By: John Cuddy – April, 2019 Chelmsford’s Mike Miskell, like many of the men and women who served during World War II, formed a lifelong friendship with another soldier they served with during the war. Mike was with York, Pennsylvania’s George Meanor, a Technical Sargent in his unit, the US Army’s 217th Artillery. The two […]
By: John Cuddy – March, 2019 Lawrence’s Kasper Kfoury was present at two of the most iconic events that took place during the twentieth century in the United States. He, his brother and some friends took a train to New York’s Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939, and they were sitting in the stands when […]
By: John Cuddy – Feb. 2019 Haverhill’s Anthony J “Tony” Zukas lived at Haverhill Crossing on Amesbury Road near Northern Essex Community College when I interviewed him. The students at Northern Essex Community College, and all of us really, can learn much from this World War II Veteran. Originally, from Scranton, Pennsylvania, he was the […]
By: John Cuddy – Jan. 2019 Dracut’s Robert Belleau is one of the many US Military Veterans in the Merrimack Valley of French Canadian heritage. He joined the new US Air Force, (formed out of the US Army Air Corps shortly after World War II) partly out of patriotism, and partly, (his words) to avoid […]
By: John Cuddy – Dec. 2018 Somerville’s Peter Fantasia, now living in Reading, Massachusetts at the Artis Senior Living, vividly described to me how he got captured near Rodalbe, France. While serving with Lima Company, of the 3rd Battalion, of the 104th Regiment, of the 26th Infantry Division, the “Yankee Division” as an Army Medic, […]
By: John Cuddy – November, 2018 In honor of Veteran’s day, November 11th, I sought out a Veteran that is still serving our nation; she is Commander Marilisa G. Elrod, Medical Corps (Undersea Medical Officer) United States Navy, the Associate Director for Professional Education at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Portsmouth, Virginia. In doing […]
VALLEY PATRIOT OF THE MONTH By: John Cuddy – September 2018 The Silent Service Middleton’s Douglas Bryant originally hailed from Amesbury, Massachusetts where his father worked in the automotive industry. Prior to World War II, Amesbury had a bustling automobile industry, but manufacturers such as the Walker Body Company did not survive the Great Depression. […]
The Battle of the Atlantic – Defeating the Nazis on the High Seas! By: John Cuddy – Aug. 2018 Haverhill’s John Gallant served in the Atlantic Theater of Operation during World War II on the U.S.S Hammann, DE-131. The story of John Gallant’s World War II naval service and that of his ship’s, are very […]
By: John Cuddy – July, 2018 Lawrence’s Robert Crowley, a graduate of Central Catholic’s Class of 1944, had a unique role during and after World War II. Upon joining the U.S. Army, he was trained in Military Intelligence, with additional training in the Japanese language at Fort Holabird, outside of Baltimore, Maryland. He was then […]
By: John Cuddy – June, 2018 A breakfast and lunch with this month’s hero is Henry Naruszewicz; his family also spelled their name as Narushof, and some family members used an Americanized spelling, Norris. I first had lunch on St Patrick’s Day with Henry and his son in law, U.S. Air Force Veteran Bill Flanagan […]
By: John Cuddy – May, 2018 May 28th was Memorial Day. This story is to help start us on our reflections of what that day means to each of us and our families Born October 20, 1919, in Barre, Vermont, Angelo Dindo worked for the national men’s clothing chain of Montgomery Ward before joining the […]
By John Cuddy – April, 2018 Meeting this American Hero at Mary Ann’s Diner in Derry, NH on a Saturday morning, I was amazed at how quickly and confidently he used his smartphone. While eating, he showed me lots of information about his World War II unit and its planes, moving rapidly from one screen […]
By: John Cuddy – February 2018 Truly a “hero in our midst”, it was an honor to interview Major Kelley. We are from the same home town, Lawrence, Massachusetts, and he went to grade school with my father at St Patrick’s Grammar School, but I never had the chance to really talk to Major Rick […]