During a low altitude night bombing mission Clarence “Press” Pressgrove and his crew were shot down and became P.O.W.’s in Japan’s Omori prison camp. Press was liberated on Aug 29, 1945 just days before the official end of WWII, Sep 2, 1945.
Read MoreRemembering Irving Brown who sadly passed away on Jan 18th, 2021. Irving served with the U.S. Army as a medic from 1943-46. RIP
Read MoreWilliam Welser, Jr. joined the Navy in in 1942 and left in 1948. He then joined the Reserves and was recalled in 1950 for the Korean War. During World War II he served as a Gunner on a torpedo plane in the Pacific. He fought in the Battle of Okinawa and his ship, the Natoma Bay, was was hit by the last kamikaze attack on a USN carrier in the war.
Read MoreOur Great Friend and Supporter of USAWS - WWII NAVY ARMED GUARD veteran - Mr. Clarence F. “KORKY” Korker Jr. passed away 03-13-2026 at the age of 102.
A proud veteran of World War II, Korky enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1943 and served with distinction as part of the Navy Armed Guard. This specialized branch was tasked with manning guns on Merchant Marine ships during the war. Korky’s role as chief photographer at the Brooklyn Navy Yard placed him at the heart of history, where he documented public relations events, photographed VIPs and naval ships before and after battle, and contributed to the bi-weekly newsletter "The Pointer,” which connected Armed Guard personnel both at sea and on base. He concluded his military service in 1945 as a 3rd Class Photographic Petty Officer.
Read MoreJohn Holden served in England, France and Germany during and after WWII as a Topographic Draftsman
Read MoreLt Col O. C. Peterson 1918-2019
O. C. “Pete” Peterson, a navigator in the Army Transport Command during WW II died on October 26th at the age of 100. After the war, he stayed in the reserves and was called back to active service to take part in the Berlin Airlift.
Read MorePearl Harbor survivor Armando "Chick" Galella served with the 53rd Signal Corps at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attached on December 7th, 1941. Chick served for 5 years in the Pacific during WWII.
Read MorePeter M. F. Sichel's childhood was interrupted by the Nazis while growing up a Jew in Germany. He moved with his family to France in 1939, was imprisoned as an enemy alien and eventually escaped, reaching the United Stated in 1941.
Peter joined the Army shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor and served with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) sending spies into Germany. Peter eventually became a senior official with the Century Intelligence Agency (CIA) serving in Berlin, Hong Kong and Washington before joining his family wine business in 1960.
Pat DeRosa of Montauk died of natural causes in his sleep on March 30th. He was 101. In 1943, at the height of WWII, Pat was drafted into the Army Air Forces and sent to Greensboro, NC for basic training. Soon after, Pat was offered to audition for the “Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band” and was accepted. He spent three years traveling around the US with the band performing and entertaining the troops.
Read MoreOn March 17th 2022, 97 year old WWII Veteran Harold Granitur was presented with the French Legion of Honor in recognition of his military service in France during WWII.
Read More
