Pennsylvania is home to about 7,000 World War II veterans, all in their 90s or older. Eleven of them were honored yesterday, May 8, with a picnic that included 1940s singing and dancing at Macungie Memorial Park near Allentown.
I knew a few of the men and spoke with all of them, and came away grateful for their sacrifice and courage.
The occasion was the seventy-ninth anniversary of Nazi Germany’s surrender, called V-E Day for “victory in Europe.” Japan’s surrender four months later, on September 2, 1945, ended the war and was called V-J Day, for “victory over Japan.”
Here are the men, great patriots all, who attended the event presented by the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Battle of the Bulge Association:
ARMY
Herb Ridyard, 98, of Elizabethtown, with the 94th Infantry Division in the Battle of the Bulge
Angelo Bokeko, 101, of Lower Macungie, with the 13th Armored Division in Europe and a recipient of two Bronze Stars
MARINE CORPS
Walter LaSota, 98, of Reading, a rifleman with the 6th Marine Division who earned two Purple Hearts on Okinawa
MERCHANT MARINE
Bill Balabanow, 98, of Lancaster, a radio operator on cargo ships who had thirty-three years of sea duty
Lou Cinfici, 95, of Reading, an engineman on a seagoing tugboat who later served in the Navy in the Korean and Vietnam wars
NAVY
Ed Conrad, 97, of Fleetwood, a Seabee on Okinawa
Ed Czechowski, 99, of Reading, a gunner on the destroyer Saufley in the Pacific
Matt Gutman, 99, of Allentown, a Higgins boat coxswain on a landing ship, tank (LST) in the Pacific
John Ongaro, 98, of Allentown, a crewman on an Atlantic freighter
Bob Pearce, 101, of Emmaus, an aviation weather specialist in the Philippines
Jere Stabley, 97, of Lancaster, a baker on the light cruiser Spokane
Gutman, whom I interviewed for The Morning Call in 2022, and Balabanow are bound for Normandy next month for ceremonies marking the eightieth anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 1944.
David Venditta 