CONTACT: Mr. Eric Durr, 518-786-4581 of (cell) 518-429-5186 or 1st Marine Division Association Past President G.G. Pendas, 518- 456-1318.

FOR RELEASE: Friday, Jun 19, 2009

ON SITE: Michael Aikey, 518-581-5101

WHO:

Retired Lt. Gen. Stephen Olmstead , members of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion 25th Marines, the United States Marine Corps Reserve unit based in Albany and Capt. G.G. Pendas (retired) the past president of the 1st Marine Division Association.

WHAT:

SARATOGA SPRINGS , NY (06/16/2009)-- Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Stephen Olmstead, who grew up in Bethlehem and went on to fight in Korean and Vietnam, and members of the First Marine Division Association will dedicate a plaque honoring Marines of the division who gave their lives for their country on Friday June 19 at the New York State Military History Museum in Saratoga Springs. Formal dedication of a plaque to honor members of the 1st Marine Division who died in World War II, in China during a short occupation following the war, Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq. The plaque will hang on the museum's Wall of Honor.

WHEN:

11, a.m., Friday, June 19, 2009

WHERE:

New York State Military History Museum, 61 Spring St. Saratoga Springs, New York.

Coverage Opportunities: Interview opportunities with current Marines who have deployed to Iraq and with retired Marines from previous conflicts. Visual opportunities will include the unveiling of the plaque and a color guard from Fox Company. Background: 1st Marine Division: Headquartered at Camp Pendleton, California, the 1st Marine Division is the oldest, most highly decorated, and largest of the Marine Corps three active duty division and one reserve division. Known as "The Old Breed", the division Organized in 1941, the division fought through the South and Central Pacific, culminating in the Battle for Okinawa in 1945. Following the Japanese surrender the division deployed to northern China to repatriate Japanese soldiers and stabilize a country in the midst of civil war. The First Marines landed at Inchon during the Korean war and then fought it's way out of a Chinese trap at Chosin reservoir, advancing the in opposite direction in the words of it's commander, Major Gen. O.P. Smith. The division fought in Vietnam, formed the core of the force which launched a frontal attack into Kuwait in 1991 as the Army went around the flanks of the Iraqi Army. The division deployed to Somalia in 1992 to provide humanitarian aide, and then participated in the invasion of Iraq in 2003. 1st Marine Division Association: The First Marine Division Association is a national group that Marines and Sailors who have served in the division. The association sponsors annual reunions and anniversary events as well as scholarships and other programs for today's Marines and their children. The organization has 50 chapters across the country with about 12,000 members. Lt. Gen. Stephen Olmstead: Born in Albany in 1929, Olmstead graduated from Bethlehem Central High School in 1947 and enlisted the Marine Corps in 1948. He served in the Korean War as a squad leader in 1950 and then was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1951. Olmstead worked his way up through the ranks and served as operations officer for the Sixth Marine Regiment in the Dominican Republic in 1965. He served as the command briefer for the U.S Military Assistance Command Vietnam in 1966. His other assignments included command of the Ninth Marine Regiment in Okinawa, and then commanding general of Camp Pendleton and then as the commanding general of the Third Marine Amphibious force. He retired from the Marines but was called back to active duty in 1986 to serve as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Drug Policy and Enforcement and the Director of the Department of Defense Task Force on Drug Enforcement. He was promoted to three-star rank in 1987 before retiring a second time. He now lives in Annandale, VA. New York State Military History Museum: Run by the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs, the New York Military Museum and Veterans Research Center houses over 10,000 artifacts dating from the Revolutionary War to Desert Storm that relate to New York State's military forces, the state's military history and the contributions of New York's veterans.