Video and news story by Guy Page
V.L. Coffin of Cavendish, retired U.S. Army active duty and VT National Guard staff sergeant and Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran, says the greatest honor bestowed on him isn’t his Bronze Star ribbon, earned for meritorious action in Afghanistan.
Coffin is running for State Representative as a Republican from Weathersfield/Cavendish, where Democrat Rep. John Arrison won’t be seeking re-election. It is unclear who will seek the Democratic nomination.
At the Saturday, May 18 GOP state convention, during a hallway conversation VDC noted the ribbon on Coffin’s lapel. Coffin said he accepted the Bronze Star on behalf of the soldiers he led as a sergeant with the Vermont National Guard.
The ribbon isn’t “his” – it’s “theirs,” Coffin stressed.
And he says the greatest honor bestowed on him was the privilege of training young Vermonters for military service, lead them into combat, and “and trust that I would bring them home. That’s the greatest honor this state could have ever given me,” Coffin said.
VDC will publish more about candidates for this race, and other House and Senate races, in the coming days and weeks. The primary will be held on Tuesday, August 13.