Street naming honors WW 2 war hero, victim of Nazi attrocity
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
A co-pilot who was heinously
murdered as a POW in World War
II will fi nally be recognized in his
home town 75 years after he was
killed by an angry mob.
A street co-naming will honor
U.S. Army 2nd Lieutenant John
Sekul, a U.S. Army Air Corps
bomber crew member murdered
by Nazi sympathizers after being
shot down behind enemy lines in
1944.
The co-naming, supported by
Community Board 9, will take
place on Monday, August 26 at the
street corner where Sekul lived
- Newbold and Havermeyer avenues.
It is scheduled for noon, with
a procession led by Unionport
American Legion Post #1056 at
2151 Newbold Avenue starting at
11:30 a.m.
Richard Vitacco, president
of the East Bronx History Forum,
which meets in Westchester
Square at the Huntington Free Library,
compiled the research that
persuaded CB 9, community members,
and Councilman Ruben Diaz
Sr. to support the naming.
Vitacco told the Bronx Times
that Sekul, who was born in 1922,
graduated Evander Childs High
School in 1940 before enlisting in
the U.S. Air Force in 1942, was
the co-pilot of the B-24J bomber
‘Wham! Bam! Thank you, Ma’m’
on August 24, 1944 when he, along
with his crew were shot down over
enemy lines.
After their capture, most of the
crew was then being transported
across Germany to a prison camp
when they had to change trains in
Russelheim, Germany.
While walking through that
city’s streets to the train, the U.S.
soldiers were accosted by townspeople
who mistook them for British
soldiers who they believed had
bombed an Opel car factory that
produced war machinery the previous
evening, said Vitacco, adding
American warplanes had also
participated in bombing the town
during the daylight hours.
The German civilians, joined
by a Nazi air-raid warden for Russelheim,
Josef Hartgen, who was
also a foreman at the plant, attacked
the prisoners, according to
Vitacco’s narrative.
After the crew was beaten,
Hartgen executed most of the
crew, including Sekul, shooting
each of them in the head with a
6.35 mm pistol, said Vitacco, adding
that two of the crew members
survived when the Nazi ran out of
bullets.
While permanent places of remembrances
were placed in Russelheim,
as well as in Georgia, to
remember what happened, Sekul
was never honored in his home
town, said Vitacco.
Vitacco believes the co-naming
will bring folks to a greater awareness
of what happened so it will
never replicate itself, adding the
effort drew support from residents
and businesses in the area.
“Their story was an atrocity,”
said Vitacco. “The goal is (to raise
awareness so) that something like
this doesn’t happen in the future.”
Vitacco received a great deal
of support from American Legion
Unionport Post #1065 and the
Bronx County American Legion.
Ricardo Garcia, adjutant of
Post #1065 and vice commander
of the American Legion’s Bronx
County executive committee, said
the Unionport American Legion
post will march in a procession
the morning of the street co-naming,
along with a military band
and local people.
“This is indicative of what
the American Legion supports
and what we do,” said Garcia. “It
is fantastic.”
Some of Sekul’s descendants
have indicated they will be present
at the street-sign unveiling, he
said.
“It’s phenomenal that the family
is going to be present,” said
Garcia. “Unfortunately, it is 70-
plus years later but they can walk
away with a sense of what Sekul
was able to accomplish.”
Garcia said that it is incredible
that Vitacco was able to get in
touch with Sekul and some of the
other crew members’ families.
“Richard has done some major
work on this and it is something I
am proud to support,” said Garcia,
adding it was great that the Bronx
will fi nally know the story of the
crew and about the hero they had
in their midst by learning about
Sekul.
BRONX W www.BXTimes.com EEKLY August 4, 2019 2
John Sekul will be remembered for his
heroics as a co-pilot in World War II.
Photo courtesy of Richard Vitacco
BY ALEX MITCHELL
A west Bronx school will be
receiving a major upgrade very
soon.
The annex of the P.S. 33 Tim
Dwight School has offi cially broken
ground on a $70 million renovation
for its 2424 Jerome Avenue
property on Thursday, July 11.
This project will include adding
new classroom seats to the
school, a library, an exercise
room, a medical suite, a kitchen
and a student cafeteria, a project
room, a new playground and
other necessary learning utilities
to the kindergarten through fi fth
grade elementary school.
“Today’s groundbreaking
is a major milestone for the
Jerome Avenue Neighborhood
plan and the school children
of this community,” Councilman
Fernando Cabrera said as
he stood in front of the ceremonial
dirt mounds that symbolized
the start of construction.
“P.S 33 Annex tells the
story of neighbors who came
together, with elected offi cials
and city agencies to ensure
that our kids can get an education
in a new, well-equipped,
state of the art learning environment,”
the councilmember
elaborated.
According to Cabrera’s offi
ce, Community School District
10, which P.S. 33 is part of,
is one of the most overcrowded
school districts in the city.
This new, $70 million annex
will create an additional 388
classroom seats for P.S. 33 students
upon its completion.
“Throughout the process of
developing the Jerome Avenue
Neighborhood plan, I affi rmed
my commitment to this community
by insisting on investments
in housing, healthcare,
economic development and education.
Today I’m very proud
of the work we did together as
we begin the construction process
of the P.S. 33 Annex,” Cabrera
exclaimed.
$70M renovation for P.S.
33 Annex to add 388 seats
Councilman Cabrera (c) spoke about the planned P.S. 33 Annex.
Photo by Edward Watkins
Elected offi cials and project leaders broke ground for P.S. 33’s Annex. Photo by Edward Watkins
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