Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The Greatest Generation

A former resident of Stonebrook Village passed away at the age of 89 last week. He had moved from Stonebrook to an assisted living facility before we moved here, so we didn't get the chance to know this gentleman.

When we read his obit in the PG this week, we learned that he was the very embodiment of what Tom Brokaw called the "Greatest Generation." Turns out he landed at Normandy days after D-Day, fought his way across Europe, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and served as an interpreter for liberated Polish and Slav concentration camp survivors at Auschwitz.

When the war ended, he came back to Pittsburgh, raised a family, drove a bus for Pittsburgh Railways and the Port Authority, and then opened his own bakery.

I am sorry that we didn't get to meet Walt, but I have a hunch that even if we did, we would have never known his remarkable story.

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