Looking ahead to 2013

The next meeting of the World War II Book Club will be Tuesday January 15, 2013, as usual at the Millburn Library commencing at 7PM. Our speaker will John W. Lanza,  author of the acclaimed Shot Down Over Italy-A True Story of Courage and Survival in Nazi-occupied Italy during World War II. 

John is a resident of Caldwell. After graduating from Bates College he was a banker in New York City for almost 40 years, retiring from JPMorgan Chase in 2008. He has an MBA from Baruch College and has taught undergraduate courses for over twenty-five years.

About John's Book: On May 26, 1944, a B-25 bomber with a seven-man crew was shot down over Nazi-occupied Italy. At the time, Italy was a battleground in a complex, controversial, drawn-out and bloody war of attrition. When disaster struck, the fate of each crew member rested, first, on the ability of the pilot to control the ship so they could bail out; and, second, on who reached them first when they hit the ground-Mussolini's Fascists, Hitler's Nazis, or the partisans that formed the Italian Resistance.

The stories of the fate of the airmen remained a mystery for many years. Lanza, after a long search in an effort  to locate relatives of the survivors of the crash,  and a trip to the crash site in Italy, was able to piece together a captivating true story with many fascinating aspects, including a pilot who put his crew's safety above his own, airmen who trusted partisans with their lives and airmen who as prisoners of war survived inhumane conditions. It is a riveting story and the event  promises to be another outstanding evening.

Future Programs

• Tuesday, February 19, 2013: William B. Rogers, Ph.D. and Associate Dean of the Casperson School at Drew University will lecture on the campaign in the Pacific Theatre during World War II.  
• Tuesday, March 19, 2013: Stephan Talty will provide a lecture on his book Agent Garbo - The Brilliant, Eccentric Secret Agent  Who Tricked Hitler & Saved D-Day.

Dues for The World War II Book Club

Some of our members may have forgotten to pay their dues.   Dues are $25.00 a year for a single membership and $30.00  for an entire family. We now follow the custom of many other organizations and charge dues commencing with the start of each new season which is September. Accordingly, we ask all members who have not yet done so  to pay their dues now. Please send a check to John J. McLaughlin 10 Farmstead Road Short Hills, NJ 07078 or pay at the next meeting. Please, if possible pay by check to assist our bookkeeping. Anyone with questions can call Dr. McLaughlin at 973-467-3313.