World War II veterans tell Peters Township students about D-Day
Michael Vernillo, 98, served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
World War II veterans, from left, Peter Maurin, Michael Vernillo and Howard Pfeifer address Peters Township Middle School students about their experiences in the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944.
Howard Pfeifer, 93, served in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II.
Peter Maurin, 94, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Mt. Lebanon resident Todd DePastino, co-founder and executive director of the Veterans Breakfast Club, served as moderator for the D-Day event at Peters Township Middle School.
Howard Pfeifer, 93, served in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II.
Peters Township Middle School students have their photograph taken with World War II veteran Howard Pfeifer.
Michael Vernillo speaks through a microphone held by Todd DePastino.
Michael Vernillo, left, and Howard Pfeifer take a look at some World War II-related materials.
Michael Vernillo chats with Peters Township Middle School students.
Peter Maurin chats with a Peters Township Middle School student.
Todd DePastino has a laugh while talking with Peter Maurin.
Todd DePastino talks with Michael Vernillo.
Todd DePastino talks with Michael Vernillo.
Michael Vernillo talks as Todd DePastino and Howard Pfeifer listen.
Michael Vernillo talks as Todd DePastino and Howard Pfeifer listen.
Todd DePastino talks with Peter Maurin.
Todd DePastino speaks near a genuine World War II U.S. Army uniform on display in the auditorium of Peters Township Middle School.
A World War II German uniform was on display during the D-Day program Monday at Peters Township Middle School.
Imagine being 18, 19 or 20 years old and having to go overseas to fight in a war, not knowing whether you will ever see your family again.
Then imagine fighting in the largest seaborne invasion in history, and imagine losing 10,000 comrades.
These were the stories three World War II veterans – Peter Maurin, Michael Vernillo and Howard Pfeifer, all of whom participated in the June 6, 1944, invasion of Normandy – shared with Peters Township Middle School students during a special assembly on the 72nd anniversary of D-Day, which is credited with turning the tide of World War II in Europe.
The veterans, all in their 90s and from different branches of the armed forces, were part of a panel discussion led by Mt. Lebanon resident Todd DePastino, a Waynesburg University history professor and executive director of the Veterans Breakfast Club, a nonprofit that hosts monthly breakfast for area veterans to exchange stories and share information.
Maurin, a U.S. Navy veteran, said he joined that branch of the military to avoid going into the Army. He spent D-Day on a hospital boat.
“I didn’t know how to swim,” Maurin said. “I thought I would learn in the Navy, but I didn’t see any water during basic training.”
Maurin, who said he was a cabinet maker before entering the service, said he was assigned to the engine boiler room of his boat and quickly learned the mechanics of his assignment.
“We went back and forth between England and France,” he said. “It was very, very scary.”
Just prior to D-Day, Maurin, 94, said he participated in an invasion in Sicily. His boat, however, was sunk by a German bomb.
The Navy gave him a 30-day survivor’s leave. Maurin said he used the time wisely by coming back to Pittsburgh and getting married. The marriage lasted 71 years.
Vernillo, 98, was part of the second wave of the Normandy invasion. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1941, just prior to the United States entering the war.
“I wasn’t very happy about that,” Vernillo said. “But I thought I would make the best of it.”
The trip overseas on the carrier was especially miserable, said Vernillo, who was seasick for most of the trip and spent a lot of time in his hammock. Soldiers slept on hammocks that were seven deep, he added.
“All of my officers were killed,” said Vernillo, who received the Legion of Honor from the French government for his bravery, which included D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge and 16 other battles.
“We had to keep fighting and do the best we could,” Vernillo said.
Pfeifer was a Merchant Marine during the war. The Merchant Marine, an auxiliary branch of the Navy, is a fleet of ships that carry supplies during both peace and wartime. It was also the branch of the military that suffered the highest percentage of casualties during the war, DePastino said.
Pfeifer told the students he chose that branch because every trip was a separate commitment and he was free to change ships once he was done with one mission.
“I was on seven ships,” he said. “And I made some trips to Russia. It was 20 degrees below zero on those trips.”
During D-Day, Pfeifer said his ship was deliberately scuttled to provide a dock for the boats carrying troops.
“I don’t think it would have done any good to be scared,” he said.
As part of the D-Day observance, the Peters Township Public Library’s World War II Discussion Group displayed military artifacts from their personal collections, including American, German British and Canadian uniforms. Outside the library, two World War II vehicles, a 1940 Dodge pickup truck used as a weapons carrier and a World War II jeep that includes a trailer.