General Fermijon Marrero, 64, will start a chapter of the U.S. Army Cadet Corps after he moves to New Rochelle.

Photo Credit: Photo by Andrew Meola

Fermijon Marrero was a prisoner of war for approximately a year and a half.

Photo Credit: Photo by Andrew Meola

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – Former United States Army General Fermijon Marrero was a guest of honor at New Rochelle’s Veterans Day service on Friday. The soon-to-be New Rochelle resident was a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Marrero still remembers the exact days of his service. He joined the Army on May 23, 1964 and left on Nov. 22, 1987. Twenty-two days later, he joined the Army Reserve, which he left on May 22, 2011.

The former general said that the memorial services on Veterans Day reach him on an emotional and personal level.

“Any day that we can celebrate our veterans is the best day,” Marrero said.

Marrero will move to New Rochelle in 18 months and will start a chapter of the U.S. Army Cadet Corps. One of his POW friends came from New Rochelle, and he recently spoke to his family after he died.

The native of Spain was a prisoner of war from Dec. 15, 1966 until May 1968. The Vietnamese forced him and his cellmate to work for 16 hours each day in the rice patties while up to his knees in cow dung. The enemy only fed him twice a week, and all he received was an ashtray sized dish of rice filled with maggots.

But Marrero said he had to eat the creatures because they were his only source of protein. He slept in a tiger cage that was far too small for him. One day, he and his cellmate ran when the guards turned their heads. He had contracted malaria, which he said he still has to this day, but he ran until he joined up with the 12th Cavalry in Laos.

Marrero said veterans today must be cared for by the United States and its citizens and mentioned the 225,000 homeless veterans on the streets of New York City.

“Something has to be done,” Marrero said.