FEATURES Our Neighborhood: The Way It Was • Interesting People • Local History • Events Around Town And More 19 • TIMES, THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2014 Maspeth Memorial March Honors Area Vets Service Spans The Decades by Noah Zuss Four veterans, three with local ties will be honored at the annual Maspeth Memorial Day Parade to commemorate their years in service to the United States Armed Forces on Sunday, May 25, in Maspeth. Retired Capt. Laura Zimmermann has been announced as the speaker, in-line with this year’s parade theme: Maspeth honors women in the military. The parade will also honor veterans Leo J. Wasil, who fought in the Second World War, Anthony Simone, a soldier during the Korean war and Jane Crowley, who joined the United States Marine Corp women’s Service in 1943. The parade will begin at 1:00 p.m. at WaIter A. Garlinge Memorial Park, located at 72nd Street and Grand Avenue in Maspeth, with a memorial service to start at 2 p.m. Wasil, originally Wasilkowski, and changed after the war, enlisted six months into the conflict and flew 35 combat missions during WWII as a radio operator, mechanic and gunner. Born in Laurel Hill, Wasil was raised in Brooklyn and moved to Maspeth upon his return from Europe, remaining in Queens ever since. For his service during the War, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, an Air Medal, the European- African-Middle-Eastern Campaign Medal and a Warsaw Uprising Cross. Stateside he worked as an NYC Police Officer for 23 years. On perhaps his most harrowing mission, while on a bombing operation over Germany, the crew dropped their payload but one bomb got stuck halfway through the bomb bay doors. The crew could not land with a live bomb onboard, so the pilot turned to Wasil to clear the live ordinance. After several hours, it was released over the ocean, allowing the fuel depleted B-17 to return safely to base. The days parade events all kickoff at 12:15 p.m. with a colors mass, then a memorial ceremony at 12:30. Following the parade, memorial services for deceased veterans of WWII, Korea, Vietnam, The Persian Gulf and Operation Iraqi Freedom will be honored. “Lefty” Simone was born and raised in Bushwick. He was drafted to fight in Korea in January 1952, at the height of the conflict. At Fort Hood he was trained as a tanker, but requested to return to an infantry unit, Leo Wasil (left photo with brother Teddy) and Anthony Simone (right photo) will be honored at this year’s Maspeth Memorial Day Parade, Sunday, May 25. Leo Wasil flew 35 bombing missions in Europe during WWII and Simone fought in the Korean War. and was trained as a gun mechanic. Upon arrival on the peninsula, he was assigned to 780th Field Artillery Battalion to fight in the Mung Dung Valley, known infamously as “Heartbreak Ridge”. Somehow he survived his tour, but recalls seeing his best friend “Tutty, disintegrated” with nothing to send home to his family, he said. The night of July 27, 1952, Simone was Corporal of the Guard, assigned to protect the perimeter with only hours before the armistice became official. All of the men on both sides of the conflict knew fighting would end at 10 p.m., the order was to survive and pray until then, Simone said. He lived through the war, which was relatively short, but exceptionally bloody as nearly five million people perished and almost 40,000 Americans were killed. Three months after the armistice, Simone boarded the USS Patrick back to the states. Back in the U.S. he married his wife Rose, and was later blessed with three children. Rose and Anthony have been married for 57 years and reside in Glendale. For his time, Simone earned a Korean Service Medal with two bronze service stars, a United Nations Service Medal and a National Defense Service Medal. As a civilian, Simone spent six years with the Chrysler Corporation, and forty more as an insurance and real estate broker. The parade speaker, Zimmermann A Free Tree Giveaway In Forest Hills This Sunday Plant Them In Front Or Rear Yards The boroughs are about to become greener as the Forest Hills Tree Giveaway event, Sunday, May 18 from 1 to 3 p.m., will give residents that lined up in MacDonald Park on Queens Boulevard and 70th Avenue, a tree or two to adopt and plant outside their house or building. This bi-annual event, typically held in May and October, will be the sixth Forest Hills Tree Giveaway since 2011, and bring the total quantity of donated trees to 1,045. Adopters can select from five tree species, which consist of Tulip Trees, American Sweetgum, River Birch, Eastern Redbud, and Black Walnut. This will add diversity to the boroughs. This event is made possible through Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance (4BNPA)’s partnership with New York Restoration Project (NYRP) and MillionTreesNYC. The lead sponsors are Toyota and TD Bank, and the lead partners are plaNYC, NYC Parks, and NYRP. A supporting sponsor is jetBlue Airways. Volunteers will be derived from Rego-Forest Preservation Council (RFPC), Trylon Vet Care, Forest Hills Jewish Center, the Forest Hills Green Team, the Compost Collective, and Green Mountain Energy. NYRP began coordinating tree giveaways in 2008. As of 2011, 4BNPA had the mission of advocating for landmarks and curbing overdevelopment, but began realizing how environmental preservation is a significant complement to the city’s architectural achievements. The organizations’ relationship would then begin. Extreme weather patterns intensified over the last few years, as evident by the 2010 macroburst, Hurricane Irene, and Hurricane Sandy. This caused numerous trees to succumb within seconds, and a single characteristic that vanished was the physical reminders of what people grew up around and developed an attachment to. Despite loss, it emphasized the benefits behind preserving mature trees and planting new ones. Trees enhance property values and character, mark a -SEE TREES ON PG. 56- -SEE VETS ON PG. 56- May Crowning At R’wood School The St. Matthias School May crowning ceremony honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary took place in the school’s lower church on Wednesday, May 7th. The two second grade classes participated in the ceremony of the crowning of the Virgin Mary and are pictured after the crown and flowers were offered.
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