December 24th, 1944

Here is an entry from The World Almanac Book of WW II for December 25th, 1944:

The allies begin their counter-offensive against the Germans forces in the Ardennes. In this advance the attack of US 4th Armored Division from around Mortelange is to be designed to relieve Bastogne.

November Meeting and Christmas Party Dec 19th!

If you have ever been to the Veterans Administration Hospital, you may very well enjoy the play, 3 No Shows, one veteran's humorous trials at the VA. The play was put together by the Veterans Homefront Theatre, and stars our own WW II Veterans Discussion Group member, Dana Murphy.

Also please note that the Christmas Party will take place on Wednesday, December 19th at 2 pm, in the new DeMayo Community Room!

Heavy Tank "King Tiger" Model

David Torre brought in his model of this German "King Tiger" or "Royal Tiger" WW II Tank which was in combat in 1944.

According to the book, Second World War Combat Weapons, German by E.J. Hoffschmidt and W.H. Tantum:

"This heavy tank was designed for defensive warfare...it is distinguished by heavy frontal armor and by the employment of the heaviest German gun to be used in a turret with a 360' transverse...the hull front is formed of a single sloping plate 150 mm thick, and a lower nose plate 100 mm thick. Each of these plates is set at an angle of 50' from the vertical, resembling in design the Panther rather than the earlier Tiger."

Thank you Dave, for sharing your model.

June 2012 WW II Veterans Discussion Group Meeting

We were pleased to welcome Lt. Colonels James Fontana (above) and Walter Hushak (below, standing) who spoke about their experiences piloting aircraft during WW II. Both men gave interesting accounts of their experiences and answered questions from the group.

Nile Heermans' 100th Birthday at the WW II Veterans Discussion Group

The May 2012 WW II Veteran's Discussion Group celebrated veteran, Nile Heermans' 100th birthday. Below are photographs from the meeting of Nile, the birthday cake and Nile with his wife, Kate.

WWII Veterans Discussion Group Member, Nile Heermans turns 100 on April 26th, 2012

We are pleased to congratulate WWII Veterans Discussion Group member, Sergeant Nile Heerman's on his 100th birthday! Sergeant Heermans was drafted into the U.S. Army at the age of 30. He served as balloon barrage chief before the Army discontinued that program. He then transferred to the 571st Signal Company of the 71st Infantry Division-General Patton's 3rd Army. He served in Europe and his unit took part in the liberation of the Gunskirchen Lager concentration camp in Austria. Below are pictures of Sergeant Heerman's from his service in WWII.

Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans at CCSU

I want to commend Central Connecticut State University for arranging this coming weekend to provide the welcome to Vietnam Veterans that they should have received. The event will be located at the Governor William A. O'Neill Armory in Hartford, CT Saturday, March 31, 2012. It will begin at 7:00pm (Doors open at 6:00). TICKETS ARE NOW AVAILABLE and must be ordered by Monday March 26, 2012.
Tickets for Vietnam veterans are FREE. All other guests pay $10 per ticket.

Please call Timothy Jones at (860) 832-2978 for ticket information and ordering (tickets are required for all those attending).

Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans

Our mission is simple, yet powerful. Let us give our Vietnam veterans the welcome home they never received.

In 2010, Connecticut became the second state in the nation to pass legislation designating March 30 as Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day -- the date the last combat troops withdrew from Vietnam. Several additional states have since followed suit, recognizing the need to right an injustice.

The Connecticut Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Veterans History Project at Central Connecticut State University have partnered to plan and host a much deserved Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans event on Saturday, March 31, 2012 at the Governor William A. O'Neill Armory in Hartford, CT. It will be an evening of USO entertainment, music, and dramatic readings from the letters or diaries of our Vietnam Veterans.

The event will begin at 7:00pm (Doors open at 6:00).

Food will be provided, as well as a cash bar.

If you are a Vietnam era veteran, this celebration and opportunity to catch up with old friends is for you. So please call for your tickets!

Civilians who want to honor and thank our Vietnam veterans are also invited.
tammy.marzik@po.state.ct.us

You can also contact:

Eileen Hurst
Director, CCSU Veterans History Project

860 832-2976 or hursteim@ccsu.edu
http://www.ccsu.edu/page.cfm?p=9996

.

Thanks to Many Contributors

Recently, many people have contributed newspaper articles and other information relating to WWII.

I would like to recognize WWII Veterans Discussion Group members, John Acampora, Nick Bagnoli, George Barba, George Firth, Jay Gherlone, Louis Mingione, and Vera Veragoti. As well as library staff Madelyn Negro and Kevin Ward for contributing information on WWII and veteran's interests.

John Acampora stopped by with important information on veteran's benefits. We hope to have the contact person Mr. Acampora provided for us speak with the group on this important issue.

Nick Bagnoli brought in a number of older newspaper articles from the Historical Society that he photocopied. An example can be seen at the end of this article.


George Barba provided us with an interesting National Geographic article on Pearl Harbor, which included information on the preparation and plan of the bombing by Japan.

George Firth stopped by with some interesting copies of photographs of President Roosevelt as well as a copy of the Morris Family Reunion of 1994.

Jay Gherlone recently contributed a review of the the book A Train in Winter by Caroline Moorehead to the February issue of the WWII Veterans Discussion Group newsletter.

Louis Mingione has kept us posted on the development of the WWII Foxon Memorial.

Vera Veragati stopped by with information on the organization Give2thetroops.

Madelyn Negro has provided many newspaper articles on WWII and Kevin Ward just brought to attention the article on the young man serving in the Civil Air Patrol in Stratford, CT who is circulating a petition backing a bill that would award WWII Civil Air Patrol volunteers the Congressional Gold Medal. (New Haven Register Monday February 6, 2012).

Below is one of the articles contributed by Mr. Bagnoli





Below is an enlargement from the article above

Christmas Party 2011

Kevin McKernon dropped off some photos of the Christmas party in January.



Below: Liz and Peter lead the singing








Rudy Pohlman sang a few numbers including a Johnny Cash song





Dana Murphy sang as Mr. and Mrs. Nobile and Pat Baker look on
























Above- Terry Sayles talks with George Barba
Below- Joseph and Muriel Minto win the grand prize raffle