enerosity, respect for others and a commitment to our country and his community define 78-year-old Mike Vigoda.

A 22-year Army veteran who served in Operation Desert Storm, Vigoda represents the goodness we look for in society, going about his daily routine with a lifelong mission to assist others.

“I love people,” said Vigoda, who has built a long tenure of providing that help to the Panther Valley community with a close-to-his-heart devotion to VFW Post 6982 in Coaldale, the community he has called home since his marriage to Charlotte Bubon some 20-plus years ago, then relocating from Port Carbon in 2001. “I’d help anybody,” he said with an emphasis on “anybody.”

The traits he possesses, he said, “came from my parents,” the late Mike Sr. and Theresa Vigoda.

Military career

Of course, for Mike, an unwavering devotion to those who have served or are serving our country is a task to which he is dedicated, currently serving his 12th year as commander of the VFW post, where those who served on foreign soil can gather, socialize and share experiences.

“I won’t give it up,” said Mike, who admits the line waiting to be commander is not long, even nonexistent.

“Veterans are always welcome here, and it’s too important to let it go,” he said from the post home. “I have great respect for veterans.”

He said the Coaldale post has 161 members, including about 40 who are active.

Vigoda has had a journeyman’s career as a 20-year maintenance man for the Sunoco Corporation, having driven over 3 million miles during that span. Previously, though, he spent 22 years in the Army, retiring with the rank of E-5 (sergeant).

It wasn’t long after his retirement that Vigoda was summoned to duty in Saudi Arabia, as retirees remained on the potential “call-up” list for six months upon retiring. Eleven days before that list came to an end, he was off to Operation Desert Storm. While his original military duties were to be a mechanic, he was assigned to haul Patriot missiles in the Persian Gulf Theater before his final discharge in 1992.

Vigoda recalled those days, saying, “I made it a point to talk to every soldier in the company, because I cared about them and I wanted them to know that. There were 180 of them and I was interested in every one of them.”

He continued, “It was very depressing over there. Guys had families back home and we didn’t know if we’d be getting out of there alive. There were guys shooting at us every day.”

Vigoda said about 100 of those in his company have since passed away and suspects their demise could have been attributed to illnesses they acquired in the Gulf.

Vigoda said he also has great respect for men of the Panther Valley communities who served in the military, pointing out, “62% of men in this valley who were eligible for military service served. That’s amazing, compared to 33% in Philadelphia.”

He added, “Those men gave up working in the coal mines to fight for our country, went willingly, and we owe they a debt of appreciation.”

One gripe he has, Vigoda said, is “people went to Vietnam and were shot at every day. They got $99 per month. Today, the Congress members are making millions, buying stock because they have inside information.”

‘Wonderful parents’

Vigoda said his commitment to the military was influenced by his father’s service in the Pacific Theater of Operations in World War II. And, he says, the kindness of his mother has guided him in his community service to this day.

“I had great parents,” he said, noting his father was a self-employed salesman who delivered in surrounding communities, including Coaldale. “He never missed a day of work, had five kids, and not every day was a good one (profit-wise). I don’t know how he did it,” Vigoda said of his father.

He added, “My mother lived to be 103. I believe she lived so long because of what she did for people. She was very caring, and passed it on to us. If someone was out of work and down and out, mom helped.”

Vigoda tells the story about repeatedly calling home from the Gulf wanting to talk to his father. He said he thought it was strange he was always told his father was “out,” later finding out from an aunt that his father was “very sick.” Vigoda said when he returned from duty, his father passed away the very next day. “I think he waited for me,” he said.

Vigoda said he will always appreciate his father’s life.

“I don’t know how he did it,” he said. “Some days in sales you don’t make anything, but we never wanted for anything.”

Dedicated to community

Vigoda said he went on to this day to make sure the traits passed onto him by his parents would play a role in the rest of his life, making him a busy man in the community.

He has played a leading role in the annual Memorial Day tributes in Coaldale, working with members of the American Legion, of which he is also a member; being involved in Coaldale’s Crime Watch program; helping at spaghetti dinners “all over the place”; and serving as an usher at his home church, St. Joseph Parish of the Panther Valley, Summit Hill, where he previously had volunteered to do maintenance/cleanup work on a nightly basis for the parish festival.

Then, too, there are little things that define his character, small acts of kindness like donating gas cards to the less fortunate, getting the VFW post involved in the Valor Clinic in Lansford, and donating food himself to help feed participants.

It’s no wonder then that Vigoda is past honoree of VFW District 12, who named him its “Veteran of the Year.” And when one of his fellow parishioners was asked about Vigoda, he clearly stressed, “He’s a good man.”

Kidney recipient

Vigoda has battled kidney problems for several years, and this week is celebrating the one-year anniversary of having received a transplant. The donor was none other than his brother, Bernard, for which Mike will be forever grateful.

“I was on dialysis for three years and couldn’t understand why the doctors waited so long for me to get the surgery, but they took care of me and were wonderful,” Vigoda said. “My brother, who flew helicopters in the Army and served for 32 years, never said a word to me. But he went to my doctor and said, ‘test me.’ He was found to be a potential donor.”

Finally, Vigoda said, the doctors told him: “You served our country, we owe you something. You and your brothers served our country for 57 years. We’re going to operate. You and your brother are in good shape.”

On the road to a healthier live, Mike Vigoda continues to honor his late parents in public and private ways in the Panther Valley community.

“It’s just the way I am… because of them,” he said.