Lt. Col. Edward Fieg Recommended for Bronze Star

US Air Force Lt. Col. Edward Lothar Fieg of Oneonta, NY -- currently attached to the Afghan Army in Afghanistan -- has been nominated to receive the Bronze Star. Other than the Gold Star, which is awarded posthumously, the Bronze Star is the armed forces highest performance decoration for valor in the field after the Silver Star and Medal of Honor.

He also has been recommended for promotion to full colonel.

Dr. Fieg's citation notes that while stationed at Kandahar Regional Military Hospital he led his team of 15 Air Force medical professionals in support of more than 50,000 Afghan National Army troops and Afghan National Police in some of the bloodiest fighting ever recorded in the Middle East.

Over the past 10 months his team treated mass casuality events in which hundreds of people were severely injured by suicide bombers.

He also supervised routine care for more than 15,000 inpatients and outpatients including 579 major surgical operations, including those among 56 helicopter missions taking ememy fire or sustaining injury as a result of other mishaps.

Fieg is expected to return home to the Dayton, Ohio area from his more than 13-month tour in February.

It is his second Middle Eastern assignment, having previously served in Iraq. He also formerly served two tours in South Korea. He has served in the armed forces for more than two decades.

Midwest Fieg Reunion Put Off Another Year

The Annual Fieg Reunion will be held once again at Otsego Lake, as key midwestern family members have expressed a desire to return to Cooperstown at least one more time rather than hold it at Lake of the Ozarks, Storm Lake, Lake Okmulgee or some other spot in the central United States.

Eventually, a Midwest venue will be chosen, and one day even a Far West spot, but for now it will be Cooperstown once again, at the Midwesterners request.

John and Anne Roman are already looking for an Otsego Lake location, as the spot chosen last year may not be big enough to accommodate the larger turnout anticipated next year.

Maxine Whiteside Recovering from Knee Injury

Maxine Whiteside of Sioux City, IA, is recovering from a recent fall in which she fractured her knee cap. She slipped on the ice while attempting to pick up the morning paper.

Though the injury must have been painful, she remains upbeat and energetic, taking care of her husband Dr. Robert Whiteside daily, playing bridge and reading nearly up to a half dozen books a week.

Expect her to be recovered in time for the family reunion at Otsego Lake in Cooperstown, NY next summer.