NEW SPRINGFIELD — Cpl. Chuck Mirone is proud that his service is as wide-reaching as it is diverse.

“I was drafted in 1952 at age 18, or 19, I think it was,” Mirone, a U.S. Army and Korean War veteran, said.

Decades after having served his country half a world away, Mirone also is continuing a legacy of service much closer to home via helping provide food to families in need.

After having graduated from East High School in 1951, the native East Side resident joined the Army, then received basic training at Camp Gordon in Georgia.

It wasn’t long after his initial military training that Mirone found himself en route to Japan, which took about 25 days to reach by ship. He spent approximately three months in that country before being shipped to Korea, where he was part of the 3rd Division, 15th Infantry Regiment Headquarters Co.

Mirone spent roughly a year in Korea during the war, which began June 25, 1950, when the Korean People’s Army invaded South Korea, and lasted until an armistice was signed July 27, 1953, at Panmunjom, near the North Korea-South Korea border, with the agreement that Korea would remain a divided country.

The KPA quickly moved south and trapped American and South Korean forces in a small perimeter around the port of Pusan. Soon after, the United Nations sought to have its members support South Korea.

During his time in that country, Mirone served primarily as a “company runner,” in which he was tasked with transporting messages and other types of communication to various installments, or “companies.” The mode and limitations of his transportation made his duties that more challenging, Mirone said.

“I had little communication, except by Jeep,” he said. “The Jeep couldn’t go more than 50 mph.”

On occasion, enemy mortars were fired at his vehicle, though it was usually after he had passed. Despite the inherent danger, Mirone was only 18 or 19, so “I never worried about it. I wasn’t scared,” he recalled.

For his two years in the Army, Mirone earned a Combat Infantry Badge, a highly respected and prestigious decoration created in 1943 to boost the morale of frontline infantrymen. It is often bestowed upon those in the Army who engage in ground combat while serving in an infantry or Special Forces capacity.

After returning home, Mirone worked several jobs over the years, including as a crane operator at the former Republic Steel Co. in Warren and Youngstown for seven or eight years. In addition, he spent five or six years with Youngstown Manufacturing Co., then worked in the maintenance department at the Cafaro Memorial Hospital in Youngstown.

Mirone met his wife, Jo Ann Mirone, at a wedding, then they began what turned into a large family. The couple loved to travel, an interest that took them to France, Germany, Hawaii and “all over the United States,” Mirone said, adding that the couple spent many winters in the Phoenix area, where her sister lived.

Even though Mirone is in his 90s, he remains anything but inactive. He plays a pivotal voluntary role in Saturday food giveaways New Life Church in Poland sponsors, including packing and loading the items onto a truck. A recent such effort helped about 600 people, Mirone said.

His physical appearance seems to belie that of many his age, perhaps because the Army veteran visits the Davis Family YMCA in Boardman several times weekly. He also played racquetball until his late 80s, at which time the COVID-19 pandemic began, Mirone said.

Travels closer to home have taken him to several area golf courses such as Bedford Trails and Knoll Run golf courses, both near Lowellville, where he teed off twice weekly.

A few weeks ago, Mirone moved in with his daughter, Lynne Terlecky, after having sold his New Middletown home of 60 years. In so doing, he gave away many of his possessions to his grandchildren while donating others to the Goodwill thrift store in Boardman.

Like many veterans who answered the call of duty, Mirone seeks neither recognition nor publicity, but did so for a more straightforward — and, many might say, honorable — reason.

“I served my country, you know. I did what they told me to do,” Mirone said, adding, “People know me, and I treat them with respect. That’s the way I was brought up.”