Delmar man organizes day of remembrance for D-Day vets
For soldiers, it was The Longest Day. For Delmar resident Frank DeSorbo, it’s spawning The Longest Search.
Since January, DeSorbo’s been on a mission that’s proving to be a daunting task. He’s been trying to identify area D-Day survivors and hold a ceremony honoring them. Booking a time and location for the event was the easy part. Locating veterans has been the challenge.
After months of sending letters, doing research, making phone calls and coordinating with VFWs, American Legion posts and historians, DeSorbo has thus far managed to track down seven D-Day veterans who have agreed to meet on Saturday, June 4, two days before the 67th anniversary of the invasion at Normandy, at the Holiday Inn Express at Latham.
The event will be open to the public, especially other veterans and their families. Speeches, food and simple socialization time are planned. DeSorbo also wants to publish a sort of Where Are They Now? type of publication that will hopefully become a running newsletter.
`I’m hoping that this is going to be more than a one-year event,` DeSorbo said.
The retired educator and superintendent of the Catskill Central School District came to the idea early this year after reading in the paper about a ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. His relationship with one D-Day vet and Selkirk resident Angelo Picarrazzi got him thinking.
`It just struck me that they’ve never done it, or I’ve never heard about it,` he said. `I just started to run with it.`
Since then, DeSorbo started the D-Day Revisited Association, a non-profit, and has spent plenty of time researching and casting a wide net for veterans. His efforts have brought him across remarkable stories and brave individuals, many of whom remain quiet about their service even to their families.
Picarrazzi was part of the first wave of soldiers to hit the French beachheads in 1944, on what was one of the bloodiest days of the war. He went on to fight in Europe, including in the Battle of the Bulge, and was wounded three times.
DeSorbo is not a veteran himself. His older and younger brothers both served in Vietnam, and he’s had a definite interest in military and American history. Meeting Picarrazzi four years ago was partly responsible for inspiring his drive to get the ceremony organized. Another part is preserving the story of veterans for future generations.
`I can’t turn the clock back, but I wish I had done this 10 years ago,` DeSorbo said.
So far DeSorbo has contacted the following survivors: Leo Hoge, of Saratoga Springs (Navy); Philip Myers, of Saratoga Springs (Army, 101st Airborne); Ken Bailey, of Voorheesville (Army, 4th Cavalry); Harold Williams, of Chatham (Army); Frank Smith, of Hudson Falls (Coast Guard); Ralph Avery, of Claverack (Army); and Angelo Picarrazzi, of Selkirk (Army, 9th Infantry).
There are also plans to honor deceased veterans at the June ceremony.
Anyone who is or who has knowledge of a local D-Day veteran, wishes to attend the June ceremony or who wants to help out the D-Day Revisited Association can contact DeSorbo at [email protected].“