Service honors city’s World War II victims
In between the screech of fading breaks and the chug of diesel truck engines, over the electronic chaos of a car alarm, undeterred by occasional car horns, the names of those who would never answer were called. For over a half hour, in a crisp voice with a hint of a drillmaster’s bark, Adjutant Joe T. Joseph of American Legion Post 51 called each and every name of “the Ninety-Nine” – the men and women from Uniontown who laid down their lives in service of their country during World War II.
Bathed in the yellow glow of an overhead street lamp on a chilly Thursday evening, the families and friends of “the Ninety-Nine” gathered on the corner of Gallatin Avenue and Church Street at the monument dedicated in 1949 to their loved ones’ sacrifice. The focus of the night was a retelling and recognition of the “ultimate sacrifice” these men and women made for their country.
“The 99 who lost their lives and those who came back made tremendous sacrifices. They believed in the American dream and in the essential goodness of America,” said mayor of Uniontown James Sileo, himself a World War II veteran, later in the night. “They deserve the highest honor and our deepest gratitude.”
In conjunction with Joseph and the American Legion Post 51, the Rev. Peter A. Malik and the Rev. Travis Deans, directors of Penn Highlands Teens for Christ, developed the memorial program and a book on the history of Uniontown in World War II as a way to remind people today that these “Ninety-Nine” were not just “names on a stone.”
“We see the measure of the sacrifice those men made, and we must always remember that,” Deans said.
In the beginning of their efforts, the pair, like so many others, only knew “The Ninety-Nine” as a list on a monument. After two years of interviews and research, they have put together a much more comprehensive picture of the sons and daughters of Uniontown who lost their lives in the war.
“When we walked over to the (memorial) what I knew about ‘the Ninety-Nine’ I could tell you in a minute,” Malik said. “Now we have 96 of the 99 with at least a partial story.”
After the reading of the names at the monument, the crowd took the short walk to the Teens for Christ Center in the old YMCA building on North Gallatin Avenue. Deans, who is a generation or two younger than those who had sisters, brothers, mothers or fathers involved in the war, said the memorial program grew out of part of their youth ministry.
“A dinner like this and the ultimate sacrifice these men and women made led us to John 15:13, ‘Greater love has no man than this, that a man would lay down his life for his friends,'” Deans said. “That’s kind of the spiritual inspiration for the whole program.”
The pair began an effort to write a single book on the history of Uniontown, and have seen it since grow into a seven-volume series. The second volume will focus on the era around World War II and how it affected Uniontown and those who lived there.
“I grew up hearing about WWII from my mother and others,” Malik said. “Travis (Deans) and I thought that this would be a story worth finding and retelling.”
Malik expects the book to be finished in January or February and is entitled “Uniontown in World War II and the Ninety-Nine Who Did Not Come Back,” which follows their 2003 book, “The Uniontown Childhood of General George C. Marshall.”
Several area officials attended the event, including Fayette County Commissioner Vincent A. Vicities, who said the efforts of memorial programs like this, and not only holidays like Veterans Day would keep the memory of the Greatest Generation alive.
“They served this country, and we have the greatest nation in the world because of that,” he said. “We have to teach our young people to not forget those who gave their lives to give us the greatest way of life and the greatest country in the world.”
Beyond looking at the past, the night also had underpinnings of the present. Bringing together the families of those who lost their lives serving their country in World War II lent itself to modern day parallels with the current war in Iraq and conflicts across the globe, Deans said.
“There is never an end to serving our country; there’s always going to be a need for that. There’s always going to be a need for serving mankind in general; there’s always going to be a need for love and to serve one another,” Deans said.
“Iraq is just another expression of spreading freedom around the world. There are always going to be threats to freedom and always a need for sacrifice.”
After the dinner at the Teens for Christ Center, which was served by members of the Uniontown Bible Club, Joseph, Malik and Deans shared some of the stories of the “Ninety-Nine” with the gathered families and friends. Malik said although they all shared the common bond of the “Ninety-Nine,” many of the families had never met.
By interacting and sharing their stories and memories, he hoped they would be comforted knowing so many others who knew the price of freedom.
“Our city can be very proud of our part in helping end tyranny in the world,” Malik said.
“These families know more than anyone else the cost. Freedom isn’t free.”
The “Ninety-Nine” are:
Joseph Albano, Carl D. Altomonte, Alex C. Bail, Mervin R. Bittinger, Charles W. Boal, Rudolph J. Boledovic, Arnold M. Bree, Walter B. Burd, Frederick M. Burns, Paul R. Byers, Joseph R. Chambers Jr., Harold Coburn Jr., Anthony Constantine, Nick Croce, Geraldine M. Crow, Charles D. Crum, John J. Curry, William H. Davis, Ralph Donaldson, Marshall L. Dougherty Jr., Edward Eddie, Samuel M. Elleard, Robert I. Ellis, James R. Everhart, John R. Fallon, Richard Flenniken, Charles B. Foster, Ivan D. Frankhouser Jr., Donald A. Frederick, John J. Gallagher, Charles H. Garrett, Lizala J. George.
Nick Gismondi, Edward E. Haney, Wesley G. Harrison, Phillip T. Howard, Harry Huey, Dr. William A. Johnson, William D. Jones, Michael J. Kinnick, Charles W. Koballa, Nando Danny Leoni, Joseph Libertino, Nicholas S. Lucia, John J. Lukaszczyk, David P. Mahoney, William O. Maize, Robert C. Manges, Steve A. Marcinek, Frank A. Maruzewski, Bernard Marzaile, Frank V. Masi Jr., Orlando Massimiani, August H. Meckelberg, Daniel C. Miller, Robert B. Mincer, Charles Z. Mitchell, brothers Charles and Robert Morgan, Joseph D. Mueseler, Joseph J. Mulick, James B. Murphy, Charles J. McClain, William C. McClain, Steven McDowell, Glenn W. McGettigan, James S. Nara, John J. Olsavicky, Michael Peschunka, Joseph Pearlstein, William V. Polo, Herbert J. Price.
Charles M. Ridgeway, Sterling M. Riggs III, Virgil B. Rist, Raymond A. Roby, Francis D. Roelkey Jr., Richard E. Rowland, Ernest A. Salvato, John A. Scarcitelli, brothers Albert and Harold Seehoffer, Crawford R. Seighman, Samuel E. Seller, Samuel Silver, Edwin H. Sincock Jr., George H. Smith Jr., Robert L. Smith, Donald L. Snyder, Charles D. Stark, Yolanto J. Teti, George L. Tucci, James H. Van Sickle, Dewey F. Varndell Jr., Phillip T.C. Warman, Mildred J. Wolfe Wallace, William J. Wallace, William J. Wolfe, Ralph Wortle(y) and Edward J. Zaryski.