Pennsylvania’s war contributions noted in Mt. Lebanon exhibit
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Donna DiNardo, a Historical Society of Mount Lebanon volunteer, and daughter Georgina, a Mt. Lebanon High School senior, take a look at the life-sized representation of “Rosie the Riveter.”
Harry Funk / The Almanac
A wall in the library of the Mt. Lebanon History Center contains images of the 59 Mt. Lebanon residents who died while serving in World War II.
A representation of Uniontown's George Marshall at work
Contributions from the Carnegie Historical Society
Probably the most recognized image to emerge from World War II is Joseph Rosenthal’s Feb. 23, 1945, photograph of six Marines raising the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi on the Japanese-held island of Iwo Jima.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Michael Strank (1919-45) is the subject of one of four life-sized images in the “We Can Do It! WWII” traveling exhibit.
One of the Marines grew up in Cambria County, near Johnstown: Michael Strank, who died in combat six days later at age 25.
His is one of four life-sized images featured at the Senator John Heinz History Center traveling exhibit “We Can Do It! WWII,” which is on display through Jan. 29 at the Mt. Lebanon History Center, 794 Washington Road.
The exhibit is hosted by the Historical Society of Mount Lebanon and includes contributions from other South Hills historical societies as part of presenting an overall picture of the involvement of Western Pennsylvania made to the war.
“It’s great to be able to see those really localized stories, in a way that people can see: Those people were from my street. Those people went to the school I went to,” Mariruth Leftwich, Heinz History Center director of education and a Mt. Lebanon resident, said. “I think that’s when history becomes really powerful and relevant, when it has that direction connection to the place where you live.”
History also becomes somber, particularly as it pertains to war, as the exhibit also features the photographs of the 59 Mt. Lebanon residents who died while serving in the conflict.
The photograph shows the condition of George Abbott’s B-17 when it manages to reach England after taking a shell during a bombing mission over Germany. Abbott, 19, was the only fatality.
Among them is George Abbott, who joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and flew missions aboard B-17 bombers. On Oct. 15, 1944, his plane was above Cologne, Germany, when it was struck by an 88 mm shell. The aircraft managed to make it back to England, with just one fatality.
Staff Sgt. Abbott was 19.
Infinitely more positive is the story of Jacob Dryer, whose Navy uniform is on loan for the exhibit from the Baldwin Historical Society.
“What’s really special about it is that, if you notice the handkerchief sticking out of the pocket, it turns out that’s the handkerchief from the gentleman’s wife, and he carried it in that pocket throughout the entire war,” Jim Wojcik, Historical Society of Mount Lebanon president, said.
After the war, Dryer returned home to work as a boilermaker with Local 154 and served as chief of the Baldwin Independent Fire Co. He died in 2015 at age 95.
Jacob Dryer’s uniform contains the handkerchief given to him by his wife, Gertrude, that he carried throughout World War II. (Photo courtesy of Tammy Funk)
A contribution to “We Can Do It!” from the Bethel Park Historical Society is a well-traveled piece of World War II memorabilia.
“The gentleman had his mess-kit cup engraved with all the places that he was stationed. You can see it’s Manila and Texas and Canada, and Japan at the end,” Wojcik said.
Along with the likeness of Strank, other life-sized “We Can Do It!” figures include George Marshall, the Uniontown-born Army general who after the war served as U.S. Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense, and “Rosie the Riveter,” the subject of posters created by Pittsburgh artist J. Howard Miller at the behest of Westinghouse Co.’s War Production Coordinating Committee.
The fourth figure represents Carl Woods, a Mars resident and Army Air Forces pilot whose P-51 Mustang disappeared over Austria on Oct. 7, 1944. He was a member of the 99th Fighter Squadron, members of which were considered some of the best pilots in the war effort.
They are known to history as the Tuskegee Airmen, all African Americans, as the Army continued to be segregated through 1948.
When he last was seen alive, Flight Officer Woods was 19.
“We Can Do It! WWII” is scheduled to make appearances throughout Western Pennsylvania through 2020. For more information about the traveling exhibit, visit www.heinzhistorycenter.org/we-can-do-it-wwii-traveling-exhibit.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Representation of Carl Woods of the Tuskegee Airmen