4.28.2007

Gilmer Adams Is KIA

(May 10, 1945) -- Seaman 1/c Gilmer Adams was killed in action in the Pacific where he was serving with amphibious Navy forces.

"Bucky" Adams, was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Willie Adams of May Street.
His parents received a telegram from the Navy on April 28, but the notice did not detail his reported date of death.

Born in North Carolina, Adams was 21 when he enlisted in 1942.

He spent 2-1/2 years in the Atlantic. He transferred to the Pacific theatre of operations six months ago.

4.27.2007

2nd Lt. Anthony Noto

2nd Lt. Anthony Noto, of Frederick Street, was killed April 28, 1945, in a plane crash in Nettuno, Italy.

Born on July 21, 1918, he enlisted in the Air Force in July 1943. He served with the 459th Bombardment Group, 756th Bomber Squadron.

He was awarded the Air Medal and two Oak Leaf Clusters.

His service number is 02039301.

Read more.

Lt. j.g. Richard T. Hayes

Lieutenant Junior Grade Richard T. Hayes, U.S. Navy serial No. 0-176597, served in the United States Naval Reserve.

He entered the Service from Ohio, and died on April 27, 1945.

He is listed on the Missing in Action or Buried at Sea Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii.

He was awarded the Air Medal with Gold Star.

Lt. Hayes is survived by his wife Mrs. Margaret Flewellyn Hayes, Washington Avenue, Belleville.

4.25.2007

1st Lt. Wilfred Potis

(May 17, 1945) -- 1st Lt. Wilfred Potis, 28, son of Mrs. Charlotte H. Potis of Hornblower Avenue, was killed in England in an aircraft accident on April 26.

His wife, Dorothy, received the telegram the day after V-E day, when victory was declared in Europe.

Lt. Potis was the pilot of a B-24 Liberator, stationed with the 8th Air Force in England.

His last letter was written April 25 after he completed his 34th mission, the finale for the Eighth Air Force.

Read more.

4.21.2007

DAV Building Groundbreaking Ceremony

BELLEVILLE, N.J. -- Disabled American Veterans will soon have a new local building where they can learn about benefits and follow up on their special needs.

Members of DAV Chapter 22, serving 312 members in Belleville and Nutley, broke ground for a new building on Mill Street on Saturday morning.

"The township has been very helpful," said DAV spokesman Joseph T. Fornarotto. The project, four years in the making, received full cooperation from Belleville council members, he said.

Copyright © 2007 Anthony Buccino. All rights reserved.Joe Fornarotto


The invocation was led by Rev. Mark A. O'Connell of St. Peter Roman Catholic Church, Belleville.

Congressman William Pascrell Jr. (D-8th) joined Fornarotto and the pair donned gold-painted hardhats and pitched the first shovelfuls of soil.

World War II Paratrooper William Falduti of Nutley was on hand to support the building project.

Also on hand for the ceremony were Belleville Councilman Steve Rovell, Nutley Commissioners Carmen Orechio and Tom Evans, and former Nutley Mayor and Commissioner John V. Kelly.


Copyright © 2007 Anthony Buccino. All rights reserved.Supporters of the DAV

Pointing to the Belleville Senior Citizens building down the hill on Mill Street, Fornarotto reminded the crowd that building was built for $90,000 by veterans who volunteered their skills. He called on veterans again, calling for construction workers, laborers, masons, electricians and carpenters to step forward and make this new building a reality.

Fornarotto said the DAV chapter would soon add in members from Kearny and increase its ranks to more than 500 members.

When the DAV building is not being used for veterans, Fornarotto said it would be available for local civic and service groups.

Fornarotto said construction would begin after the final permits are okayed.

The patch of town property on Mill Street is set between an apartment building and the Second River.

Local permits are set, however the group needs a state okay and soil permits because of its proximity to the river which flows through Belleville Park and Branch Brook Park along Mill Street.

Local architect Robert Cozzarelli drew up the plans for the building.

The former headquarters on Washington Avenue was sold after becoming too cumbersome for the disabled members.

Former Belleville Mayor and Councilman James Messina, now of the Belleville Public Works Dept. worked up the estimates on building materials that need to be ordered for the building.

"We're ready to dig," Messina said, pointing to the back hoe behind the rows of people gathered for the ceremony.

Messina, who grew up a few blocks from the site, recalled as a kid rafting in the Second River from behind the former Red Yeast factory to the concrete dam that had been located alongside new building site.

The dam was removed years ago to relieve flooding upriver in Bloomfield. As it runs through the park, the Second River has steep concrete walls which tend to fill to the brim when the rains and winter runoff run heavy.

The Belleville-Nutley DAV Chapter 22 established the memorial on Union Avenue in Belleville.

Fornarotta, a Navy Machinist Mate 3rd Class, quit Essex County Vocational School to fight in World War II. In November 2000, Governor Christie Whitman awarded high school diplomas through the "Operation Recognition" program to Fornarotto and more than 80 New Jersey World War II veterans at a graduation ceremony at the War Memorial in Trenton.

Copyright © 2007 Anthony Buccino. All rights reserved.

4.19.2007

Pfc. William E. Thetford Jr.,

(May 17, 1945) Pfc. William E. Thetford Jr., 27, of Linden Avenue, was killed in action in Germany on April 20.

A member of the 63rd Infantry Division of the 7th Army, Thetford recently wrote home that he liberate Allied soldiers from German prison camps.

Thetford had been overseas since September 1943. He participated in campaigns in North Africa, Italy, France and Germany.

Thetford trained at Camp Croft, S.C.

4.18.2007

Crowell and Flynn - Best Friends Killed in France

Copyright © 2007 by Ed Morrows, used by permissionBelleville Pays Tribute To War Heroes



Private Joseph Crowell Jr. and his boyhood friend Michael A. Flynn Jr. died in 1919 in France following the end of hostilities.

The young men's remains were returned to the United States and they were buried side-by-side at St. Peter's Church in Belleville, N.J.







4.07.2007

Pvt. Joseph C. Taibi

Pvt. Joseph C. Taibi, of Frederick Street, was killed in action in Tunisia, North Africa, on April 8, 1943.

Born on April 16, 1920.

He served with the 47th Infantry, 9th Division, PVT JC. His service number is 32057408.

Taibi VFW Post #6265 was established in his honor in Belleville, N.J.

Read more.

Salvatore N. Sena,

Salvatore N. Sena, of Heckel Street, was killed in action at the beach-head assault, Anzio, Italy, on April 8, 1944. His is the township's 17th Gold Star.

The battle of Anzio, Italy, a beachhead invasion began in May 1944. Allied troops were held on the beachhead for five months before the breakthrough after Monte Cassino allowed the US 5th Army to dislodge the Germans from the Alban Hills and allow the Anzio force to begin its advance on Rome.

Read more.

Sgt. George Malizia

(May 3, 1945) -- Sgt. George Malizia was killed in Germany on April 7, 1945.

He was the son of Anna and George Malizia of Conover Avenue.

Sgt. Malizia entered the service May 5, 1944, and had served in England and France.

4.02.2007

Alvin C. Brown

New VFW Post Honors Two Belleville Negroes

Vet Organization Names PostAfter John Marshall and Alvin Brown, Both Killed In Italy During WW2

(Nov. 7, 1945) -- The Veterans of Foreign Wars commemorated the Brown-Marshall VFW Post at 82 Broad Street, Bloomfield in honor of John Marshall and Alvin Brown.

John Marshall was killed in action in Italy while serving with the 371st Infantry of the 92nd Division in July 1944.

Alvin Brown was killed in action while serving with the same outfit in April 1945. He had previously served six years in the National Guard before entering the Army.

Read more.

4.01.2007

JOHN J. ROGERS - CIVIL WAR CASUALTY

John Rogers died April 8, 1865, of his wounds, according to the Civil War Diary of James C. Taylor of Belleville, Company F, 39th Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers, in the War to Save the Union of the United States of America, published in 1925.

In his diary, Taylor wrote on April 1: “At 11 last night 2 pieces of heavy artillery were brought into Fort Davis. This looks ominous. At 11:30 the regiment fell in and went out alongside the road where they waited there for hot coffee, and then we removed down to the front. We moved as far front as we could and then were ordered to lie flat on the ground. The enemy are firing lively with mortar shells and rifle shots. While lying flat, John Rodgers received a fatal wound.”

Taylor enlisted in Captain John Hunkele’s Company on Sept. 17, 1864, along with Rodgers, James M. Crisp, Linus Ackerman, Edmund Holmes, Charles Stanford, James McCluskey and Daniel McGinnis.