Gary Armstrong addresses a crowd gathered for Donald Podlas' funeral at the Genoa Cemetery Thursday morning.
Funeral services for Donald Podlas, a highly decorated veteran from Dayton, were held Thursday morning at Genoa Cemetery.
Podlas, an occupational forces Marine Corps officer in the Korean War, died on June 1. He was 80.
Earlier this year, Podlas was honored as Gov. Brian Sandoval’s Veteran of the Month. He was honored in January for service in the community. Podlas was an active member in the Dayton and Carson City communities: he was a firefighter in the Los Angeles area for 20 years; was Chaplain for the Marine Corps League for 28 years, helping with the Toys for Tots. He was known for driving his military jeep in parades all over Northern Nevada, including in the Nevada Day, Fourth of July and Veterans Day parades. He also was a founding member of St. Anne’s Church in Dayton.
“Wow,” Podlas said in January. “I feel humbled and so appreciative. I like what I am doing and I am going to keep on doing it. I love our country, we live in America the greatest country. I love the Marine Corps. Thank you so much. This was just pretty awesome it was a great turn out and I had a lot of friends turn out.”
Donald is survived by his wife of 55 years, Marie, his four children, 15 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.