Normandy invasion veterans recalled from Ellwood City memories
Kenneth J. Brown served as radio operator and gunner on a B 26 Marauder with the 323rd Medium Bombardment Group in the 9th Air Force. He flew two D Day missions and three more, earned two Purple Hearts and the Distinguished Flying Cross, later transporting supplies from China before a postwar career at U S Steel and Crucible Steel. Nick Alfreda, a North Africa Sicily veteran with the 16th Infantry, 1st Division, says he was among the first on Omaha Beach at 5:30 am and describes wearing the same clothes for nine weeks. he earned the Silver Star and Bronze Star and multiple citations.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Kenneth J. Brown
Hazel Ave
Ellwood City
9Th Air Force
323Rd
Brown
England
Europe
China
Ellwood Works
U.S. Steel
Crucible Steel
Midland
Nick Alfreda
Winslow Ave
Omaha Beach
North Africa
Sicily
Alfreda
16Th Infantry
Alfredo
Jack Davis
Idlewild Drive
20Th Fighter Group
France
Germany
Davis
Normandy
Italy
Russia
Bell Telephone
Veterans recount D-Day memories from New Castle area
Harold Clark, Richard Audino, Phil Fitts, Jack Davis, John Frochio, Joseph Bloise, Francis Doran and others describe D-Day experiences. Clark recalls Utah Beach landings and Allied bombardment prepping troops. Audino’s unit ferried British troops to Gold Beach and later Philippines duty. Fitts details a near sinking Duplex Drive tank and postwar reunions. Davis emphasizes air cover and later missions. Frochio served as medic through Normandy and Ardennes. Bloise was captured during the Bulge and buried in Belgium. Doran discusses landing five miles off target and the Slapton Sands mock invasion disaster ahead of Utah Beach.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harold Clark
E. Garfield Ave
87Th Chemical Mortar
Utah Beach
Clark
France
Germany
Richard Audino
Chapel Road
Neshannock Township
Navy
Gold Beach
Europe
Audino
Philippines
New Castle
Joseph L. Bloise
Buena Vista Way
Bloise
87Th Chemical Mortar Battalion
Ardennes
Neupre
Belgium
Francis Doran
S. Cascade St
Doran
Slapton Sands
Devon
England
D Day Veterans Remembered Through 2nd Armored Division Tales
Donald Hanna, part of the second wave, shares the chaos of the Normandy landings. John Brahe of 1120 Grigsby Street, a tank commander with the 2nd Armored Division, landed June 7 and earned a Bronze Star at St Lo after earlier fights in Algeria, French Morocco, and Sicily. Brahe ended the war as a staff sergeant and later worked as a car loader for Haney's before retirement. Franklin Maynard Elliott of New Castle, a battlefield casualty on D-Day, belonged to Co A, 741st Tank Battalion, drove onto the beach, and was killed while neutralizing a stubborn German position. his family owned Elliott Brothers Steel Co. in New Castle.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Phil Fitts
Justice Lane
Omaha Beach
Co. C
741St
Fitts
Germany
Czechoslovakia
Ford Auto
Wilmington Road
John Frochio
Ellwood City RD 2
English Channel
109Th
Normandy
Ardennes
Hurtgen Forest
Ellwood
U.S. Steel
John Brahe
Grigsby Street
2Nd Armored
Algeria
French Morocco
Sicily
St. Lo
Brahe
France
Rhineland
Haney’s
Franklin Maynard
Buddy” Elliott
New Castle
Elliott Brothers Steel Co
Co. A
Elliott
Soldier Joseph Harlan’s World War II service and long career
Joseph Harlan of 80 Reno Lane served as a 19 year old private then sergeant in the 359th Regiment of the 90th Infantry Division. He fought from D Day through the Battle of the Bulge in Germany and into Czechoslovakia. After the war he worked 39 years for Columbia Gas, retiring in June 1985.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Joseph Harlan
Reno Lane
90Th Infantry
Harlan
Battle of the Bulge
Germany
Czechoslovakia
Columbia Gas
Also Mentioned on This Page
Edward Freed
West Pittsburg
Co. B
234Th
Freed
D-Day
Aachen
Donald Hanna
Franklin M. Elliott
John Braho
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!