VeteranOfTheDay Marine Corps Veteran Tony Fileff

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is United States Marine Corps Veteran Tony Fileff. Tony served from 1942 to 1952 during World War II and the Korea War.

Tony was born on August 7, 1921 in Gary, Indiana. After graduating high school in 1940, he worked in a mill for a year to save up for college and enrolled at the University of Indiana in 1941. Tony enlisted in the military on June 20, 1942 and was accepted into an officer program. He continued attending college until he was called to a B-12 program for the Navy and Marines at Purdue University. Following his completion of the program, Tony completed boot camp in 1944 at Parris Island, South Carolina and Officer Candidate School at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.

After Tony’s last round of training in January of 1945, he spent time in Hawaii and Guam before he volunteered to serve in Okinawa and was assigned to the 3^rd Battalion. He frequently saw combat, and after the end of the war was assigned to Tsingtao, China to guard railroads and airfields. Tony returned to the United States and became a reserve officer before being called to Korea in January, 1951. During the Korean War, Tony served as the executive officer of a division reconnaissance company.

Tony was discharged from Korea in June of 1952 and joined the Marine Corps Reserve Detachment in Hobart, Indiana. He volunteered through the Marine Corps with Toys For Tots, and soon became the co-chairman for the Lake and Porter County branches of the program.

Tony passed away on June 2, 2017 at the age of 95.

We honor his service.

Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? You’re in luck! VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.

Veterans History Project

This #VeteranOfTheDay profile was created with interviews submitted to the Veterans History Project. The project collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war Veterans so that future generations may hear directly from Veterans and better understand the realities of war. Find out more at http://www.loc.gov/vets/.

Graphic By Lilian Vo: Lilian Vo is an undergraduate senior at George Mason University studying Global Affairs and Intelligence Analysis.