LEGION OF MERIT AWARDED
INDEX – As a third-class Petty Officer in the Navy, George McCrea, 84, of Cooperstown, who served four years following the Korean War, from 1956 to 1959.
Because of COVID-19, McCrae was unable to participate in Veteran commemorations and had limited visitation on Nov. 11, but the Cooperstown Center inducted him into its Legion of Merit.
George has been at Cooperstown Center only since last year. He reminisces about the days he was in the Navy when his ship, the USS Leyte, hit a whale and the ship had stopped patrolling the Northeast Coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
He and his wife, Constance, have two daughters and a son, seven grandkids and two great-grandchildren. Upon completion of his service, McCrea became a mason and bricklayer, and also farmed.
“George is great and everyone always flocks over to talk to him,” said Recreation Director Steven Woodbeck. “It’s great having George here at the Center