Gerald Goslak

Gerald Goslak joined the Army at the old age of 22 and was promptly sent with his armored unit to a Cold War post near Munich, Germany.  While there, he stood guard duty at an Army stockade which was once Dachau, the notorious death camp used by the Nazis.  “After all those years,” Gerald says, “you could still smell the human flesh.”

Wherever Gerald went, he carried a small camera.  His photo albums remind him–and us–of a stark post-war Europe.  “People were still starving,” he says.

In summer of 2013, Debby Rampolla and director Paula Kelly of Whitehall Public Library contacted us about a group of veterans who meet each month at the library and share their stories of military service.  This sounds a lot like what we do through The Veterans Breakfast Club, we responded, and we were interested in visiting the group someday to introduce ourselves and to share our story as well.

That day came at the end of October 2013, when we were graciously welcomed to attend the Whitehall veterans’ group meeting and to record some of their stories.  Seven local veterans attended that day; it was a comfortably intimate group, mostly old friends and a few new comers.  On some meeting days, two dozen veterans might show up.  Very often, just a handful of older gentlemen turn up, WW II stories in hand.  Regardless, the veterans are openly welcomed by the gracious library staff with gourmet coffee and assorted pastries—irresistible incentives to warm the mood and prime the storytelling.

On the day we visited, we were warmly met by veterans Bill McLaughlin, Dave Lotz, Dick Gardner, George Morgan, Gerald Goslak, Hal Plusa, and Joe Michaels.  Todd DePastino, executive director of The Veterans Breakfast Club, served to guide the discussions, while Kevin Farkas captured the roundtable banter as an audio recording—now available to the public on this website.