32 TIMES • JULY 30, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.timesnewsweekly.com old timer If you have any memories and photos that you’d like to share about “Our Neighborhood: e Way it Was,” write to e Old Timer, c/o Ridgewood Times, 62-70 Fresh Pond Rd., Ridgewood, NY 11385, or send an email to [email protected]. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned upon request. When a police offi cer is tragically killed in the line of duty, the law enforcement community vows never to forget the sacrifi ces that the fallen had made. Such resolve was demonstrated earlier this month, when NYPD offi cials gathered at Flushing Meadows- Corona Park to remember two NYPD Bomb Squad members who died in what many consider to be the fi rst terrorist attack in New York City’s history. The attack occurred 75 years ago at the 1939-40 World’s Fair, an international exhibition overshadowed by the outburst of war in Europe and Asia. The U.S. was neutral at the start of World War II, and of course, wouldn’t enter it until after the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. Visitors to the fair, however, could see some of the war’s effects while walking through the grounds. The Polish and Czechoslovakian Pavilions were shuttered; both nations had been invaded by Nazi Germany, which declined to participate in the fair over alleged fi nancial reasons. Still, to the delight of New Yorkers separated from the horrors overseas, the World’s Fair continued on. Among its many attractions was the British Pavilion which remained open even as the United Kingdom battled Germany for its very survival mere weeks after Hitler marched his armies into and conquered France. The NYPD had assigned additional patrols to the British pavilion after receiving vague phone threats from an individual described as having a German accent. At about 3:30 p.m. on the afternoon of July 4, 1940, a worker at the British Pavilion heard a ticking sound coming from a black satchel left at the location and contacted police. Responding offi cers cleared the area, picked up the satchel and moved it to an area behind the closed Polish Pavilion. Detectives Joseph Lynch and Ferdinand Socha of the NYPD Bomb Squad were called in to examine the bag’s ticking contents. Neither offi cer was wearing protective gear (it hadn’t been invented yet). The offi cers picked up the closed bag and opened up a small hole to get a look inside. Seconds later, the bag exploded, killing Lynch and Socha instantly and injuring several offi cers nearby. Despite an NYPD investigation that led to the questioning of hundreds of suspects — many of whom were known Nazi sympathizers — the culprit who left the bomb was never caught. To this day, the case remains unsolved, and a reward offered for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the attack is unclaimed. At this month’s gathering at Flushing Meadows, members of the NYPD, civic leaders and the fallen detectives’ families — including Easter Miles of Connecticut, Lynch’s daughter — paid their respects near a memorial plaque installed prior to the 1964-65 World’s Fair. In doing so, they renewed that vow never to forget the sacrifi ces the detectives made on that fateful day at the fair. Source material gathered from The New York Times, National Public Radio and Lt. Bernard J. Whalen, www.bjwhalen.com. Terrorism at the World’s Fair Photo via www.1939nyworldsfair.com/Brian McGuckin Medics remove one of the bodies following the July 4, 1940 bombing at the 1939-40 World’s Fair. RIDGEWOOD TIMES/Photo by Marcin Zurawicz Police officials and family members of Detectives Ferdinand Socha and Joseph Lynch — including Easter Miles, Lynch’s daughter — remembered the fallen officers who died in the World’s Fair bombing.
RT07302015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above