On Friday, Oct. 23, World War II veteran Sgt. Anthony Catalano will turn 100 years old. Mayor Scott Strauss is organizing a “Birthday Car Parade” to go past his home at 501 Nancy Rd. on SATURDAY, OCT. 24.
During World War II, Sergeant Anthony Catalano served in General Patton’s famed 3rd Army. Over the years, Sgt. Catalano has shared many stories of his time overseas. One of these stories is of a time when he and his men were trapped in 4 feet of snow in the forests of France. There was no way to get out and no way for supplies to get to them. For days they suffered in sub-freezing temperatures, their rations so low they scraped snow into their canteens to try and melt it for water. He had to wake his men every 2 ½ hours to prevent them from freezing to death. One of his men, a 19-year-old from Brooklyn, begged Sgt. Catalano to shoot him in the leg so he’d be sent home as he could no longer take the frigid cold. Sgt. Catalano’s response to that? He took off his own coat and draped it over the shivering young soldier. They were finally rescued by bulldozers who plowed their way to them.
Sgt. Catalano’s Company was also part of the group that liberated the Dachau Concentration Camp. To this day he gets visibly shaken when even he mentions the horrors they saw.
Sgt. Catalano has been extremely active over the years going to schools, teaching students about the experiences he and his fellow veterans have gone through. It is because of men and women like Sgt. Catalano that we are here today and that the United States of America even exists.
On Friday, Oct. 23, Sgt. Catalano will turn 100 years old. The Village of Mineola is organizing a “Birthday Car Parade” to go past his home at 501 Nancy Rd. on SATURDAY, OCT. 24.
The parade will begin at 11 a.m.
ROUTE:
The route will have all vehicles exiting onto Jericho Turnpike from Saville Road, proceeding west on Jericho to Beebe Road, travelling north on Beebe Road to Nancy Road where they will pass Sgt. Catalano’s house and disperse onto Herricks Road.
Staging begins at 10:30 a.m.
