Tag: PAT DOWNING

Vietnam vet thanks Mobile for Armed Forces Day proclamation

Mobile Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis called on a local war hero during the city council meeting Tuesday as he presented a proclamation observing May 16 Armed Forces Day.

Vietnam veteran serving community decades after retiring from Army

United States Army Col. Patrick H. Downing (Ret.) of Mobile was destined to be a soldier. His father was a World War II Marine who had lied about his age to join the military at 15 years old. Although he would endure unimaginable conditions and experience two near-death experiences in Vietnam, Downing was able to emerge from war mostly unscathed.