Over 100 people honored the members from the 82nd and 101st airborne divisions who served in WWII at a family style chicken dinner from the American Legion Post 108 on Sunday, Nov. 15.
Over the course of the dinner, the veterans swapped war stories with each other and listened to music from the 1940’s.
Notable WWII authors George E. Koskimaki of Northville and Donald R. Burgett of Howell also attended the event.
Koskimaki wrote Hell’s Highway: A Chronicle of the 82nd and 101st Airborne in the Holland Campaign, and two other books telling the tales of the division.
‘I never planned to write any books. After the war, I went to college and the war department sent me a letter hearing that I kept a diary and they wanted to use it,? Koskimaki said.
‘The fact that they were interested in my diary, I said hey, maybe I should write a book about my experiences,? he said.
Inspiration also came after he wrote two people he served with who were telling their stories. He asked them to include the fact that he was very involved with them. They never included his part.
Koskimaki said that he was going to write a book and correct the way the story was written. After writing his first book, he was contacted to write a second one about the Holland Campaign because ‘you know the way to write it.?
Burgett authored Seven Roads to Hell.
The curator of the Oxford American Legion Post, Jim Parker, said , it was a neat day to be a part of.
‘When you have this many WWII vets in one location and to be able to know how much history is here, if you talk to these gentlemen how much history they would really tell is really neat,? he said.
– Staff Writer Andrew Moser