Miami Valley veterans chosen for Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame

Three Miami Valley veterans are among 20 statewide chosen as the newest inductees into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.

The two Air Force veterans and a former Marine include:

* Blanche Aviles Casey, 73, of Beavercreek, a veteran of both the Vietnam War and Persian Gulf War era who became a federal servant after serving 30 years in the Air Force.

Casey is a member of the Greene County Veterans Service Commission, and serves on the Greene County transit board, according to the state. She’s a member of veterans’ service organizations and won recognition awards for her extensive involvement in public service.

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* William E. DeFries, 57, of Clayton, a Marine Corps veteran who is a small business owner, philanthropist, and mentor, among other roles.

DeFries acts as a mentor at the Ohio Veterans Treatment Court in Montgomery County for veterans suffering substance abuse or mental illness, according to the state. Among a wide range of community public service, he has offered jobs to the unemployed at his restaurants and organized fund raisers through community service organizations for young adults involved in athletics, art and academia, the state said.

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* Richard V. Reynolds, 68, of Beavercreek, a retired three-star Air Force general, was a past chairman, president and CEO of the Air Force Museum Foundation Inc. He led a nearly $41 million fund raising campaign to add a fourth hangar at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force that opened last year and is part of the fund raising effort to build a $6.5 million Fisher House at the Dayton VA Medical Center campus.

Among other post military work, Reynolds co-founded Air Camp Inc., for Dayton elementary and middle school students in the region.

The Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame will induct its newest members Nov. 9 in Dublin, Ohio.

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