“I’ve been using my Freedom Life Chest to chronicle not only my Army service in Vietnam, but my current activities on behalf of other veterans. In my Life Chest I have my Silver Star and my Purple Heart, other awards and honors, photos from my time in Vietnam, and a newspaper article from 1986 where I’m named as then-mayor Coleman Young’s first member of a gaming commission. I also have pictures of past Veterans Day Parades in Detroit, articles talking about the Veterans Memorial Park dedication next to the Chapter 9 VVA, and a clipping of a newspaper piece discussing a memorial dinner for Spec. Holly McGeogh, the only female soldier from Michigan killed in Iraq. I keep a picture of her because I’m her voice, and the voice for so many others who didn’t come home. That’s what drives me in all I do for the Chapter 9 VVA, for the city of Detroit, and for all veterans. My Freedom Life Chest represents not only me, but everything dear to me.”
– Paul Pallazzolo