Maureen Sullivan Army, European, Massachusetts, USAF, WWII

James Zographos

 

James Zographos had just graduated from the Mass. College of Pharmacy when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. Initially assigned to the infantry, Zographos would transfer to the Army Air Force, where he became a bombardier on board a B-17. Assigned to the 8th Air Force, he flew 50 missions, was wounded twice, and would be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Purple Heart.

This interview was recorded at the International Museum of World War II-Boston.

 

 

Maureen Sullivan Army, Army NG, European

Sheila Pogarian

 

Sheila Ryan Pogarian joined the Army National Guard as a way to help pay for college. After graduation from UMass-Amherst in 1984, she went on active duty and became an artillery officer; she helped with the Lance missile system in what was then West Germany. She talks about her 20-plus years in the service, especially about her experiences as one of the few women Army officers in the field.

 

 

Sheila Pogarian, center

 

Sheila Pogarian, Germany

 

Sheila Pogarian, newspaper articles
Maureen Sullivan Army, European, WWII

Joseph Barisano

 

Joseph Barisano joined the U.S. Army shortly after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He spent most of his time with Military Government, driving officers around. He earned four battle stars while serving in England, France and Germany.
 

A poster honoring Joseph Barisano, aka Ray Barron.

 

Joseph Barisano at the Bedford VA Medical Center, 2017

 

Natick Veterans Oral History Project Afghanistan, Army, European, Peacetime, USA

Joseph J. Gallick

U.S. Army 1986–2009

 

Joseph “Father Joe” Gallick wanted to serve in the military because his relatives did so during World War II. An ordained priest with the Orthodox Church, he began his career with the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps in 1986. Gallick would serve in a variety of units, both stateside and overseas, including Afghanistan, during his 23-year career in active duty and the Reserves, retiring in 2009 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

 

 


 
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Natick Veterans Oral History Project Army, European, WWII

Rose Dewing Young

U.S. Army 1943–1945

 

Fresh out of nursing school, Rose Dewing Young enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps in 1943 and served in England, France and Belgium, researching and treating soldiers with combat fatigue. Landing at Normandy shortly after the invasion, her unit was transferred to Belgium, directly behind the American line at the Battle of the Bulge. Later in France, she treated the soldiers who liberated the German prison camps. Although a shy girl, she learned to do what she had to do. Her medical group in Belgium was known as the “Americans on the hill” and offered care and friendship to the locals. In 2004, she returned to Belgium and reunited with many of the people she had known as children.

 

Rose Dewing Young and others with the King of Belgium

 

Young – Separation Qualification Records

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Natick Veterans Oral History Project African, Air Force (South African), European, WWII

Cyril B. Woolf

South African Air Force, 1940-45

 

 

Born and raised in South Africa, Cyril Woolf enlisted in the South African Air Force in 1940 at the age of 27. Because of his electrical background, he was assigned to be an aircraft electrician, working on British-and American-made air planes in Egypt, and across Africa to Tunis and into Italy, with the #2 Fighter Squadron. Living in tent cities, Woolf speaks about Cairo, the Pyramids, Tripoli and seeing President Roosevelt in a motorcade in Tunis. During his five years in the service, Woolf also worked with the squadron that flew British Mosquito planes and used American-made Fairchild cameras to photograph the oil fields in Romania. American servicewomen then made models of the terrain that were used in successful British bombing raids.

 

Cyril Woolf atop a camel

 

A Merry Christmas postcard

 

 

Cyril Woolf – medals

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