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Wellsboro vet attends commissioning of new ship
  
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by Jason Przybycien
przybycj@tiogapublishing.com
Al Henkiel, 88, Wellsboro, served in North Africa, Iwo Jima and Okinawa as a crew member on the battleship U.S.S. New York (BB-34) during World War 2. As one of the few living members of that crew, he received an invitation to the Nov. 2 commissioning of the new U.S.S. New York (LPD-21), an amphibious dock ship.
He was honored to walk the deck of the massive new Marine transport, though he wished it had happened years before.
Henkiel had been a fireman first class in the battleship’s engineering department. He went to the commissioning with his son, Dennis, himself an Army intelligence officer during the Vietnam War. Al said his wife of 60 years, Nida, would have come with them, but she passed away two years ago.
Henkiel saw several hundred people at the commissioning, where U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, New York Governor David Paterson and high-ranking Navy officers spoke.
He was honored to walk the deck of the massive new Marine transport, though he wished it had happened years before.
Henkiel had been a fireman first class in the battleship’s engineering department. He went to the commissioning with his son, Dennis, himself an Army intelligence officer during the Vietnam War. Al said his wife of 60 years, Nida, would have come with them, but she passed away two years ago.
Henkiel saw several hundred people at the commissioning, where U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, New York Governor David Paterson and high-ranking Navy officers spoke.
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