LACKAWANNA COUNTY -- A family from Lackawanna County found the perfect way to celebrate Independence Day: honor the veterans in their family with a special reunion.
The Bolcavage family has lots of love, dozens of relatives, and plenty of patriotism.
But one thing they never had was a reunion.
…Until now.
“I feel like a kid at Christmas morning seeing the whole family together,” said Tony Bolcavage, Eynon.
At a family reunion, it can be tough to keep everybody straight, but the Bolcavages came up with a pretty good solution… color code each branch of the family.
The Bolcavages planned their great get together for the day before Independence Day to honor the all veterans in their family, especially the three elder brothers: Tony, Bobby and Victor.
Relatives say the brothers almost never spoke of their service until the reunion.
Barbara Bolcavage helped plan the reunion. “They hardly ever talk about it, so we are here today for the 4th of July celebrating that, celebrating freedom, celebrating our family, and celebrating the veterans in our family,” she said.
Bobby, 84, loved his career in the Air Force that began in Korea.
“They paid me, they promoted me, and they gave me a tour of the world, and you can’t get that every place for free,” Bobby Bolcavage of Archbald said.
Tony, 92, was in the Philippines during World War II.
“We were part of the team that helped make it possible for General MacArthur to return and fulfill his promise to the Filipinos,” he said.
Three years ago, at the age of 87, Victor's painful war memories started flooding back. “Well, I woke up one night, and everything flashed before me,” he said.
The brutal battle in Korea, the children in Germany during World War II, and the hardships of the past make this day even more precious seeing his family reunited in the land of the free and the home of the brave in Lackawanna County.
