DERBY— Icy walkways, snow-packed grounds and sub-freezing temperatures Saturday couldn’t keep nearly 150 people from honoring the Valley’s veterans as part of a special national movement of respect.
Residents and dignitaries laid some 400 wreaths on the graves of veterans at St. Michael’s Cemetery during the Valley’s first ever Wreaths Across America event.
“This is so typical of the Valley and the way its residents respond,” said John Rak, as he looked over the crowd. “All these people coming out in 25 degree temperatures a week before Christmas to honor our veterans. It makes you proud.”
Standing in front of Josephine Rak’s grave, John Rak — whose son is a U.S. Navy captain — was in the cemetery to honor his aunt, who served as a Women’s Army Corps nurse stationed in England during the D-Day invasion.
“She was over 30 at the time but she felt it was something she had to do,” Rak said.
His father-in-law, Adam Strzelec, also had a wreath laid on his grave. Strzelec served in Poland’s Army but was captured during the early days of Germany’s invasion of his country.
“He spent the war in a German Work Camp,” his daughter, Monica Rak, said. “He told us he kept his stomach filled by eating grass and stones.”
The Valley’s participation in Wreaths Across America was arranged by Pauline Totaro, president of the Catholic War Veterans Post 1562 Auxiliary. Her son, Jason, a U.S. Army veteran, participates in the annual Wreaths Across America ceremony at the Arlington National Cemetery, she said.
“I’d like this to became an annual event in the Valley,” Totaro said. “We could have it at a different cemetery every December.”
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from News https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Wreaths-Across-America-visits-Derby-s-St-15819176.php
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