities, their State, and their Nation; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to commend Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara upon the occasion of her designation as recipient of a Liberty Medal, the highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the New York State Senate; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to Lt. Colonel Barbara Caldara.