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The Enterprise — Michael Koff

Private First Class Nils Edward Mockler, a U.S. Marine, acknowledges the crowd gathered at Crossgates Mall on Tuesday as Albany County honored three veterans. Mockler joined the Marines at age 18, in 1944, serving as an intelligence scout and fighting on both Iwo Jima and Saipan. He talked about the grueling Battle of Iwo Jima and how he saw the American flag raised atop Mount Suribachi, a scene made famous by Joe Rosenthal’s photograph. Mockler became a teacher.