Recently the SLVFD had the privilege of providing an Honor Flight escort for one of our own members.

An Honor Flight is a free, one-day trip to Washington, D.C. for veterans, primarily those who served during War, to visit the memorials and monuments built in their honor. It's a way to show appreciation and gratitude for their service and sacrifice.

As part of the Honor Flight tradition, these veterans are escorted from their homes to their flight by a large contingent of Police, Fire Apparatus, First Responders and a very loud and proud group of motorcycles provided by the American Legion Riders, and others.

On Friday 6/27 some tri-lakes area veterans were escorted to Plattsburgh where they stayed overnight. Very early on Saturday morning 6/28 they were joined by a much larger contingent of approximately 30 Veterans from throughout the larger North country area. They were then escorted through Plattsburgh in a tradition that has become known as “Thunder in the Burgh”

One of those Veterans being honored was Gifford Hosler who was accompanied by his wife Sharon.

Almost immediately after his service in Vietnam ended in 1970, Gifford began serving in the SLVFD in 1971. Gifford has served many roles within the SLVFD and today continues to serve as a firefighter and as our department Secretary.

At the SLVFD we honor service. Gifford not only served our country in time of war in a combat zone, he continues to serve his community as a first responder.

Below is Giffords military biography as provided by Honor Flight. Attached please enjoy some video and photographs of his escort and trip to Washington D.C.

Gifford Hosler – US Army 1969-1970 – Vietnam

Gifford was drafted into the U.S. Army at the age of 20. Like many young men at the time, he was picked up with a group of local draftees and sent to Fort Dix for basic training. A mechanic with a talent for electronics, Gifford was selected for radio school—eight weeks at Fort Dix, followed by 13 weeks of advanced radio and teletype training in Georgia. Each morning was spent learning Morse code, each afternoon on typing. Thanks to high school typing classes, he already had that part down—so he devoted most of his energy to mastering code and teletyping. He graduated in the top 10 of his class.

When his orders came in, they sent him to Vietnam. He was stationed in the Mekong Delta, an area they joked was a foot above sea level in the dry season, and a foot below in the rainy.

As chief radio operator at the province’s Tactical Operations Center Gifford managed the center of communication for the entire region. He coordinated all radio traffic between ground forces, helicopters, and spotter planes, managing everything from daily field movements to night airstrikes. He worked closely with military advisors under MAC-V, and ensured assets were in the right place at the right time, without risking friendly fire. In addition to his day-to-day duties, Gifford was entrusted with personally delivering monthly updates of codes, call signs, and passwords throughout the province by helicopter. His work was the backbone of mission coordination, and essential to keeping troops connected.

One of Gifford’s funniest—and scariest—memories came when smoke started pouring through the windows of camp. Someone yelled “GAS!” and chaos erupted soldiers scrambling for masks, shouting, and running. But when someone finally ran outside, they discovered… It was just someone spraying for bugs.