GEORGE DURAND - Woonsocket 01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 GEORGE DURAND, 73, of Carnation Street, a 23-year Air Force veteran, and a leader in veterans' affairs, died Sunday at the Haven Health Care Center, Smithfield. He was the husband of the late Muriel (Bacon) Durand. Born in Woonsocket on Feb. 22, 1931, he was a son of the late Dorias and Aurora (Desjardins) Durand. An Air Force veteran of the Korean War and the Vietnam War, he had served with the 78th, 81st, 91st and 92nd Tactical Fighter Squadrons, in Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines, before retiring as a sergeant, in 1972, after 23 years of service. Mr. Durand later had worked for General Dynamics. He was a life member and past commander of the Disabled American Veterans, Chapter 12, and had served the National DAV as national deputy chief of staff from 2002 to 2003, and as an aide to the national commander from 2000 to 2001. He was a member of the St. Joseph Veterans Association, and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Leclair Kozlik, Logan, Bassett Post 6342, in North Smithfield. He leaves a son, George Durand of Woonsocket; a daughter, Debora Duguay of Smithfield; three sisters, Yvette Brown of Woonsocket, Muriel Belba of Cumberland and Blanch Hammer in Minnesota; and three grandsons. The funeral will be held Thursday at 9 a.m. from the T. Lauzon Funeral Home, 85 Rathbun St., with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 in Our, Lady Queen of Martyrs Church, Park Avenue. Burial will be in St. Jean Baptiste Cemetery, Bellingham, Mass.