The Veterans Breakfast Club is a 501(c)(3) non-proϐit organization. 200 Magnolia Place · Pittsburgh, PA 15228 412-623- 9029 [email protected]VeteransBreakfastClub.com Summer- Fall 2013 BREAKFASTS BEGIN AT 8:30am RSVP TO 412 -623-9029 Where Veterans Tell Their Stories The Veterans Breakfast Club is a 501(c)(3) non-proϐit dedicated to sharing veterans’ stories. There are no membership dues or requirements, and you don’t have to be a veteran to attend. We’re that group you heard about in the news. If you like veterans’ stories, give us a try. Call me at 412-623- 9029 or email [email protected]. Todd DePastino Executive Director VBC Board of Directors Rocky Bleier, Honorary Board Member Dan Cavanaugh , Founder Chris Crompton, President George D’Angelo, Vice President Steve Silverman, Treasurer Gwyn Cready, Secretary Kevin Farkas Julian Gray Jim Jamieson Betty Karleski Chad Rittle Dick Williams Every Veteran Has a Story What’s Yours?® Volume 4, Issue 2 June-December 2013 ® SOUTH HILLS (breakfast $12; free just to attend) July 16: Peter’s Place (1199 Washington Pike, Bridgeville) August 13: Salvatore’s (5001 Curry Road, Baldwin) October 8: Salvatore’s. December 7 (Saturday): Peter’s Place. PENN HILLS (breakfast $11; free just to attend) July 19: Comfort Inn (699 Rodi Road). August 30: Comfort Inn October 25: Comfort Inn December 14 (Saturday): Comfort Inn MOON/AIRPORT (Breakfast $10; free just to attend) August 28: Robert Morris University, Sewall Center, Internat’l Suite October 16: Robert Morris December 11: Robert Morris NORTH HILLS July 10: Mars VFW (9-11am FREE!) see p. 2. August 7: Grazie! Oxford Athletic Club, Wexford ($10) December 4: Grazie! ($10) SPECIAL EVENTS: June 29: Soldiers & Sailors Sept. 21: Rivers Casino Sept. 25: 7 Oaks Country Club, Beaver Nov. 11: Duquesne University See inside for details
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SPECIAL EVENTS: June 29: Soldiers & Sailors Sept. 21: Rivers Casino Sept. 25: 7 Oaks Country Club, Beaver Nov. 11: Duquesne University See inside for details
We’ll ride the train to Altoona on the Horseshoe Curve, tour Altoona Railroaders Museum, enjoy a buffet lunch, and return on a motor-coach, stopping at Horseshoe Curve National Historic Site. Three
pick up locations in Penn Hills (Comfort Inn, Rodi Road), Parkway Cen-ter Greentree, and Mt. Nebo Road park n’ Ride (Exit 68 off I-79) Call
Todd to reserve a seat and for more info 412-623-9029
Day Trip to
Gettysburg $105 per person
Includes transportation, boxed breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus muse-um admission and ranger-guided tour of battlefield. Three pick up loca-tions in Penn Hills (Comfort Inn, Rodi Road), Parkway Center Greentree, and Mt. Nebo Road park n’ Ride (Exit 68 off I-79) Call Todd to reserve a
seat and for more info 412-623-9029
Dave Barker Randy Beck, In memory of Timothy L. Pfeifer, Vietnam veteran Eleanor Berge Clare Bozek Ken Carlson Maurice Deul Patricia Brannigan Doherty
Stephen Dzuranin Karen Gifford Roxanne Hale Nancy Hrabak Flo Hurson, In memory of Bernice DePastino Paul Hutton Elizabeth Klemmer Richard K (Jack) Latshaw
Cyndy Carrington Miller, In honor of Ralph Carrington Helen Peace Toby and Michael Pekarsky, In memory of Lester Schmidt Herman Rosner Ed Wieszcznski Rev. Ben Wright
Thanks also to our sponsors who support the VBC by placing ads in
our newsletter. Please pay them a visit!
Thanks to those who donated
since our last newsletter in January!
Save the Date!Save the Date!Save the Date! 1940s USO Show 1940s USO Show 1940s USO Show
Saturday, October 19, 7Saturday, October 19, 7Saturday, October 19, 7---10pm10pm10pm Clarion Hotel Greentree
Featuring 18-piece Swingin’ Bopcat Big Band! Details on this VBC fundraising event will follow
Vic DiCarlo received his Legion of Honor at French Embassy in Washington. Vic served in a demolition squad with the 80th Division, beginning combat in the Battle of the Bulge. His outfit then took on the dragon's teeth, bunkers, and pillboxes of the Siegfried Line. He was there when his division liberated Mauthausen and Buchenwald concentration camps. Photo credit Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
in the News
VBC Veterans
Al Crawford made national news the hard way recently when his Med-al of Honor was stolen from Honorary French Consul Jean-Dominique Le Garrec’s house. He received a replacement medal in a ceremony at our VBC breakfast at Robert Morris on May 28. Al joined the Navy at 17 on Decem-ber 8, 1941, and served on the USS Swivel (ARS-36), which saw duty at Normandy. He was also part of the rescue operation of the SS Leopoldville on Christ-mas Eve, 1945. Having signed up for “Regular” rather than “Reserve” duty in 1941, Al was called back into service after WWII and ended up serving in the Navy until 1980, when he retired at the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer, the high-est enlisted rank in the United States Navy. Photo credit KDKA-TV
RECENT FRENCH LEGION OF HONOR RECIPIENTS
Henry Parham was honored at the French Embassy in Washington on June 6, 69 years to the day after the landed on Omaha Beach with the 320th Antiaircraft Barrage Balloon Battalion, the only black unit to serve in the D-Day assault. “We were on that beach for 68 days,” he recalled. “There was no place to hide.” After V-E Day, Henry’s unit shipped to the Pacific for the invasion of Japan. He was in Hawaii when the war ended. Photo credit Andy Marchese George Kokiko re-
ceived his Legion of Honor on June 6. Sent to Boston College with the Army Specialized Training Program in 1943, George was one of thousands to be transferred out ASTP and into the infan-try when the program closed. He landed in Europe in September 1944 with the 26th “Yankee” Division. He was wounded twice, the second time in the face dur-ing the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, he returned to Boston College on the GI Bill. Photo credit Andy Marchese
A final salute to those VBC veterans who have passed away since January
Bill Biacco, 9th Air Force in WWII, passed away on January 2.
Frank Niklas, 2nd Di-vision in WWII,
stranded in the woods for 2 weeks during the Bulge,
passed away January 24.
Jim Hurst, Army MP in WWII, passed away on March 5. Ed Ernst
commanded an LCT in the Pacific and
passed away on March
10.
Guy Proie, WWII B-24
ball turret gunner,
shot down, wounded,
POW, passed
away on May 30.
Bill Krobot,
WWII Army, wounded at
St. Lo, passed
away march 31.
Lester Schmidt joined the Navy at 17 and served in both the At-lantic and Pacific Theatres aboard the battleship New York, cruisers Quincy and Miami, as well as the Snatch, Laysan Is-land and Talladega warships. He passed away on May 16.
Baldwin Health Car Cruise to Benefit the VBC! Thursday, September 19, 5-8pm (rain rain date Sept. 26)
Baldwin Health Center, 1717 Skyline Drive, Pgh PA 15227 Raffle baskets, giveaways, and food! First 50 cars receive dash plaques and the top three