Ernie Pyle wrote in 1944 that victory came from bravery and many other things, not from destiny making one people better than others, and that gratitude in victory mattered more than pride. Since the settling of the Monongahela area before the War for Independence, the community has provided men and women to serve the nation in peace and war. They served in all branches of the Armed Forces, traveled to all corners of the globe, and brought honor to themselves and their community, with many rising through the ranks to positions of honor and great responsibility. Among them was Monongahela native Carl E. Vuono of the United States Army. After graduating from West Point in 1957, he began a distinguished military career, commanded at all levels, served in the U.S., Europe, Korea, and on two tours in Vietnam, rose to the rank of four-star general, and in 1987 was appointed by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. During his four-year tenure as Chief of Staff, the Cold War ended, and he led the U.S. Army through Operation Just Cause in Panama and Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf.