. . George Priatko served with the Army’s 25th Infantry Division in the Pacific Theater during WW II. Their well-known shoulder patch–the “electric strawberry” –is still recognizable today, although the unit is best known as “Tropic Lightning.” During liberation of the Philippines, the 25th fought for 165 days without rest–a fact
. . During WWII, Guy Prestia of Ellwood City, Pennsylvania was among the first Army troops to reach Europe through North Africa, Sicily, Salerno, and Anzio. From June 1943 through Allied Occupation, Guy served with the 45th Infantry Division, a unit formed out of the Oklahoma Army National Guard from the
. . Matthew Poye was a member of the US Army through 1946 during the occupation of Japan following the end of the war.
. . Joe Pletcher of Howard, PA served in the US Army during WW II. Mr. Pletcher traveled across Europe with the Army’s 572nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Auto-Weapons Battalion, which joined the famed “Hellcats” 12th Armored Division in Luneville, France. Permanently attached to the 12th Division, the 572nd traveled as the spearhead
. . Ralph Pennetti entered the US Navy in November 1944 and serced as a member of the seabees in the Pacific. He maintained sea planes stationed in Okinawa and was assigned to the invasion force meant for Japan. While walking with a friend across an airbase in the Pacific, Ralph,
. . Walter Patton servied with the Army Air Corps during WW II.
