Paul McArdle of Summit Hill is a roofer. He's had his business a long time.

He's always had an insignia on his truck for the U.S. Army's 24th Infantry Division, the unit he served in during the Vietnam era. He was stationed in Germany.He was installing a roof on a West Amidon Street residence a couple of years ago when Mario Iezzoni, a neighbor to McArdle's customer, noticed the sticker. Iezzoni also served in the 24th Infantry Division, but during the Korean War.Bernard Markey of Summit Hill, a postman at the time, delivered mail. He noticed that McArdle and Iezzoni both got the "Taro Leaf" magazine, the official publication of the 24th Infantry.Markey also had served in the unit. He served with the 24th in Korea right after the Korean War ended.He contacted McArdle and Iezzoni and the three became close friends. This week, the trio got together and shared stories about their military experiences.The 24th Infantry Division, nicknamed the Victory Division, was formed Feb. 1, 1921, at the Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. The division insignia is based on the taro leaf, emblematic of Hawaii, and 24th Division soldiers are often referred to as "Taromen."Iezzoni, 80, made a career in the military, retiring as a sergeant major. He served in Korea from January 1951 until January 1952. He saw the most combat of the three Carbon veterans.He recalled that on his first day of duty in Korea, a gunner and assistant gunner close to him got hit by enemy fire. He was an arms bearer.On that first day, "I started receiving fire," he said. "I crawled into a small crevice between two rocks. I was there for one or two hours. The enemy was on the other side and kept firing. He fired at me at least 25 times and missed every time."It was a snowy, foggy, chilly night. One of the platoons went and chased the enemy away.In one stretch, he was in combat 55 days in a row.Another time, the Chinese counter-attacked his unit and hit four or five men. "They were firing all over the place," Iezzoni recalled, noting that some bullets even flew between his legs. Miraculously, he wasn't hit."I wound up coming home without a Purple Heart," he said. "I got scrapes." He said he sustained shrapnel in the head, legs, and foot, but no serious injuries.He did receive numerous awards including the Bronze Star.He married the former Patricia Dougherty. They have eight children and 20 grandchildren.When he re-enlisted, he was part of a "Batmen" project in which he had a top secret assignment to work on a project with Westinghouse to develop night vision equipment.He served in Vietnam with a different unit and flew 150 missions in three days.It was in Vietnam that he worked with seven other individuals from Tobyhanna military base on the low-light level observation equipment. They worked out of what was called the "Bat Cave." The Bat Cave got write-ups in many leading publications including the New York Times and Chicago Tribune.Patricia recalls that she was walking past her television and ABC News was on. The announcer mentioned they would have a segment on the "Bat Cave." She knew what the announcer was talking about so she watched.To her surprise, she saw her husband on national television from Vietnam.Markey, 77, was in Korea from 1954 to 1956. The war had ended in June 1953."My tour there was no where near as exciting as his," he said of Iezzoni.He said he was trained as a radio operator but never got to use that skill. Instead he drove Jeeps for an Air Force lieutenant.He recalled two interesting events in Korea. One time he was picked up by Jack Sovitsky of Lansford. Another time, Gino Poli of Coaldale gave him a ride.Markey is married to the former Anna Gavula, a Mahanoy City native. They have four children and four grandsons.McArdle, 69, was in Germany in 1963, 1964, and 1965. He was a teletype operator specializing in Morse Code.He said he made a lot of friends in Germany and still keeps in touch with some of them after 48 years.McArdle was married to the late Geraldine Wye DeGiosio, a Coaldale native. They had five children and 12 grandchildren.