Veterans History Project


2014 VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT 

As an intern for the Kemper Memorial Park Preservation Fund (KMPPF), Jacklyn DeVito, MHS Class of 2014, interviewed World War II Veterans for the Library of Congress’s Veterans History Project. Jacklyn interviewed three local veterans who were raised in Mamaroneck and were all graduates of Mamaroneck High School: Tony Marsella, who served as an interpreter for the U.S. Army, Dom Rigano, who served as airplane mechanic for the 93rd Bombardment Group and Tom Santoro, who served as a U.S. Marine in Guadalcanal, Okinawa and China. Coincidentally, all three veterans are of Italian American descent and their interviews reflect the important role the Italian American youth of Mamaroneck played in World War II. Jacklyn also interviewed Jack Burke in Richmond, Virginia via Skype. Jack participated in the D-Day landings on Omaha Beach, the attack on the Maisy Battery and the Irsch-Zerf Raid. 

Fortunately, Jacklyn was able to make videos of all these interviews and these have been sent to the Library of Congress and are on our website, kempermemorialpark.org. She also prepared books about each veteran’s family and his service in World War II. These books were given to the veterans and copies are available at the Larchmont Public Library. 

In addition, Jacklyn gathered photos and memorabilia from Irene Stone, a World War II veteran who served in the SPARS, the women’s section in the U. S. Coast Guard. These items were also sent to the Library of Congress, are on our website and are available at the Larchmont Public Library. 

We are grateful to Jacklyn for all of the work she did and to the veterans who were kind enough to allow her to interview them. The interviews were both enjoyable and informative. We are hoping to do more!

 

John L. Burke
Tony Marsella
Fred Mason
Dominic Rigano
Thomas P. Santoro, Sr.
 

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