Gallery 50 donated by Joe Inglese, contact him @ jingle98@verizon.net
The candid photos of Marc Palombi were taken by Pvt. Russ Eick who was the gunner on the halftrack my late father-in-law Marc Palombi served on during World War II. Pvt. Eick had his camera with him and took many photos according to my father-in-law, but these photos of chow time and with the French girls were ones my father-in-law had never seen until I found them in the 3rd Armored Division history. Their halftrack was part of C Battery of the 486th Armored Anti Aircraft Battalion. Their particular halftrack "Hells Bells" was credited with shooting down the first enemy aircraft by Allied forces on German soil. The photo of Marc Palombi and his friends Frank Piccola and Peter Slavis was a snapshot taken in the neighborhood of Henry St. in Amsterdam where Marc grew up. This was before the war. My father-in-law was always proud of his service during World War II. He was a 1940 graduate of Wilbur H. Lynch High School. He passed away on September 14, 2007.
The origin of the photos of John Zabelski are pretty much unknown. I want to think that the photos of his ship LST 288 may have been acquired when he went to a reunion. The group photo in New Orleans is in a cardboard frame with the names and addresses of his shipmates written around the outside of the frame. I came into possession of these pictures by accident. They had been put into the recycle bin at the Town of Florida transfer station and the attendant Marie Belfance saved them. She gave them to me when I recognized John Zabelski from his GASD photo. I called John and he told me to keep the pictures. This was about three or four years ago. That November I had John as one of our guests for the Veteran's Day program at McNulty Academy. John passed away on August 30, 2008. THESE PHOTOS ARE NOT FOR SALE.
Read MoreThe origin of the photos of John Zabelski are pretty much unknown. I want to think that the photos of his ship LST 288 may have been acquired when he went to a reunion. The group photo in New Orleans is in a cardboard frame with the names and addresses of his shipmates written around the outside of the frame. I came into possession of these pictures by accident. They had been put into the recycle bin at the Town of Florida transfer station and the attendant Marie Belfance saved them. She gave them to me when I recognized John Zabelski from his GASD photo. I called John and he told me to keep the pictures. This was about three or four years ago. That November I had John as one of our guests for the Veteran's Day program at McNulty Academy. John passed away on August 30, 2008. THESE PHOTOS ARE NOT FOR SALE.
Joshua Morrell
on April 27, 2010A great service you are doing here for the community. PJ used to date my grandmother Sylivia Barker. He was an expert - i mean - expert fishermen, hunter and steward. The gentleman knew everything when it came to the outdoors. He was also a medic in the war and took great care of his 'band of brothers'. A kind and decent human being. When he passed and when he was living - he gave me his fishing equipment and some custom lures. i miss PJ a lot. I wish I spent more time with him. Towards the end of his life - his knees gave out and he could not spend as much time in the outdoors as he would of liked. A true Steward and a true outdoorsmen. Thanks so much for your website. Take care and God Bless - Joshua Morrell
Joe Inglese
on March 14, 2010This is a photo of the late John Zabelski when he was a custodian for the GASD. John worked at the Theodore Roosevelt Junior High.