Library Seeks to Record Local WWII Veteran Stories

Port Jefferson Librarian Samantha Winter blogged on Tuesday about an ongoing project to record the stories of local World War II veterans as a part of the library's "Living Heritage Project."

"Through oral and/or video interviews, staff from the library will sit down with willing veterans to discuss their personal accounts while fighting in our country’s deadliest war," she wrote.

Many of the veterans who fought in World War II are dying off and it is important to record their experiences for future generations.

Winter wrote about Anthony Butera, a Port Jefferson resident who was shot down on his last mission on January 17, 1945 while flying over Hamburg, Germany.

Butera was a B-17 Radio Operator and Waist Gunner serving in the 730th Bomb Squadron, 452nd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force. He was a POW in Germany until the end of the War in 1945. Albert Ficocella of Mount Sinai served on the USS LCI 492 off Omaha Beach during the Invasion of Normandy. Port Jefferson veteran, Randall Woodard served in the Seabees on the United States Naval Construction Battalion 302 during WWII. Woodard's battalion took part in combat assaults on beaches in the Marshall Islands, Saipan, Guam, Anguar and Peleliu.

If you are a World War II veteran or do you know a veteran who would like to share his or her story please contact the for more information and to participate in the project. Veterans from the Belle Terre, Miller Place, Mount Sinai and Port Jefferson communities are welcome to participate.

You can also share your stories with Patch. Send a photo (current/recent and from the war era if available) and a blurb about your service or someone you know who lived in the areas listed above who served in World War II to editor Lon Cohen at lon.cohen@patch.com and we'll publish them here.

Read about Rowehl , after serving as an active member of the Mount Sinai Fire Department.

To read the original blog post,