Darien Times Memorial Day 2011

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011 1CTHURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011 1CTHURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011 1CTHURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011 1C

By David DesRochesTimes Reporter

Anti-aircraft shells explode in black puffs around George Walsh as he flies his Helldiver around the Japanese island of Iwo Jima in February of 1945. Below him, thousands of U.S. Marines disembark from landing crafts to face an enemy 18,000-strong in a campaign to capture this strategic location from Japanese forces.

Fighter planes strafe the mountain-ous terrain and bombers drop napalm on the beach, igniting the territory in a devastating inferno. But Lt. Cmdr. Walsh has no intention of joining the fight — at least not this time. “We flew up and down that landing area of Iwo Jima, filming the attack,” remembers Walsh, now 90.

In the gunner position of his plane, a photographer captures the carnage on celluloid for the U.S. Navy archives while Walsh avoids being shot. “Any pictures you see of action and that battle were taken from my plane,” he says. “I’ve always been interested in photography, I still am.”

On Memorial Day, Walsh will speak in Washington, D.C., about the role that dive bombers played during World War II, a subject that captivates his attention. The nonagenarian produced a DVD about the Battle of Midway and the lack of official recognition given the dive bombers by the U.S. armed forces.

The Kiso’s demiseWalsh was a dive bomber pilot

with Air Group 80 aboard the carrier Ticonderoga, part of Task Force 38.3. His artistic leanings as a photographer contrast with his toughness in battle. He received the Navy’s Distinguished Flying Cross after dive-bombing and sinking the Kiso — a Japanese light cruiser — off the coast of Manila in 1944.

The Kiso came into sight as Walsh led two other Helldivers over a small hole in an overcast sky. “The Japanese could hear us coming,” he remembered.

“They had focused their guns on that hole.”

Determined to make an attack, Walsh leads his team through the onslaught of artillery fire. He tilts his plane verti-cal and descends at full speed. In his sights, the Kiso grows bigger until it fills his windshield. Two seconds before impact, he releases his 1,000-pound bomb onto the Kiso’s deck, then pulls up and away from the explosion, skirting just 50 feet above the water at 150-plus mph.

“You don’t have time to have fear,” he said. “You’re too busy to think. I didn’t look back to see what happened with the bomb. I got the report from my gunner.” His fellow bombers fol-lowed suit, scoring direct hits and send-ing the Kiso to Davy Jones’ Locker.

The Kiso was the last of five light cruisers built by the Japanese Imperial Navy. Many of the crewmen on board

‘You don’t have time to have fear’

Darien’s George Walsh recallsservice as WWII dive bomber

Memorial Day 2011About the annual

Memorial Day special section

The Darien Times is proud to again bring you the images and stories that honor our town’s great spirit and patriotism. Memorial Day is about remembering those brave servicemen who gave their lives for our freedom. But, like many Darienites will at Monday’s parade, it is also a time to honor and thank those men and women who have and continue to serve our nation.

This year’s 18 pages features many new photos added to the collection of Darien service men and women dating back to World War I. For the second straight year, thanks to our generous advertisers, the section stands on its own. We’ve cropped some photos as tight as we could and mak-ing others larger to show the landscapes, the equipment, those old planes, and other interesting photographs.

Like every year, this section couldn’t be done without the community’s sup-port. Particularly during these times, we are grateful to the many who took out advertisements to support this project. In particular, we will be forever grateful for the support of Gene Coyle, Phil Kraft, Vin Burke and the Monuments & Ceremonies Commission. But none of this would have ever happened if it hadn’t been for the work of founding Times editor Linda Brooks and her husband George.

If you have a photo of a Darien man or woman in uniform that you would like to share with next year’s Memorial Day issue, please e-mail or call us to set up a time to come in. We will copy the photograph while you wait (so you don’t have to worry about losing it) and take down service informa-tion to appear in the 2012 edition. E-mail [email protected] or call 656-4230.

—Joshua Fisher, editorA division of SB2C Helldivers scours the sky for a target along the Pacific front during WWII. This picture was taken from Lt. Cmdr. George Walsh’s, above, airplane during formation.

The Darien Police and many volun-teers have worked together to beau-

tify the first State Veterans Cemetery on Hecker Avenue by restoring

the flag pole monument and adding more plants and trees

along with new granite benches. See page 10C. (Darien Times/

Kristen Riolo photo)

See WALSH on page 9C

THE DARIEN TIMES, THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011 Page 2C M D : H

Fred “Bud” and Elizabeth “Betty” Nelson on their wedding day, May 25, 1945. Bud in U.S. Marine Corps, serving

in American Samoa, Guadalcanal, Guam and Iiwo Jima from 1942-1945, then called back for Korea, 1950-1952. Betty in U.S. Navy WAVES,

1944-45 at Naval Air Station in Maine.

Capt. Arthur Lawrence Washburn, MD, father of Joan Washburn Coyle of Darien, is greeted by King George V. The Harvard Medical School graduate was a U.S. Army Reserves Medical Corps officer interning at Edenbourough City Hospital 1918 when World War I

began. As the first American to arrive in theater, he was officially greeted by the Britain’s king.

James B. NickelFirst Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps, 1952-54

Served as a senior air controller with the First Marine Air Wing, K-3, Korea. Responsible for air defense and air sea rescue for the

southern half of South Korea. Was privileged to work with several captains who had flown for the Marines in World War II.

Lt. Raymond B. Ryan, U.S. Army, First of the Fifth Infantry, MechanizedI Corps, Adjacent to DMZ and near

city of Quang Tri, VietnamPlatoon leader for 43rd Infantry Scout Dog Platoon. Unit consisted of more

than 25 men, 50 war dogs. Dog handler and scout dog made up one team. Teams were detached to infantry units to walk point and provide silent early warning of enemy personnel and booby traps.

Due to effectiveness, U.S. infantry units were able to avoid enemy ambushes and injury for anti-personnel devices. Of the

10,000 war dogs deployed to Vietnam, only 204 made it back to the U.S.

Charles G. Adcock (right), USN Machinist’s Mate, 1st Class and Percy Oldrin (left), U.S. Navy sailor home on leave on Locust Hill Road during WWI

Lt. Denis CampbellUS Army

Afghanistan

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THE DARIEN TIMES, THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011 Page 3CM D : H

Lewis N. BlyServed with the 3rd

Army commanded by Gen. George Patton.

Fought in the Battle of the Bulge, then across

Europe and into Pilsen, Czechoslovakia., Stationed

at Nuremberg during the trials.

K Skerrett1st Lt., US Army Artillery Surface to Air Guided Missiles, 1957-1961, 1st Operational NATO Air Defense Unit in 7th Army in Germany. 3rd Missile Battalion 71st Artillery. Awarded Army Commendation Medal for developing operating pro-cedures used throughout the Army Air Defense Command.

Sgt. Frederick P. Howe, U.S. Army, 1942-45, served with the 11th Airborne Division

in the Asiatic/Pacific Theater in New Guinea, Luzon, Philippines and

was among the first occu-pational forces to land in

Japan a few days before the Japanese surrender.

John K. DavidsonFirst Lt., company command-er, US Army artillery, 1966-69Fort Sill, Okla.; Fort Dix, N.J.

Ens. Michael CunninghamU.S. Navy Navigator, U.S.S.

Aludra AF-55, 7th Fleet, 1960

Elvin B. HoweU.S. Army, 1948-1951,

43rd Infantry Division, Germany occupation forces

Louis RussoCorporal, heavy weap-

ons, ordnance, 8th Army, 1952-54

Larry Maul486th AAA, 3rd Armored Div.

WWII Europe, 1944-45

Phil KraftU.S. Army Special Ser vic es

Long Binh, 1970

Charlie Adcock SM3USS Brooklyn

Palermo, Italy 1944

John KeaneWWII Europe, 1944-459th U.S. Army Air Force

1st Lt. Basil Andriuk, Ft. Meade, Md., 1962

Rank: Lt. Col. (Intelligence)Ret. '78

U.S. Army Re serves

Elwin E. SmithWorld War II

511th Parachute Infantry, 11th Airborne Division. Served in Pacific Theater

Richard LeinertArmy Air Force

1944 Paris

Corporal Joseph DeCarlo U.S. Army World War II 66th infantry division,

1943-44

David HolmesBatteryA 209th

AAA Bn.Army of Occupation

Japan 1945-46

William P. KeaneSeaman 1st Class, U.S. Navy,

WWII, USS GuadalcanalAmerican Theater and

Victory medals

Joseph Bruno USNAmerican Theater rib bon,

Asiatic Pacific Rib bon, Vic-to ry Ribbon

Lt. Cmdr. Deborah Loomis, JAGC, USN

Deputy Special Counsel to the Chief of Naval

Operations.

William “Buster” Hughes Aviation Machinists Mate Enlisted in U.S. Navy l943

Sgt. David M. SinclairU.S. Marine Corps 1951-53

Sea School and 6th Fleet, Norfolk, Va., 3rd Marine

Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

William F. Keeshan Jr.First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Signal Corps, 972nd Signal

Battalion, systems engi-neering officer. Active duty,

June 1958 to June 1960.

Jim BenhamEnsign, U.S. Navy, was communications officer on destroyer USS Farragut and was present at Pearl Harbor bombing on Dec. 7, 1941. Farragut crew also saw action on Wake Island, the Marshall Islands and Coral Sea, a turning point in sea war with Japan.

1st Lt. Robert Harrel2nd Armored DivisionCompany Commander

Fort Hood, Texas

Major James H. Cloud (Ret.) 670th Field Artillary Batallian, U.S. Army

Reserve. Served in Korea on active duty 1953-54 in 5th Ordinance Direct Support

Company.

Dominick V. SestitoU.S. Army, European

TheaterWorld War II

Corporal Joseph Gallucci U.S. Army Air Force

Served in U.K. motor pool USAAF 8th AF Bomb

Group B17 during World War II. Home of Memphis

Belle. Completed 25 missions over ETO

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Estelle Taylor WatsonCommunications officer, U.S. Naval Reserve, WW II Served in

Washington, D.C., and San Francisco

William Andrew Thomas III U.S. Army Pilot, American Expeditionary Force, France in World War I. Grandfather of Heather Thomas and great grandfather of Connor , Hayden

and Blair Nackley

World War I, 1917-1918David C. Bispham

Lawrence F. CallahanMartin H. Gill

Wilford T. LowndesMurtagh C. McDonald

Edward G. PunzeltEdward F. Sexton

George Straka

World War II, 1941-1945Sanford Adams

Eric AllenWilliam A. Aycrigg II

Elton S. BarrettOrrin K. Boice

James ButtsJoseph A. ChasePeter T. Chester

Horace G. Cleveland IIILouis Cotaling

David O. DevlinAnthony R. Frate

Donald Frothingham, Jr.Raymond L. Howe

Pasquale G. ImprotaLawrence H. IsbellThomas W. JenkinsJefferson M. JohnsonJohn L. MastersonGeorge R. Miller

Alan R. MorehouseArthur L. Nielsen

William T. O'Neil, Jr.Francis W. O'Toole

Otis OvertonRosario F. Palumberi

Harold D. ParadyKenneth C. Phillips

John PyneLouis E. Rayner

Thomas F. PendlerDavid L. Rosenburg

Charles B. RossiGordan S. SmithThomas S. SmithStephen J. TansakTorger D. TokleJulius W. TorokAnthony Vitti

Clarence C. Walker

Korean War 1950-1953George R. Broadhurst

James A. Dooley, Jr.Eugene MurphyJulius C. Nacci

Robert J. Perkinson

Vietnam War, 1958-75Alan L. Diedricksen

John B. Giesen, Jr.James S. McArthur

David I. MixterWilliam R. Patience, Jr.

John B. Sherman

Darien’s fallen

Ronald HeinbaughStaff Sgt. U.S. Army

13th Engineer Combat Bn.7th Infantry Division

Korea, Pusan/Chun Chow1950 Bronze Star

Eric Falkenthal, Naval Reserve 1969-1971, USS Courtney, went

to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as data processing technician in 1970.

1st Lt. Quintin Ford U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps, World War II 1941-45; Served in Tuisia, Sicily,

Anzio, Southern France, Rhineland

Joseph W. WhitneyU.S. Air Force

Officers Candidates School 1953

Bill ElyAir radioman 2nd Class

U.S. Navy, 1942-45Served in sub-hunting blimps

Captain Gilbert O. Backman, U.S. ArmyEnlisted in 102nd infantry in 1940.

Served in South Pacific, European Theatre of Operation and China,

Burma, India. A member of the reserves until 1963, retiring as a Major

David E. Hughes U.S. Navy 1966-70 Electricians Mate

2nd Class Served on the USS

Intrepid, two cruises to the Tonkin Gulf, Vietnam

Edward “Ted” Hughes Jr., U.S. Navy 1943-46

Electricians Mate 3rd class

Sal Mazzeo, USMC corporal/sgt. of Cer e mo ni al Guard.

White House, Camp David, Silent Drill Team 1958-60

Charles PenroseCaptain, U.S. Army Air

Force, 1942-45

Commander R.E.( Pete) Kenyon USNR (Retired)

Active duty service on the USS Bausell from l963-66 in

Formosa patrol and Vietnam. Reserve duty service

from 1966-86

DeWitt Peterkin Jr. Cmdr., USNR WWII

Was the first American Naval officer sent to Pearl Harbor

to report to Adm. Towers Nimitz. Won 12 Battle Stars.

Corporal Agnes Frame Womens’ Army Corp Control tower opera-

tor, Randolph Field and Burtonwood Air Base,

England with Signal Corp of the 8th Air Force

R. Edward Heinbaugh, U.S. Army843rd Signal Battalion, 1942

Served on the Alaskan Highway maintaining telephone and weather

service communications between U.S. and Russia for aircraft flights

under Lend Lease via the northern route. Discharged January 1946

as a technical sergeant.

PFC John Brunelle, 333rd Infantry regiment, 84th

Division, Germany, 1945

Gary Falkenthal Naval Reserve 1961-1966, Two years in Greece, one

year on USS Coates.

Staff Sergeant and Medic Robert Kroll World War II with 293rd combat engi-

neer battilion of 3rd Army under Gen. George Patton

Staff/Sgt. Robert A. Newman

U.S. Air Force, 1951-54Russian linguist in air

intelligence unit — 12th Radio Squadron Mobile

Lt. (j.g.) Irmgard LaForgePort Director New York

3rd Naval District Cryp tog ra phy, 1943-44

George Swisshelm at Fort Bliss, Pfc, 597th

AntiAircraft Batallion, later attached to 9th Army for Rhineland and Central

European campaigns.

1st Lt. Francis NelsonPilot, U.S. Army Air Corps

Alaska Division Air Transport Command

Herb VernalU.S. Navy

Entered Navy 1944. Was in the Armed Guard on mer-

chant ships in the North Atlantic as a gunner.

1st Lt. Bill BalentineWWII Europe 1942-46Awarded Bronze Star and Purple Heart, 3rd

Battalion Communication Officer, 273rd Regiment,

69 Division, 1st Army.

1st Lt. Basil Andriuk, Ft. Meade, Md., 1962

Rank: Lt. Col. (Intelligence)

Ret. '78 U.S. Army Re serves

Lt. Col. Philip MorehouseFirst Infantry Division

World War IITunisia, Sicily, Normandy,

North ern France, Belgium, Battle of the Bulge,

Rhineland

S/Sgt. Fred L. VoelkerU.S. Army Air Corps

Enlisted right after attack on Pearl Harbor in December

1941. Served in Panama with the Ordnance Division.

Norman Guimond in 1969 after his return from

Vietnam. Lieutenant in the Navy and a naval aviator. He flew 70 combat missions in

the A6 Intruder from the air-craft carrier USS KittyHawk.

1965-1971

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“Aim High....Fly-Fight-Win.”

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Lt. Michael Grogan USNR Saigon 1965

Louis Canto, U.S. Navy, World War I

Anthony Marciano, left.192nd F.A. 43rd Div. Army of the Occupation Germany

1950-52

Cpl. William Van LoanU.S. Marine Corps

Rifleman in South Vietnam in 1967 with Mike Company

& Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines

Rick PocciaWest Point Class of 1973

Arthur F. Broadhurst Tech. 5, U.S. Army

Served during WW II in the European/African

Middle Eastern Theatre

John M. Trimmer US Army WWII

Alfred J. AndreoliPvt. U.S. Army

Served as a demolition spe-cialist for three years, eight

months during WWII in Europe and North Africa.

Lt. Sidney E. HendersonU.S. Navy 1943-46 Retired

after serving aboard the U.S.Cobia a submarine in

the Pacific.

Vincent RajczewskiStaff Sergeant, U.S. Army

1964-67 Military Journalist

Donald L. Kiggins2nd Lt., USAAF

P-51 Mustang Fighter Pilot, Iwo Jima - 1943-45

Rocco A. Evola Staff Sgt.

U.S. Army Signal Corps 803rd Battalion Co. C

Joseph H. CullinanServed in Germany with 40th Antiaircraft Artillary,

Gun Battalion 1952, Weisbaden, Germany

Cpl. Robert P. PriceTank Corps., Army

1943-45

Lt. James L. TysonU.S. Navy, Office of Stra te gic

Services in London, Italy1943-1945

Capt. Joseph D'ArrigoWorld War II, Germany; Korea, 1950. Lookout at 38th parallel. First American to see invasion

by North Koreans. Honored in Washington, D.C., during 50th anniversary of Ko re an War

Earle GreenwoodEnsign, U.S. Navy

Pearl Harbor 1945Mine sweeping, China

Adrian MagnusonLST 397

South PacificWWII

Dick Redican 2nd Lt. USMC 1st Marine division, Vietnam 1967-68

Captain Charles Forman U.S. Air Force 1954-56

1st Lt. Thomas L. DunnFirst Infantry Division

Germany, 1954-57

1st Lt. R.C. WhartonBattalion Embarkation

Officer, Okinawa 1963-64; served 1961-1984; Retired

1984 as major

Lt. Philip King Meyer, U.S. Navy, USS Camp, 1962-65

Sgt. Joseph Delle FontaneServed in Italy with 88th

Infantry Division.Awarded Bronze Star,

Purple Heart, Infantry Pin with three battle stars, Presidential Unit Citation.

Donald L. Coates Army Sergeant, Battery C, 607th Field Artillery

Battalion, 1942WWII Rhineland/Central

Europe Campaign

Frank KofalkThird Class, U.S. Seabees,

1953 to 1957 Served on Kwajalein, Guam, the

Philippines

Sam TestaCorp. Tech, 5th grade

US Army 3133rd Signal Corp.

European Theater Trained at Pine Camp,

Watertown, N.Y.

Samuel A. Schreiner Jr., lst Lt. US Army; Enlisted in

l943 in India as a private and rose to a field commission in OSS Detachment 101;

Awarded the Bronze Star for action behind enemy lines

in Burma

Lt. Col. Thomas J. DonaldsOn active duty with U.S. Air Force

for 16 years. Flew 28 bombing mis-sions over Iraq and Kuwait during

Gulf War. Flew missions during Balkans conflict.

1st Lt. John Murdock401st FA Group, Headquarters

Battery, Luxembourg 19451944-1946

Technician 5th Grade Charles A. Maher Jr U.S.Army ETO Fort Riley, Kansas WWII. Served in Headquarters Service Troop 116th Cavalry Reconnaissance squadron

PFC Eugene G. Maher. Served in World War II at Clark

Air Force Base and in Luzon, Philippines

Private Charles A. Maher Sr. Connecticut National Guard and corporal of the New York National Guard. 1899-1910

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“A global forcefor good.”

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Sgt. Jeff Green, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)

Special Operations Kabul, Afghanistan. Standing

guard outside Afghanistan president’s house.

Captain Andrew Frame U.S. Army

Served in Africa and Europe with the 192nd

Field Artillery of the Connecticut National

Guard during World War II.

Wilfred T. Lowndes Mechanic US Army

WWI

Joseph BonfiglioU.S. Navy, 1943-1945

Pharmacist’s Mate, 2nd class Sr. Dental Corpsman

USS Tidewater

John S. Durland Jr.1st Lt., Army Signal Corps.

Served as radar officer in the South Pacific

Oct. 1942-Dec. 1943

Wilbur S. Duncan Master Sergeant, 69th

Infantry Division, 1942 The first to meet the

Russians east of Leipzig, Germany, in WWII

John A. StuartSenior Master Sergeant, USAF (ret) 1955-1989

U.S. and worldwide

James D. Parker, Sgt. U.S. Army 1943-1946

47th Bomb Squadron, 41st bomb group

Erik Valentzas, Lt. Col., U.S. Army Special Forces1983 DHS graduate, West Point class of l988. Has spent most of his career in South America and is now in Bogota, Colombia assigned as chief of Special Forces (PATT). He also served as a platoon leader with the 101st airborne division during the first Gulf War.

Jimmy StolfiWWII Europe, Recon Co.

4th Armored Division

Fred Millspaugh Jr.Private, Germany 1965

Anthony ImprotaU.S. Marine Corps

1943 1st Lt. Raymond H. GrossWWII EuropeLanded on Normandy beach two days after D-Day, joined 2nd Armored "Hell on Wheels" Di vi sion. Fought through France, Belgium, first American occupying forces in Berlin. Recalled to active duty as Cap tain in Korean War. Lt. Col. Third Infantry Div.

Ed Carabillo82nd Airborne Di vi sion

Peter HamU.S. Navy SFM 3, 1963

Lt. (j.g.) Bill DonaldsU.S. Navy, 1953-56

Fred PocciaU.S Third Army, 1943-1945

Orlando Francesconi2nd Lt. U.S. Army

1941-44

Louis D'Aquila, USN1942-47

Jack Wood AMM 3/C blimps U.S. Navy 1942-44

Corporal R.D. Brown U.S.M.C 1942-1946

Sgt. Doug Ely, USMC, 1946-48, recalled during

Korean War

Morris O’BrienU.S. Navy

Pacific Theater, 1943-1945

Lloyd PlehatyLt. CommanderU.S. Navy, Pacific

Peter Wells Captain, USNR 1960-1992

When he retired after 32 years, Capt. Wells was the

senior bomb disposal offi-cer in the Navy

Frank D. Rich Jr. 1st Lt., US Marine Corps Served as a 1st Engineer in China during WWII and in the Shore Party Battalion from l951-52

James Baker, Sonor Petty Officer

lst Class U.S Navy, 1942-45

Anti-submarine duty in Atlantic fleet

Lt. E.C. Prival, USNR1943-1946

South Pacific

Bob Joseph, U.S. Army868th Field Artillery

Germany 1955

Pfc Eileen Lindborg O’Toole

WWII, U.S. Marine Corps

Staff Sergeant Robert Alexander U.S. Army

World War II, The Philippines

Private First Class Jeff Edelstein on patrol in Afghanistan with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.

Sgt. Richard ConstableMilitary Police Platoon70th Infantry Division

France & Germany1944-46

Ken Lord U.S. Army Seoul, Korea 1946

Larry McClellanWWII, Europe, Co, C

171st Combat Engineer, 2nd Armored Di vi sion,

U.S. Army shown in Paris July 1945

Coxswain Kenneth S. Weeks U.S.N.R Salerno, Italy Served in the 4th Beach Battalion of Amphibious Forces, Mediterranean Theatre, World War II 1943-46

Sgt. John BarstonU.S. Army Signal Corps,

France/Germany, 1942-46

Edmund Fountaine U.S. Army, Gunnery

Instructor (stateside)

Frank OlssonTech Sgt., 20th Air Force, 509th Composite Group

Ray StreetSeaman 1st Class, U.S Navy,

Pensacola, Fla., 1944-46.

Larry MagnusonSgt., Air Corps, 14th Air

Force, China

Capt. Edmond “Ted” Morse, USMCIwo Jima Feb. 1945

Albert W. Hanson, Private First Class, U.S. Army; Served in Korea 1955-56; in charge of Officers Club in Signal Corps. Received Good Conduct Medal

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Honoring OurVeterans & Troops

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Bob Marciano, U.S. Army 1952-54, Korean War

Four brothers went into the service, three returned.

Anthony “Tony” Vitti was killed in action on Feb. 28, 1945. His brothers, Joe, James and Mike, survived.

Described by his brothers as easy going and very likable, Tony Vitti was working for the Conservation Corps in Oregon doing fire prevention work in the forests when World War II

broke out. He joined the Army and was shipped overseas with the 405th Infantry.

After his death, Tony was bur-ied in a cemetery at Morgraten Limburg, Holland, Plot 5, Row V, Grave 198, where his grave has been attended by one of many Dutch patriots, who told the Vitti family on March 21, 1946, of his intent to care for the grave in appreciation of Anthony

Vitti’s contribution to Holland’s “liberation.”

Brother Joe Vitti of Darien served in the U.S. Marine Corps and saw action in the Marshall Islands and Okinawa in the Pacific. Brother Mike was a medic and brother James was in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

ANTHONY VITTI JOSEPH VITTI JAMES VITTI

Four Vitti brothers left, three came home

MICHAEL VITTI

Dick WoodsJoined the U.S. Marine Corps as competitive

shooter in 1956. Commissioned

in 1959. Member All-Marine Rifle &

Pistol team. Helped re-establish Scouts-

Snipers. Seconded the 40 Commando,

Royal Marines out of Malta for duties in

North Africa. Later commanded Co. K.,

3rd battalion, 2nd Marines.

Preston W. McEwan1st Lt. U.S. Air Force

Aircraft observerIntercept officer, instructor

1954-59

PFC Jack Hanley U.S.Marines World War II 1941-45 3rd Amphibious Corp Quam - 1st Brigade.

Second man to leave Darien for service.

1st Lt. W. Richard Fulljames U.S. Army Infantry. Enlisted 1943 basic training Mule

Pack Artillery, Ft. Sill, Okla. Discharged 1946, Allied Command, Berlin

2nd Lt. Gladys Golden CostelloU.S. Army Air Force Nurse

Corps at the military hospital in Santa Ana, Calif. 1944-46

Lt. Henry Strauss USNRNorth Atlantic Captain,

Sub Chaser, Solomon Islands World War II

1941-45

Bill ShepardLt. (jg) USNR 1968-71

Vietnam River boat service

Private Jack Droney U.S. Army

508th Military police, Korean War 1950-52

William Van Sciver1944

U.S. Army Air ForceServed in South Pacific

Herbert Van SciverU.S. Army served in

England, France, Belgium and Germany, 1944

Arthur Van Sciver1954

U.S. Air ForceServed in Germany.

Corporal Kevin GilronanU.S. Marines, 1981-84 in

the Far East

Tom Bauder, July 1969Sgt. in Air Force, Vietnam.

Served May 1969 to May ’70

Warren H. SlausonJoined the U.S. Navy after graduating from DHS in

1944 and served until 1959.

Adrian Magnuson Jr.USMC, Vietnam3rd Marine Div.

1967-69

Allen R. Coutermash, Staff Sgt., U.S. Air Force l950-54

97th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Korean service

Medal, U.N. Service Medal, National Service Medal, Good

Conduct Medal, SO 5, Par 4 Picture taken in Guam.

Captain James L. Mazurek, Class of l998 U.S. Military

Academy Served in Bosnia, Kuwait

and Iraq. Crossed into Iraq at the start of the Iraqi war;

was with the 3rd Infantry Division on the first incur-sion into Baghdad during

its Thunder Run to the airport. He was the battal-

ion maintenance officer for the second bridgade and

received a Bronze Star for his service in Iraq.

Lt. Rob Cassady Graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1989 and served as a Surface

Warfare Officer on a frigate, USS Knox, and a destroyer, USS Harry W. Hill. Served two years at

the Naval Academy, teach-ing navigation and naval

science to the midshipmen.

William E. Harrington Jr. was an aviation cadet in

the Army Air Corps from 1942-46. He was training

to be a pilot when his plane crashed while on night maneuvers in Moultrie,

Ga. He suffered near-fatal injuries and spent two years recovering at

Finney General Hospital in Thomasville, Ga.

Maj. Karol Anthony BauerGraduated West Point in 1936. Stationed in

Plattsburg, N.Y., Camp Perry, Ohio and Fort

Ord, Calif. Served with the Army 45th Infantry,

Philippine Scouts in 1939. Captured and sur-vived the Bataan Death

March. While a prisoner on Oryoku Maru, he was killed by U.S. Navy dive bomber attack Dec. 14,

1944, Subic Bay.

First Lt. Clifford Tallman Jr.5th Special Forces Group

Bad Tolz, Germany1966-69

John Visi, U.S. Navy, USS Boston, Vietnam 1967-68

Donald Forbes McGill, Full com-mander, U.S. Navy, Motor Torpedo

Boats; PT Boats, South Pacific Theater, Squadrons 6, 8, 12, 4, 39;

Active service 1942-45; Presidential Unit Citation from JFK

Lt. jg John R. Hinrichs U.S.Navy 1951-54

Destroyer duty, USS Cushing (DD797);

two Korean War combat tours; around the world

deployment

Staff Sgt. Evans Kerrigan“E” Company, 2nd

Battalion, 5th Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Korea

1951-1952, Three Purple Hearts

Lt. Col. Philip KleinertCivil Air Patrol, 1942-55

Awarded National Commander’s Medal and Wartime Service Medal for “meritorious service and devo-

tion to his wartime duties” by Brigadier Gen. Richard Anderson

Master Sgt. Philip “Randy” Kleinert, U.S.

Air Force1968 to 1972, stationed

Clark Air Force Base, Philippines, Minot

North Dakota Air Force Base

Master Sgt. William “Dean” Kleinert

Stationed in Saigon, Vietnam for two tours 1969 to 1973, Edwards Air Force

Base, California

7C

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Vincent Cardamone, PFC, 871st Field Artillery, 1944-46, on left,

with broth er An tho ny Cardamone, staff ser geant, U.S. Army, 375th

Ord nance Heavy Au to mo tive Main te nance Co., 1942-46

Donald A. Scribner, Lt. Col., USMCDesignated a naval aviator in l991, then received CH-53E pilot training. Served in

Operation Enduring Freedom at Camp Rhino in Afghanistan in 2001 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and 2005. Currently stationed at the naval base in Norfolk, Va.

Two Darien men lost their lives in

Pearl HarborTwo Darien men lost their

lives in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. They were Ensign William T. O’Neill, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. William T. O’Neill of Stanley Road, and Lt. Eric Allen Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Eric Allen of Noroton Avenue, Noroton Heights. They were the town’s first losses in the second World War. Lt. Ernest F. Sexton, after whom the town’s American Legion Post is named, was the first Darien youth to die in the first World War.

WILLIAM O’NEILL

ERIC ALLEN JR.

Nicholas P. Augustus Sr.Served in the U.S. Army after

graduating from DHS in 1946. Shipped to Italy where he served

as auto mechanic for the 339 Field Platoon. He received

World War Occupation Medal.

Joseph J. AugustusJoined U.S. Army in 1945 and

served in Naples and Rome, Italy, with Headquarters and Service Company. Honorable discharge as corporal in 1947.

John “Gus” AugustusLeft DHS in 1944 to join the U.S. Army. Served

in the European Theater with the 1st and 3rd Army in England and France. His unit

was heavy artillery and protected the famous Remagen Bridge and the Ludendorf Bridge.

Earned several medals.

Sgt. Anthony J. AugustusThe oldest of the four Augustus brothers who served

in the Armed Forces. Inducted into the Army in 1943. Shipped overseas to Belgium via England and France

and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. The unit won the Meritorious Service Unit Plaque with a citation for superior performance. Honorably discharged in 1945.

Nicholas P. Augustus Jr.U.S. Army 1972-1974

Stationed in Korea in the 2nd Division. He was in the 1st

Division at Fort Reilly, Kansas.

Albert DolcettiServed in the U.S. Army 1951-53 during the Korean War, sta-

tioned in Japan

Victor J. DolcettiCorporal, 325th Tank

BatallionServed in Korean War

Myrtle Bates Williams Served in the Women’s Army Corps at Wright

Field, Ohio, 1944-45, and the U.S. Army of Occupation in Paris and Germany, 1945-46.

Franklin P. BatesU.S. Navy “Seabees,” Cuba and

North Africa, 1949-1953.

PFC Walter Bates, U.S. Army, coast artillery, 1942-45.

Sgt. Elwood BatesU.S. Army Air Corps

1943-46, B29 Scanner

Donald Bishop, Seaman 1st Class

U.S. Navy 1944-46, Atlantic The ater

Sgt. Bill Grega, 7th Air Force Guam. June 1955

Sgt. Carlos Arias Ochoa, U.S. Army Kuwait, Iraq, 2003

John RothU.S. Army, 622nd Ord nance Battalion

WWII Europe

Linc Bell, left, U.S. Marines, World War I France and Leroy Bell of Port Chester, N.Y.

World War I, France

Pieter J. HoetsWWII Europe 1940-45

2nd Lt., Special Forces Royal Netherlands-Indies Army

1st Lt. Henry SandersServed in Korea, 1953

William A. FrateEntered OCS after col-lege to active duty, Ft.

Bliss, Texas. Returned to Army Reserve. Recalled to active duty during the Berlin Crisis. Retired as

lieutenant colonel of Civil Affairs. 25 years Reserve.

H. David SevignyU.S. Marine Corp.

Lance Corporal1965-1967

Lt. Christopher W. Pintauro, U.S. NavyTwo tours in Baghdad: first flying off the USS

Eisenhower as a Prowler naval officer and second as a naval special operations officer.

Lyle Grant Construction Driver

2nd ClassU.S.Navy, 1951-55

As a Seabee built a parking apron on airport runway in Argentia, New Foundland. In Naples, Italy, was personal driver for Brig. Gen. Earle Wheeler

8C

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THE DARIEN TIMES, THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011 Page 9C

survived the attack, and the Kiso’s demise was a stern psychological blow to an otherwise dangerous Japanese fleet.

Walsh estimated that he flew roughly 90 missions while serving in the Pacific Theater during the war. Of those, he reckoned he made 25 dive bomb attacks on Japanese war craft.

Into the cockpitGrowing up in Brooklyn

during the depression, Walsh learned to fly before he learned to drive. Like many young men at the time, Walsh was inspired by Eddie Rickenbacker and the flying aces of World War I. And after seeing pictures of his cousins in trenches at the western front, his desire to be in the sky solidified. “If I’m gonna die in battle, I want it to be clean and quick in an airplane,” he said.

Death was never far away during his training. “There were casualties every step of the way,” he remembered. The enemies a pilot faced during training included acci-dents, equipment malfunc-tions and simple mistakes. There was only one difference between flying in combat and training, according to Walsh.

“The fact that somebody’s shooting at you is different, but you do the same thing anyway,” he said. “It’s a ques-tion of following the leader and doing what you were trained to do.”

The truth about MidwayNow retired after 50 years

as an advertising executive and 15 years as an investment consultant, Walsh focuses on educating the public on the often misunderstood role that dive bombers played in the war to end all wars.

He contends that torpedo bombers and war craft vessels received most of the recogni-tion by historians, but dive bombers sank four Japanese carriers at Battle of Midway — a turning point at the Pacific front.

Previous attacks on Midway failed, leaving the U.S. fleet crippled by Japanese counter-attack. The dive bombers represented

the last chance for U.S. to gain control. Led by Wade McClusky and Max Leslie, the dive bombers went past the point of no return, know-ing that it was “kill or be killed.”

“If they didn’t destroy the (Japanese), the (Japanese) would turn around and launch planes and destroy our car-riers,” Walsh said. “Once they committed to ambush the Japanese fleet, they were committed.”

Walsh also challenges the official claim that Admiral Chester Nimitz was respon-sible for the successful attack on Midway — a small Pacific island that was a key stra-tegic location for offensive maneuvering. “Nimitz was a submarine officer, he was not a Naval aviator,” Walsh said. “He would never have con-ceived this plan.”

It was the perseverance of McClusky — an Annapolis graduate who was 41 at the time — that saved the day for Nimitz, Walsh said. But history has largely ignored McClusky’s heroism, and it wasn’t until 10 years after his death in 1989 that the Navy named a frigate after him.

For the last 22 years Walsh has studied Naval history and worked to promote the memory of the World War II dive bombers — an airplane fleet responsible for sinking 173 Japanese war craft, com-pared with 39 for the entire surface Navy. He even writes several online blogs on the subject, making him the self-proclaimed “oldest blogger on the Internet.”

Orders from Gen. MacArthur

Wartime anecdotes emerge from Walsh’s memory with crisp clarity and unashamed honesty. His adventures of merging flight and photos didn’t end at Iwo Jima, either. Gen. Douglas MacArthur commissioned his division to map the city of Manila after landing at Leyte, Philippines. So Walsh gutted his SBC2 Helldiver and replaced the bomb bay with a K-56 aerial camera and his gunner was told to shoot photos instead of bullets.

The day was overcast, and the roar of his engine a mere hum in his ears after hundreds

of training flights and numer-ous missions. Two fight-ers covered him, but as he descended through the clouds to begin taking pictures, the fighters didn’t follow. “So here I am, all alone flying at 2,000 feet over Manila,” he recalled. “I could see the Japanese on the roofs of the buildings shooting at me, but they were small-caliber weap-ons. Then, after a while, they unloaded with the heavy anti-aircraft.”

The attack forced Walsh to alter his straight flight path to a zig-zag pattern. “I had to take evasive actions,” he said. “Then, as we turned to go south, the photographer in the back yelled out, ‘Mr. Walsh, there’s a fighter on our tail!’”

Walsh looked back and a Japanese Oscar was creep-ing towards the vulnerable filmmakers. “That was the end of my photo activities,” he quipped. “I advanced the throttle to get a little speed and pulled up into the over-cast. I made a turn to the east that managed to throw the fighter off.”

He later learned that the Oscar performed the same evasive action against the U.S. fighters that had cov-ered him as he photographed

Manila. When the Oscar chased Walsh, the U.S. fight-ers engaged the Oscar. “He avoided them by flying into the clouds,” Walsh said with a laugh.

Memorial DayHe and his late wife, Anne,

have four children and seven grandchildren. As he cele-brates another Memorial Day to remember those who have fallen in service to their coun-try, Walsh is reflective. When asked what Memorial Day means to him, Walsh pauses to allow room for something meaningful to surface.

He scratches his chin, breathes deep through his nose. Outside his house in Darien, several birds chirp

and a few wild turkeys wob-ble up to the glass door that opens onto a patio encased in flora. His eyes pierce for-ward, perhaps searching for the right words in a sea of cliché sentiments. Finally he speaks.

“The fact that there is a Memorial Day,” he says with certainty. “It’s nice to know the people of this country appreciate the veterans and those who’ve been killed.”

Satisfied with keeping his comment poignantly simple, he rises from his chair and meanders past a wall of ser-vice memories. A library of World War II history books lurks in the corner. While his service to his country is a

noble memory, his contribu-tion to separating historical fact from fiction may prove his most lasting effect.

Fellow World War II dive bomber Capt. Chuck Downey testified to Walsh’s ability to ignite the torch and then carry it. Walsh’s “pursuit of accuracy and thoroughness through years of painstak-ing study provided this final testimony,” Downey writes, regarding Walsh’s DVD about the Battle of Midway dive bombers. “You can be very proud and deserve all salutes received.”

[email protected]

Continued from page 1C

Walsh: Promoting the work of WWII dive bombers

George Walsh stands with numerous items commemorating his service in the U.S. Navy during WWII. Below, Lt. Cmdr. George Walsh, third from left, pauses with other dive bombers and pilots in front of a Quonset hut on a Pacific island.

A U.S. Navy carrier burns after a Japanese attack.

Lt. Cmdr. George Walsh crash-landed his Helldiver into the deck after his tailhook was shot off by the Japanese. He was uninjured.

The coast of Manila burns after an attack by allied forces.

Take The Darien Times with you to the paradeGoing to the parade? We have all the details in this section, but have compacted much of it into a mobile Web site that includes photos, maps, events and a way for you to upload your pictures taken during the big Darien gathering on Monday. Just scan this QR code or enter hersam.mobi/memorialparade into your smart phone.

THE DARIEN TIMES, THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011 Page 10C

Eugene B. “Gene” WhitePrivate First Class Message Center

Chief, H Co., 1st Batallion, 1st Regiment, 1st Division,

U.S. Marine Corps. Served in Tientsin,

China and Sasebo, Japan in 1945, 1946.

Anthony T. Improta, U.S. Marines, left, Stephen Zangrillo, U.S. Army, Ralph Lionetti, U.S. Navy in the fall of 1944

1st Lt. Thomas Ross, Com 376 Infantry

The Four Rogers Brothers: Joe, left, Jimmy, Lou and Pat all served aboard The USS Juneau during World War II. Joe and Jimmy were transferred to the USS Antares two weeks before the Juneau was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Lou and Pat Rogers, along with the Five Sullivan Brothers and almost the entire crew of over 700, perished when the Juneau sank in the battle of Guadalcanal.

The Darien Police Department initiated in a project early 2010 to beautify the State Veterans Cemetery, which is located next to the Spring Grove Cemetery in Darien, directly across the street from the police depart-ment.

This Veterans Cemetery is the first Veterans Cemetery created in the State of Connecticut, dating back to the Civil War. The police initially enlisted the help of Darien landscape architect Lesley MacAulay, who voluntarily designed a planting blueprint for the proposed project.

To raise the thousands of dollars needed for the project, the police turned to Darienite Phil Kraft of the National Veterans Services Fund and began a fund-raising effort. In the fall of 2010, with the assistance of the U.S. Marine Corps League’s Lock City Detachment in Stamford, the organizers were able to reach the goal.

With the funding in place, police began to organize the purchase and installation of new plants: 2,184 daffo-dil bulbs, one for every sol-dier’s grave, were donated by Nielsen’s Florist for the proj-ect. A group, including Darien Police officers, Boy Scouts, Depot teen center members,

and various other volunteers spent a day planting all of the daffodils.

Steve Mickels of Mickels Landscape in Darien volun-teered to work on the project and in turn was instrumental in the removal of old bushes and the planting of 12 new dogwood trees, 42 ilex cre-natas, 50 boxwoods, 30 vin-cas, and 314 alliums during this project. Also, 24 poppy plants were donated by Rosie Trompeter of Darien, who grows poppies as a hobby.

Paul Quick of Orchard Tree Service in Darien volunteered to cut down and remove some of the larger overgrown trees in the cemetery and to grind down the stumps to allow for our new plants. With the volun-teered help of Darien Electric and Dobson Irrigation, volun-teers were also able to install lighting to illuminate the his-toric flagpole monument in the cemetery.

The monument that sits in this cemetery was dedicated and placed there in 1936 on the 75th anniversary of the Civil War, and was sculpt-ed by Darien resident Karl Lang. Karl Lang was a pro-tégé of famed sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who designed the Mount Rushmore project.

With the remaining money, police purchased four gran-

ite benches, provided at cost by Don Foley of the Fairfield Monument Company in Darien. Each bench is engraved with the engraved inscriptions depicted on the flagpole mon-

ument, and placed along the outer edges of the monument circle.

On Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, at the ceremony dedi-cating these efforts to All of

the Veterans of this Nation, it will also 150 years after the Civil War. The ceremony will occur at the conclusion of Darien’s Memorial Day Parade and the ceremony is

open to the public. The Darien Police would like to gratefully thank all who donated their time, money, and/or effort to making this honorable project possible.

150 years after Civil War, another milestone in the cemetery

The student volunteers at Darien EMS-Post 53 will host the annual Memorial Day Food Fair following the parade on Monday. In addi-tion to food and entertainment there will be a White Elephant, which is still taking dona-tions.

The fair will be at Tilley Pond Park imme-diately following the parade until 3. It is open to all ages and will feature games, live music, food, a silent auction, and more. The cost for entrance is $3 a ticket. Tickets are being pre-sold around town and will be available at the fair. All proceeds benefit Darien EMS-Post 53.

Post members will be serving and preparing food such as hamburgers, hot-dogs, pork sand-wiches, ice cream and popcorn from Palmer’s Market. Local businesses Espresso Neat, Michael Joseph’s, Robeks, and Chunky Pam’s

Sweet Shoppe will all be sampling their food for the benefit of Post 53. Other attractions offered at the fair include Hands Only CPR demonstrations, a Community Corner, “Ask the Vet Corner” courtesy of PawPrint Market, and jewelry and accessories from Lindsay’s Beads and Boula Boula. The Food Fair will also have a silent auction of many items and jobs from Posties, a white elephant sale, and fabulous gift bags/baskets. Fun for kids with games and arts and crafts too.

Anyone who has donations, such as small appliances, household items, toys, books etc., may drop them off at Post headquarters, 0 Ledge Road, on Saturdays, May 21 and 28, from 11-1. All proceeds benefit Darien EMS-Post 53.

More info: 203-655-8980

Post 53 Food Fair returns after parade

Four granite benches, provided at cost by Don Foley of the Fairfield Monument Company in Darien, were installed last week at the state Veterans Cemetery on Hecker Avenue and will be dedicated on Monday. Each bench is engraved with the same inscriptions on the flagpole monument, which was dedicated 75 years ago this Memorial Day.

(Darien Times/Kristen Riolo photo)

The U.S. Marine Corps Band from Parris Island, S.C., will perform a free con-cert in Stamford Memorial Day weekend.

The band, which will also be marching in Sunday’s Stamford Memorial Day parade, will be performing Saturday, May 28, at 6 p.m. at Westhill High School, 125 Roxbury Road.

The event is spon-sored by the Stamford Patriotic & Special Events Commission.

Marine Corps band performs

James H. Rand IVU.S. Navy, active duty from

1966-69. Served as deck officer on board USS Chilton(APA-38),

home port Norfolk, Va. Deployed twice with the Sixth Fleet in the

Mediterranean. Retired from Naval Reserves in 1973 as a lieu-

tenant.

Christian T. Holdt Sr.U.S. Army Air Corps

Carrier Group 60 of the 12th Air Force. Flew 75 combat missions in World War II in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Greece, southern and

northern France.Air Medal with Five Oak Leaf

Clusters, European Theater Ribbon with seven Battle stars,

two bronze stars, a silver star, presidential Unit Citation,

Meritorious Unit Citation and the Distinguished Servie Cross

Chris HoldtU.S. Army

Active and reserve duty, 1966-82Combat Engineer Battalion,

taught float bridge construction.Volunteers for U.S. Army’s 5th

Special Forces Group Airborne, specializing in demolition/engi-neering and as a light weapons

expert on an operational A Detachment.

Completed military assignments in Army’s CID and with Battalion S3 as a command sergeant major at JFK Special Warfare Center, Ft.

Bragg, N.C.

��Sales, Leasing, Servicewww.darienauto.com


Robert Perske, RM3CThe Manila Port Direction Crew, 1945

S 1/c George M. MasonU.S. Naval Reserve.

Entered Navy in August 1944 and was stationed

in Hawaii.

George Mason37th N.C.B.

U.S. Navy Seabees, WWII, Pacific

S/Sgt. Vincent W. MasonUpper turret gunner on a B-24 Liberator Bomber, based in the Philippines.

Asiatic Theatre riboon, the Philippiine campaign rib-bon, Air Medal and good conduct ribbon. He com-pleted 34 missions after entering the Army Air

Forces in September 1942.

George TirpackNaval Armed Guard

1942

Robert MillerU.S. Air Force, 1950-54, Sergeant, three Stripes.

Paul MillerU.S. Army, 1954-57, Specialist 2nd Class.

Sgt. Peter ZangrilloUSMC, WWII, 4th

Marine Raiders Division. Guadacanal, Bouganville,

Guam, Okinawa

Gunnery Sgt. William Scott Taubl with wife,

Catherine, at USMC ballU.S. Marine Corps.

1984-2004Served with Valor

Operation: Desert Shield/Desert Storm and in N.C., Cuba, Calfornia and S.C. VFW Post 6933 life-time member, son of Ruth Tait

Taubl of Darien.

HT Tony Hill Taubl, U.S. Navy

Deployed to Mediter-ranean, Horn of Africa

and Arabian Gulf Cruise in 2007. Aboard U.S.S.

Bataan LHD 5, Norfolk, Va. After Aviation Ordinance

“A’ School in Pensacola, Fla., will be at HM-14

(squadron) at Naval Station Norfolk. Grandson of Ruth

Tait Taubl of Darien.

PFC Kevin Michael Taubl, USMC July 2008

to presentCurrently serving with 3rd Bn, 10th Marines,

Camp Lejune, N.C., as a Howitzer crewman pre-

paring for deployment to Afghanistan. Grandson

of Ruth Tait Taubl of Darien.

2nd Lt. Edward Clarke

U.S. Army Air Corps1943-45

Kent HaydockUSNR 1943-46 WWII Commissioned Naval

Aviator

Major Gerry GilliganU.S. Army Field Ar til lery, New Guinea, Philippines

1941-46

1st Lt. Ralph "Pete" Sickels

1951-53, Japan, Korea

Sgt. Bud Gerstenmaier1942-45

Army Air CorpsChina, Burma, India

Charles and Harold ScribnerChina-Burma-India, WW II

Albert L. Scribner, U.S. Army Air Corps

S. Pacific, WWII

Samuel StevensonCorporal

3rd Army MP Co. Fort Benning, Ga.

Sanford KaynorU.S. Army 1945-46

77th Infantry Div., 11th Airborne Div. para troop-

er in Sendai, Japan

Richard KeaneWWII, New Guinea-

Philippines292nd Ordnance

1942-46

Capt. John F. Welsh, U.S. Army, WWII, five

Battle Stars in European Theater, Bronze Star,

Legion of Merit, Croix de Guerre

Joseph GrossmanNaval Reserve 1947-1951, U.S. Army occupation of

Germany 1952-54

Louis VenezioWW II 1942-45

Sq. B 4268th AFF11th Army Air Force

Aleutian Islands

Mike HardingVietnam

USS Valley Forge

Rhoda Tirpack4th Air Force Unit 499th

1944

Lt. Charles AndrewUSNR 1943

Stuart Duffield Aviation Radioman

VJ Day 1945 Naval Air Transport

Service, squadron VR-11 Honolulu, Hawaii

Asiatic-Pacific Theatre

Frank ValenteU.S. Army Company A175 Infantry, 29th Div.D-Day (D-1) Omaha

Beach, Purple Heart, Oak Leaf Cluster, 1943-45

Alice WesterbergEngland 1944

George W. Hill Sr.38th Infantry 2nd

Division, World War II

Daniel H. O’BrienUSMC Corporal - 1958-

1961

Jay Wood1st Lt., 1st battalion, 81st

armor, 1st cavalry div. Ft. Hood, Texas 1969-72.

ALAN MOREHOUSE

In February 1942, Alan Randolph Morehouse, a lifelong resident and teach-er in Darien, was called to active duty. He was wounded during fierce battles with the German Afrika Korps in Tunisia, served with the First Infantry Division in Sicily and, after promotion to captain, he was at the head of the First Infantry Division for the landing on “Omaha” Beach. He was among the first to fall under intense fire on the morning of D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Major Sarah M. Howell, MDU.S. Army

Chief of DermatologyIreland Army

Community HospitalFort Knox, Ky.

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Alan Kirk GrayCorporal USMC,

FLSG-Alpha, Vietnam 1967-68

William Flanagan Jr.Seaman, 2nd Class

Officer candidate, USN Construction (SeaBees)

South Pacific 1944-46

George W. Watson Lt., USNR. Served

during WWII in a sub-chaser, as commanding

officer on antisubmarine patrol craft, and in com-mand of a mine sweeper.

A. Vincent FalcioniCorporal,

USMC 1942-45In action Guam 1944,

Okinawa 1945 22 months with 111 Marine

Amphibious Corps

Don MillspaughAirman 2nd Class,

Tex as 1966Gulf War and

National Guard

Ferd Trombini 1942-1946, 6th U.S. Army, New Guinea, Philippine Islands,

Japanese occupation

YN1 Gerald J. Pacelli Jr.Served 21 years

active duty and made deployments to the

Mediterranean/Adriatic seas and

Arabian Gulf

Paul HendricksonU.S. Navy, 1969-1978,

U.S. Naval Reserve, 1978 to the present.

Harry Street Jr.Musician 2nd Class,

U.S. Navy, Asiatic Pacific, Aircraft

Carrier Lexington, 2 Battle Stars1944-1946

Everett Gidley, a second lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Force

324th Fighter Group, was shot down in

enemy territory in October 1944.

Benjamin BrunoWWII, Europe

719Bomb Squadron449th Bomb Group

15th Army Air Force

Alonzo Maffucci, Staff Sgt. 47th HQ

Company, 9th Infantry Div. WWII, Africa,

Sicily, France, 6 battle stars

Capt. Vincent O’Toole, pilot, Army

Air CorpsWorld War II, Pacific, Berlin Air Lift, Korea

S/Sgt. James O’TooleWW II, Army Air

CorpsAir Transport

Command

Lt. Frank OToole World War II

U.S. Army 106th Field Artillery

Killed in action Battle of the Bulge

Warrant Officer Thomas O’Toole

WW II, U.S. Army Field ArtilleryAfrican-Italy

Campaign

Wayne Karl, USN Served on the destroyer escort “USS Hilger” as a lst class Gunners Mate,

Quantanamo Bay, Cuba

William H. LangeU.S. NavyHellcats

Shot down over Japan in Navy fighter plane

Alexander Gifford20th Bomb Sq. WWIIU.S. Army Air Force1943 Caribbean SeaAmerican Theater

Sgt. Richard Cudney, Airman 1st Class K-2, Korea 1954, 310th Fighter Bomber Squadron (F86)

Clay Canning, USMA 20093rd Battalion 21st Infantry

Fort Wainright, AlaskaSgt. David Rogers, USMC, with brother 1st Lt. Eric Rogers, USMC in An Nasiriyah, Iraq in 2003. Lt. Rogers is a 2003 Iraq veteran, currently piloting Huey helicopters and will deploy to the Middle East

in September 2008. Sgt. Rogers completed service in 2007.

1st Lt. William L RogersWW II, Army Air Force

Pilot B-17 Flying Fortress. Completed 36 bombing mis-

sions over Germany, re-upped w/ Fighting Scouts of the

Eighth Air Force completing an unknown number of mis-sions as P-51 pilot. Forced to bail-out over Berlin in April

1945. Captured and remained a POW until end of the war.

James IsseleeU.S. Navy

Aviation Radioman

William PlankE Co. 351st Infantry

1946-47German Occupation

James J. LechakSeaman-1

U.S. Coast GuardWWII

Daniel PocciaServed on U.S. Dewey

in the U.S. Navy

Lawrence P. StoryLt. U.S. Navy, 1959-

1964 - Pacific

Fred CalveU.S. Army Engineers

World War IIKorean War

Martin SkalaBasic training, Fort Dix, 1960

N.Y.S. National Guard

Louis M. Canto Jr.U. S. Army 3053

Ordinance Service Co. Occupation of Japan

Oliver Summerton, left, Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army Served in

South Pacific and Europe

Nelson Summerton, right, Master Sergeant, U.S. Army 200 Field

Artillery Battalion

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Ralph Pleasic,11th Coast Artillery 1941

The saddest day of Patsy Palumberi’s life was the day he learned of his brother Bobby’s death.

Rosario (Bobby) Palumberi was a sergeant in the U.S. Army when he was killed in action on May 14, 1944.

Bobby was wounded in Africa and then again in Italy, where he died two days

later.Patsy was very close to

Bobby. He graduated from DHS in 1942, entered the U.S. Army Air Corps (ord-nance support for the bomb-ers) in February 1943, and served in England, France, Belgium and Germany as a sergeant.

Patsy had been to many combat areas, but he always wanted to go to Italy, not because he was of Italian

descent, but he hoped he would get to see Bobby, his older brother.

At a mail call on Mother’s Day Patsy was eagerly await-ing a letter from Bobby. When his name was called, Patsy rushed forward to get his letter. It was his last let-ter to Bobby, returned and marked “Deceased.”

PATSY PALUMBERI

Palumberi brothers were close

ROSARIOPALUMBERI

Crpl. William C. Bell, U.S. Army, World War II; Letterkenny Ordinance Depot Chambersburg. Pa.

Sp. 4 Allan S. Bell U.S. Army 1967-69

24th Missile Detachment, Landsberg, Germany

Ores MesedahlU.S. Army, infantry

Europe and occupation of Japan,1943-45

William D. Peters Jr.Air Transport Command

World War II, 1943-46

Lt. (j.g.) Warren Brown USNRLanding Craft Tank Captain. Made D-Day Land ings on Omaha Beach, Easy Red Sector, Fifth Wave. LCT Flotilla Com mand-er made first day land ings in Japan

William E. RuscoeMachinist Mate 2nd Class

Service time, 1953-572 years on U.S.S. New Jersey BB 62

William E. Harrington Jr. was an aviation cadet in the Army Air Corps from 1942-46. He was train-ing to be a pilot when his plane crashed while on

night maneuvers in Moultrie, Ga. He suffered near-fatal injuries and spent two years recovering at Finney General Hospital in Thomasville, Ga.

He and his wife, Marge, moved to Darien in 1956, and raised their five children here. They are both

still in Darien and he continues to have his real estate business in town, Harrington Real Estate.

Loretta W. FairbanksCaptain

Women's Army Air CorpsWorld War II

Richard Reid CheswickCaptain, U.S. Army

Air Core, Lead Navigator England, World War II,

July 19, 1924 to Jan. 2006. Completed 29 missions

over Europe as navigator of a B-17 Flying Fortress. Guided up to 2,000 air-

crafts on daylight strategic bombing missions target-ing high-value industrial

sites. Achieved the rank of captain and was awarded the Distinguished Flying

Cross. Buried at Arlington Cemetery with full mili-

tary honors.

Sgt. Gene CoyleU.S. Marine Corps

WWII, Korean War

Frank WilcoxMedic, March Air Force

Base, CaliforniaServed 1954 to 1963

Gunnery Sgt. John Wilcox, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. 5th Fleet, Operation Enduring Freedom, 2001-02Served 1984-2004

Donald MacDonaldWorld War II Medic: 570th Ambulance Co.

Served 1942-45Battles: N. France, Rhineland Ardennes,

Central EuropeGood Conduct Medal, European African

Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Ribbon, American Theater Campaign Ribbon

Victory Medal

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“In peace and war”

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Staff Sergeant John Beauchamp U.S. Army4th Armored Division Germany World War II

2nd Lt. Sidney Falkenthal, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1943-46, trained as salvage diver, served in Italy. Pictured by Bay of Naples.

Oliver ParletteWWII Army Air Corps,

European Theater, 52 mis-sions 1944-1946

Richard ParletteU.S. Marine Corps, Pacific

Theater, 1945-1947

Patricia Parlette, U.S. Cadet nurse, 1944

Carl W. Alberni U.S. Navy

Amphibious Forces 1945-46

Don Miller, 20Camp Gordon, Ga.U.S. Army, 1951-54

Georgia and France.Dental X-ray technician

Charlie SladeU.S. Navy

World War II

Lt. Col. Bey BrownUSAF 20th SOS

Vietnam

Russell J. FairbanksUS Army, European Theater

World War II

Winifred SlausonLab tech duties in Fitzsimmons Army Hospital 1951-54

William McIntire, centerUSNR, World War II, Vietnam

Corporal Robert A. Martella5th Air Force, New Guinea, Philippines, 1943-1946

Seaman 1st Class Mark Isselee, U.S. NavySouth Pacific, and PFC Karel Isselee, US Army

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“Army strong.”


Robert R. Lindsey, Captain, U.S. Army; Manila, Philippines;

Served as staff officer after the Japanese surrender.

World War II veteran Robert Alden with grandson Theo, a student at Ox Ridge School.

Martin Flaherty, on right, 192nd Field Artillery, Memorial Day 1960, Stamford

Capt. Cornelius FinneganUSMC, Al Anbar Province, Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom, February 2008

Sgt. Rory Gutowski1st Batallion 8th Marines

Three Mideast tours of duty, two in Iraq

Currently stationed at Camp Legeune

Gordon F. SatterleyRadarman 3rd Class U.S.

Navy U.S.S. Weiss APD 135 World War II, 1944-46

Lt. jg Sandy McDonaldU.S. Navy Reserve, 1952-56, U.S.S. Warrington DD843,

1952-56

John J. Ryan Staff Sgt., US.Army, WWII

28th Infantry l09 Field Artillery, Europe

William DoughmanWorld War II 1944-45

Gunnar SchonningU.S. Navy during WWII

and Korean War. Served as water tender second class in the engine room of the USS Halligan during the battle of Okinawa. The Halligan was sunk after

striking an enemy mine on March 26, 1945.Wounded in action and received the

Purple Heart. John A. Maul, U.S. Navy, Served 1942-1945

A machinist mate 1st Class on USS Satyr.

Jimmy Sparrow1st Marine Pro vi sion al Rifle

Co.Tam Ky, Vietnam 1967

Harry EarleOctober, 1944, Foggia, It a ly

B-17 Bomber

George Walsh, 1944, Lt. Commander USNR (Ret.) Aboard USS Ticonderoga in Pacific VB-80, a dive bomb ing squad ron

“Bucky” Wiltshire82nd Airborne Div.

North of Fort Richardson, Alaska, 1961

Doug GerstenmaierU.S. Navy, WWII

Corporal Harry MusikasU.S. Army., 3rd Armored

Cavalry Regiment, 1st Platoon, Company H,

1953-1954

Richard S. DeverillU.S. Army, 1968-70Vietnam, 1968-69

Field artillary

Pfc. Edwin A. Gittleman39th Signal Co., Div. 1944-45

Ardennes, Rhineland, Central Europe

David BrownU.S. Army

European Theater1943-46

1st Lt. Clay Canning is currently serving in Afghanistan with the C Co., 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1/25th Stryker Brigade, of Ft. Wainwright, AK.

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“Semper Paratus”

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Maj. Christopher CollinsTop Gun F-18 fighter pilot in the U.S. Marine

Corps. Currently serving as the No. 3 Left Wing pilot for the Navy-Marine Blue Angels Flying

Demonstration Team

Elwyn ChesleyFiring range, Cape Cod, 1943,.

572nd Antiaircraft Ar til lery. Unit shot down 63 German air craft in combat in France and Aus tria

Rick Gutowski, 12th FinanceFort Knox, Kentucky, Served 1969-71

James Swiggart on first solo in the primary training aircraft, T-34C “Turbo Mentor.” Currently a student naval aviator working toward earning his wings, based at NAS Meridian, Miss.Currently flies the T-45C Goshawk and will transition to the E-2C

Hawkeye.

John G. Davis, Sgt. First Class, construction foreman, 969th Engineer Construction Battalion, Company A. In 1950, battalion built 10,000-man housing project

for the Austrian government, shown above.Richard Sanford, AX3, US Navy, Vietnam, Air Crew, 1967

Capt. James Garvin and Lt. Betsy Garvin Capt. Garvin is an air liaison officer in the U.S. Air Force, 712th

Air Support, Operations Squadron at Ford Hood, Texas. He graduated from Darien High School in 1999. Lt. Garvin of the

U.S. Navy Reserve is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 2001, and Darien High School Class of 1996.

Joseph H. CullinanWiesbaden, Germany

1952-54

Harry GrahamU.S. Third Army, Patton’s, 14th

Armored Division, 19th Armored Infantry Batallion. Served 1942-48

Edward G. LawrenceMedical Technician

U.S. Army 1943-1946

Joseph J. Warren, Jr.Graduated from Kings Point and went

into the Merchant Marines and was at sea when the U.S. entered World War II. He was immediately assigned to the USNR

where he served until the end of the war. During the war served as Third Officer on

an export line merchant ship delivering military equipment to both North Africa

and Murmansk.

Henry G. MilletLieutenant JG, LST 295

U.S. Navy

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“The Few. The Proud.”

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Louis F. Jefferson Before leaving Germany, c.1950

U.S. Army, Camp Pickett, Va., 192 Field Artillary

Manny “Doc” Gomes, South China Sea, Viet nam 1967USS Firm-MSo444

Phillips “Flip” TerhuneFirst Guider Missile

Brigade, Fort Bliss 1958

Sgt. Matt Marzano15th Marine Expedition

Unit, Kuwait 2000 Allan Mitchell, 7th Div. l7th Inf. Regt., Korea, 1951

Lt. Peter HovellUSMC 1958, 1st Marine Div., 2nd Battalion, 11th RegimentCamp Pendleton, Ca lif. 1958

Pfc Ken ElyU.S. Combat Engineers 1943-46Awarded Purple Heart for wounds received in Battle of the Bulge.

1st Lt. F.J. DraperUSMC 1951

Camp Mathews, Calif.

Oliver ParletteWWI, 1917-18

Salvatore Mazzeo Sr.Battery A 57th Ar til lery, St. Mihiel-Argonne Meuse, driver for General Pershing WWI 1918

Capt. Charles Penrose Jr.Adjutant 58th Fighter

Group, Army Air Corps., WWII, S. Pacific, 1940-46,

Captain, 108th Field Artillary, Korean Conflict

1950-52

First Lt. D. Blair NolandPilot, Army Air Corps., WWII, 57th Squadron,

357th Group, Air Transport Command, 5th Air Force, South

Pacific, 1941-45

Henry BarzettiU.S. Army Air Force 20th Bomber Command 55th

Weather Recon Squadron 1943-46, 21 missions,

South Pacific

Robert T. BeldenPrivate First Class, served

as rifleman in occupied Germany from May 1945

to March 1947 with the 16th Infantry Division.

Capt. Josephine Velazquez

U.S. Air Force.Served for eight years as

podiatrist at Andrews Air Force Base.

George BrooksU.S. Army

Basic Training, Fort Knox, 1960

Allan BixlerArmy, 1966-1969,

Vietnam, 1967-1968, 362 Signal Corps,

Rank of SP-5

Raymond Ely Seaman 1st Class,USN Armed Guard, 1943-

46, Served aboard tankers carrying oil

from the Persian Gulf.

Corporal Robert Ely, U.S. Air Corps, Served in England

and Belgium loading ordnance on fighters

and bombers.

Lt. jg Cotton Rawls Jr., supply officer,

U.S. Navy. Stationed at Newport, R.I.,

Da Nang, Vietnam, Nantucket Island,

Mass., 1964-68

Dan Wood On aircraft carrier

CV9 Squadron VC61Korea, 1951-1952

Roland UrsoneU.S. Navy WWII

On aircraft carrier in New Caledonia in

South Pacific

John Geoghegan, USN 1943-75

Pacific “Iwo Jima was my downfall. Got shot in the leg” July 4, 1944

Aviation radioman

Cpl. Frank G. MasonServed with the Aviation Engineers in Italy. Took part in the invasions of North Africa, Sicily and

Italy and won three bronze campaign stars. Entered

service in September 1941.

Ray H. Bartlett Jr.USNR. Served in WWII with CASU 23 as a safety

officer and was later in charge of radiation safety for the atomic bomb tests in the Marianna Islands

Robert ZoubekU.S. Army, HQ Co, 273

Infantry Regiment, 69th Division, Fort Dix

1954

Lt. Pasquale “Pat sy” Improta U.S. Army Air Force, 63rd Air Force Reconaissance. Killed in a plane crash on May 31, 1943, returning from a mission in North

Af ri ca. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire in June 1942, ROTC.

PASQUALE IMPROTA

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Memorial Day Parade Route

Post

Roa

d

West Ave.

Hecker Ave.

Corbin Dr. 95

Start

Old King’s Highway s.

FinishCemetery

Bro

oksi

de R

d.

Vehicles will not turn into the cemetery.

N

Mechanic St.

Goodwives Shopping Center

Pos

t Roa

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Old K

ing’

s

Highway

N.

This year’s Memorial Day Parade, starting off at Goodwives Shopping Plaza at 10, on Monday, May 30, will cul-minate at a spe-cial ceremony at the newly land-scaped Soldier’s Monument in the Connecticut V e t e r a n s ’ Cemetery on Hecker Avenue. Everyone is wel-come to participate in this event honoring fallen veterans.

Darienite Bill Flanagan, who served the Navy in World War II and the Darien commu-nity for years, will be this year’s parade grand marshal. Born and raised in South Orange, N.J., Flanagan attended public elementary and junior high schools in South Orange and graduated from Columbia High School in Maplewood, N.J., in June 1944.

Just before graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and received his Boot Camp Training at Sampson Naval Training Center near Geneva, N.Y. He was then assigned to the 144th Naval Construction Battalion Advance Base Construction Depot and was sent to the South Pacific. While on the island of Guam, he competed for and was selected to attend officer training in the U.S. and was sent to the University of Mississippi for his freshman year of college.

He was honorably discharged in June 1945 and received his degree from Brown University in June 1949.

While at Brown, Flanagan was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, the Brown Glee Club and the cross country track team. After graduating from Brown as a history major, he attended Rutgers Law School, was a member of the Law Review, the first president of the local chapter of the international legal fraternity of Phi Delta Phi and received his bachelor of laws degree in May 1952. He was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in December 1952 and in 1988 to the New York Bar.

His legal career included five years of trial work with his father, William K. Flanagan, who was regarded as one of the outstanding trial law-yers in N.J. In March 1957 he joined International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (later renamed ITT Corp.) as the assistant general counsel and assistant secretary of a wholly owned ITT subsidiary in Clifton, N.J.

In October 1961 he was promoted to the posi-tion of general counsel and secretary of Federal Electric Corp., another N.J. wholly owned ITT subsidiary. In January 1964, he was again pro-moted to the position of Deputy General Counsel of North America and transferred to ITT world headquarters in New York City where he received a series of further promotions until March 31, 1987, when he took early retirement as assistant general counsel and director of legal services completing a 30-year career with ITT. From 1989 to 1993 he was also the associate general counsel of Walsh Construction Company in Trumbull.

He has served Darien for more than 12 years, first, one year on the RTM, then 8 years on the Planning & Zoning Commission including two years as its chairman and then three to four years on the Monuments & Ceremonies Commission.

In 1997 he was endorsed by the Republican Town Committee as its candidate for first selectman but lost by 68 votes in a primary contest with Robert Harrel. He has been active in the Darien Senior Men’s Association and served as its president during 2000-01.

In recognition of his service to the Darien Community he received on May 9, 2006, a Certificate of Appreciation from the Darien United Way and the Volunteer Center of Southwestern Fairfield County.

His first wife, the former Lynn DeCesare, died in 1990. In 1999 he married the former Anne La Ferte Meyjes and together they have eight children and 15 grandchildren.

Flanagan leads parade

BILL FLANAGAN

Are you or your children marching in the Darien Memorial Day parade? Here are some must-know details provided by the Monument & Ceremonies Commission. Parade partic-ipants and viewers, which Kraft sent out Monday:

Time: If you are marching, be in your assigned position no later than 9:30. Step-off is at 10 sharp.

Assembly and registration: 9 to 9:30: All units must register at the registration station at the entrance of the Goodwives Shopping Center, 25 Old King’s Highway North, start-ing at 9. You will be directed to your assigned spot. Signs will indicate where each division will assemble.

Children’s marching units: If yours is a children’s group, please make sure you have a responsible adult in place early enough to ensure the confidence of parents dropping off children. The biggest traffic issue has been parents who linger, waiting for an adult in charge to show up.

There is no parking at the assembly area:Police will be directing traffic. The parking lot at Goodwives is the assembly area for marchers and parade vehicles only. There is to be no parade parking. Remember that the shopping center is open to shoppers, and parking lanes must be kept open. Vehicles left in the Goodwives Shopping Center parking area jeopardize future use of the parking lot. Parking is available in the Mechanic Street lot behind the Darien Fire Department during the parade. Please advise everyone in your orga-nization about these parking rules.

Marching: Parade officials will maintain a uniform cadence. Units are requested to not cross-march, half-step, split or perform drill procedures in the line of march. The parade will maintain a steady forward march at all times. All units will maintain a reasonable distance from the unit in front of them. All marching units will march at least six abreast, with the exception of color guards.

Reviewing stand: Will be located in front of Miller Automobile Company on the Post

Road. The parade will be reviewed there by the parade marshal and other dignitaries.

Cemetery ceremony: A special ceremony is held at the Connecticut Veterans’ Cemetery to pay respect to the military people who have preserved our freedom with the ultimate sac-rifice. You can also check out the newly land-scaped cemetery and memorial benches.

Emergencies: In case of emergency (police, fire, ambulance, etc.) the parade will move to the right side of the road, and the necessary apparatus or vehicles will pass on the left side of the road. Take extreme care.

Special instructions:1. No alcoholic beverages will be permitted

in the assembly area, in the line of march or during the ceremonies.

2. Parade officials will be in charge of their assigned divisions.

3. There will be no throwing of candy, toys, or any other items from the participants in the assembly area, along the parade route, or at the end of the parade. Violators will be removed from the parade.

Order of MarchDivision 1Phil KraftDarien Police & Color GuardTown & State OfficialsGrand Marshal Bill FlanaganPledge of Allegiance Leader (Tokeneke School)Darien HS BandPost 6933 Veterans of Foreign Wars Color GuardPost 6933 VFWMarine Corps LeagueMilitary Order of the Purple HeartAmerican Legion Post 3Connecticut Patriot Guard (motorcycles)

Division 2Ed CarabilloBagpiper Don CavetConnecticut National GuardDarien EMS-Post 53Darien Red CrossDarien KiwanisThe DepotDarien Chamber of CommerceDarien Arts CouncilSenior Men’s Association

PIVOTCommunity Fund of DarienDarien Fire Department & Auxiliary

Division 3Charles ScribnerBoy Scouts Troop 35Boy Scouts Troop 53Cub Scouts Pack 55Cub Scouts Pack 56Cub Scouts Pack 155Cub Scouts Pack 161Noroton Presbyterian “The Shac”The Green TeamDarien YWCADarien YMCA Gymnastics TeamPerson To Person/Kid To KidDarien Senior Activities CenterGallivantD.A.R. Good Wife’s River ChapterMasonic Lodge, Darien Ivanhoe No. 107Calvary Baptist ChurchNoroton Fire Department

Division 4Bob RiithDarien YMCA Color GuardYMCA Indian Guides & PrincessesDarien Nature CenterDarien Historical SocietyGuiding Eyes For The BlindCenter For HopeGlobal Girls UNITEPender-Keady Irish Arts FoundationDarien Lions ClubSt. John’s Youth GroupDarien Book AidDarien Sail & Power SquadronNoroton Heights Fire Department & Auxiliary

Notes• There will be various antique vehicles in the parade,

including an authentic World War II Jeep.• New this year, Guiding Eyes for the Blind and Center

For Hope• Assisting at the Muster area at Goodwives Shopping

Center will be Support Our Soldiers (SOS) from Darien High School.

• Once again, singing the National Anthem at the cem-etery will be Darien High School’s Tudor Singers.

• The Maritime Memorial Observance will be held at the Darien Boat Club on Saturday, June 4, at 1 at Pear Tree Point Beach.

About the parade

Traffic detours and restrictions will be in effect beginning at 8 a.m. on Memorial Day.

In order to provide a safe environment and to accom-modate parade participants and spectators, Darien Police advise the following:• There will be no on-street parking on Sedgwick Avenue,

Mechanic Street or Old King’s Highway North near the entrance to Goodwives Shopping Center.

• The Brookside Road and Old King’s Highway North approaches to Goodwives Shopping Center will be closed to all vehicular traffic at 8.

• All vehicles participating in the parade shall enter Goodwives Shopping Center via Sedgwick Avenue or Mechanic Street.

• Persons dropping off parade participants shall use Sedgwick Avenue or Mechanic Street.

• No vehicles will be allowed to travel on the Post Road from I-95 entrance 13 westbound to Old King’s Highway South during the parade.

• Old King’s Highway South from Goodwives River Road to the Post Road will be posted a “No Parking” area.Motorists are advised to avoid the downtown area during

the parade. A large contingent of Darien police officers will be assigned to traffic posts before and during the parade.

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Documents

Darien Times Memorial Day 2011