Cuba NY resident Retired Brigadier General Arthur Austin Jr. chosen for state and national honor
From the Catherine Schuyler Chapter of the DAR,
The Catherine Schuyler Chapter is honored to announce that the Chapter’s nominee for the 2024 DAR Outstanding Veteran Volunteer Award, US Army Brigadier General Arthur G. Austin, Jr. (ret.), has been chosen as the New York State winner as well as the National winner, and will be presented with his National Award at the annual DAR Continental Congress in Washington, DC in June.
The DAR Service for Veterans’ Committee from each chapter in the nation has the option to nominate deserving veterans for several awards each year. The Outstanding Volunteer Veteran Award is presented to a veteran in recognition of outstanding achievement in personal, professional and family life. Proof must be sent to the state chair of this committee showing significant contributions of leadership, patriotism, and increased awareness of veterans.
Mr. Austin served in the United States Army from 1977-2014. His military service included mobilization during the Cuba Refugee Crisis, Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, in Guantanamo Bay Cuba for Operation Enduring Freedom, and for Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has received numerous medals and awards, and is an inductee in the Michigan State ROTC Spartan Battalion Hall of Fame.
Since his retirement, Mr. Austin has continued to serve locally as a guest instructor for the Cuba-Rushford high school’s outdoors class, for St. Bonaventure’s Counter Terrorist class, as a board member for various organizations, by volunteering at veterans’ booths, and by conducting an annual fishing derby for the Pennsylvania and Western NY community. Specifically for veterans’ programs, he works with both the LEEK Foundation Veteran Hunting and Mountain Preserve and the Enchanted Mountain Coalition as a mentor. He has organized and hosted the kids’ fishing derby at the annual open house at LEEK, a family-friendly all-inclusive veterans’ retreat with the mission of “Serving All Veterans, All Wars”. He provides outreach to the Veterans Outdoors Experience, which is dedicated to getting veterans involved in outdoor activities, and as a contact for the Community Veterans Outreach, a conduit for family issues, VA assistance, burial and Honor Guard support, as well as recruitment command support.
Mr. Austin’s passion is supporting veterans. His motto is “Honorable Service after Honorable Discharge.” He lives in Cuba, NY with his wife, Karen.
At the Catherine Schuyler Chapter’s annual meeting on May 14, Mr. Austin was presented with certificates from the Chapter and State Organization; a gift certificate toward items for the fishing derby, donated by Runnings in Wellsville; the 2024 NYS DAR Outstanding Veteran Volunteer medal; and a chapter check toward his travels.
Additionally, the Chapter’s Quilts of Valor group presented Mr. Austin with a Quilt of Valor. A Quilt of Valor is a quality, handmade quilt that is machine or hand quilted. It is awarded to a Service Member or Veteran who has been touched by war as a way to say unequivocally “Thank you for your service and sacrifice in serving our nation.”
