JAMESTOWN – The Robert H. Jackson Center is hosting a video series called the “Six Faces of WWII” highlighting the personal stories of area veterans.
The veterans’ stories were persevered through the Defenders of Freedom project, which recorded interviews with over 225 local veterans conducted by Greg Peterson, co-founder and board member of the Jackson Center.
The presentation uses filmed interviews and archival footage to provide a vivid portrayal of the veterans’ experiences.
The six local veterans featured were selected by Phil Zimmer, who assisted with the “Defenders of Freedom” project.
Zimmer is a veteran and local historian who has written extensively on WWII for numerous nationally distributed journals and magazines.
“The half dozen veterans I chose were among those whose stories personally resonated with me,” noted Zimmer.
“Others with equally compelling wartime experiences could have been singled out as well.”
The program will be presented at the Robert H. Jackson Center, 305 E. 4 th Street, Jamestown, NY, on Saturday, February 3, 2018, at 11am.
The showing is open to the public, and offered free of charge through the sponsorship of the Robert H. Jackson Center, Fenton History Center, Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, and the Chautauqua County Veterans Service’s Dwyer Program.
One of the more colorful and comprehensive interviews was with Anthony Costanzo, who fought across North Africa, in Sicily, and on D-Day with the Army’s “Big Red One” division.
“Costanzo’s memories of getting Italian troops to surrender in North Africa, his time with his Sicilian grandmother after the fighting had ended on that island, and his views on Generals Mark Clark and George Patton are well worth hearing,” Zimmer adds.
Other featured veterans include Vivian Taylor, an African-American draftee who describes his wartime experiences in a segregated U.S. Army, and Angelo Zanghi, who discusses his service aboard the USS O’Bannon in the Pacific.
All of the individual Defenders of Freedom interviews are available on the Robert H. Jackson Center YouTube channel and on Chautauqua County TV’s Access Channel 5 website.
