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

Christmas Party

The WWII Veterans Discussion Group had an enjoyable Christmas party on the 21st, complete with food, singing and raffle baskets!

70th Anniversary

Battleship Row
photograph from the Naval History and Heritage site.



This past December 7th was the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.

It was sad to learn that the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association disbanded due to the small numbers left and the difficulty of the remaining aged members have experienced in attending the meetings.

The New Haven Register interviewed local Connecticut residents asking them about their memories of Pearl Harbor Day. Like the day President Kennedy was shot, people remember where they were and what they were doing when Pearl Harbor was struck.

The November 6th issue of Parade Magazine featured an interview with six soldiers called Six Wars. Six Vets. Six Stories of Courage. Among those interviewed was WWII veteran, Bob Kessler who served aboard an amphibious troop carrier in Okinawa and other Japanese held islands. The article is available in the reference office of the library; a video of the interview can be found at: http://www.parade.com/news/veterans/articles/video.html

We were pleased to welcome Bob Janicki (shown above) to the October meeting of the WWII Veterans Discussion Group.

Mr. Janicki has an impressive biography. He served as a Marine Infantry squad leader with the 3rd Marines in the I corp area of Vietnam from 1967 through October 1968 through the Tet Offensive. He served with the Marines four years. He has been awarded the Purple Heart,and Combat Action Ribbon among many other awards. In his employment at AT&T, he organized the SNET Veterans, later called the AT&T Veterans. The group conducted outreach into the community in support of numerous Veteran related efforts. In 2006, he was inducted into the the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame for his lifelong dedication to veterans and their families. He serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut State Veterans Memorial. Mr. Janicki spoke about the building of the Memorial which will be Connecticut's first Statewide Memorial to honor all veterans. To read more about the Memorial go to: www.cthonorsvets.org