Veteran’s Hall of Fame inducts former Coral Gables mayor Don Slesnick

Veteran’s Hall of Fame inducts former Coral Gables mayor Don Slesnick
  • Sumo

Former Coral Gables Mayor Don Slesnick — a Vietnam veteran, onetime U.S. Army advisor to NATO forces in Germany, and, most recently, Army Reserve Ambassador for Florida — was inducted into the Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame Wednesday as we celebrated Veterans Day.

It’s extra special, he said, because the recognition honors military vets ‎who, through their works and lives during or after military service, make a ‎significant contribution to the state through civic, business and public ‎service.

“What I really appreciate is that it’s not just about your military service, but how you served the state and your community following your service in uniform,” Slesnick, who was mayor of the City Beautiful from 2001 to 2011, told Ladra. It is not a traditional military hall of fame, as it focuses ‎on post-military contributions to the State of Florida. ‎

“I love serving my fellow citizens in many different ways,” he said.

In addition to serving as mayor, Slesnick — a labor lawyer with a firm in Coral Gables — has served as chairman of the American Bar Foundation Fellows and president of College of Labor & Employment Lawyers. He also served a stint as VP of the Orange Bowl Committee and is a founding chairman of Gables Good Government Committee.

But wait, there’s more. Slesnick has had leadership roles in the Rotary Club of Coral Gables, the Coral Gables Community Foundation; 200 Club of Greater Miami, the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce; Coral Gables Art Cinema; Dade Cultural Alliance; Dade Heritage Trust; and the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation.

He has been honored with the Four-Way Test Award by the Rotary Club; the Miami-Dade County Medal of Merit Leadership; the Bill Colson Leadership Award; a U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal; South Florida Kiwanis Citizen of the Year Award; Coral Gables Foundation Community Service Award and a Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce “distinguished honoree” mention for the George E. Merrick Award of Excellence.

But way back when, the Miami High alum and ROTC graduate of the University of Virginia became a field artillery officer at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, before spending two years in Germany as a nuclear weapon officer in support of NATO. Slesnick was stationed with the Belgian artillery and worked with the British, Canadians, Belgians, Germans and the Dutch.

Upon his return stateside, he became a Civil Affairs officer at Ft. Gordon, Georgia, before serving a tour of duty in Vietnam as a military advisor to the Vietnamese police throughout the northern five provinces around Danang.

Slesnick served 20 more years or so in the Miami Army Reserves and retired as Lt. Colonel after 27 years, having received combat ribbons and awards, including the Meritorious Service Medal, which he was given by Gen. Douglas Fraser at the U.S. Southern Command in 2012.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida cabinet voted unanimously in September to induct this eighth class of 20 veterans in the Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame. They were selected for consideration by Florida Department of Veteran Affairs Deputy Executive Director James “Hammer” Hartsell.

‎“I was honored to forward the names of these great Americans to the Governor ‎and Cabinet,” Hartsell, a retired Marine Corps Major General, said in a statement. “These former ‎service members represent the best of the best of our veteran community.”

The FDVA estimates there are somewhere around 1.5 million veterans in Florida, which makes sense because of our military bases and sunshine. Florida is considered the most veteran friendly state in the nation. But just over 100 have been inducted into the Hall of Fame in Tallahassee since the first class of 6 in 2013.

In Wednesday’s class of 20 new inductees, Slesnick was the only one from Miami-Dade, he said.

The complete list is:

  • Gary Clark, Colonel, USAF (Ret)‎
  • George Duren, U.S. Army Veteran
  • The late Michael Ferguson, Brigadier General, U.S. Army (Ret)‎
  • Jay Garner, Lieutenant General, U. S. Army (Ret)‎
  • Martin Gayeski, U.S. Army Veteran‎
  • Frank Hahnel, Jr., U.S. Marine Corps Veteran
  • George Hardy, Lieutenant Colonel, Army Air Corps/ U.S. Air Force (Ret)‎
  • Ronald Joe, Colonel, U.S. Army (Ret)‎
  • Daila Espeut-Jones, ‎ Master Sergeant, U.S. Army (Ret)‎
  • Darryle Kouns, Colonel, U.S. Army (Ret)‎
  • Cliff Leonard, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran‎
  • Mike Mason, U.S. Army Veteran‎ ‎ ‎
  • Michelle Poitier, U.S. Navy Veteran‎
  • Deloris Quaranta, Technical Sergeant, U.S. Air Force (Ret)‎ ‎ ‎
  • Dean Resch, Chief Warrant Officer 4, U.S. Army (Ret)‎
  • Claude Shipley, Colonel, U.S. Army (Ret)‎
  • Donald Slesnick II, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army (Ret)‎
  • Morris Steen Jr., Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret)‎
  • Dr. Norman Thagard, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and Astronaut‎
  • Alton Yates, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force (Ret)‎

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