GREENE - The Greene Historical Society will collaborate with Oxford Town and Village Historian Vicky House to honor the service members of Greene, who served their country during war and peace.

House will share her local research and offer a public presentation: ‘Heroes Among Us’, at 10 a.m., October 18, in the Moore Memorial Library basement meeting room, located at 59 Genesee Street in Greene.

House said the presentation will focus on military personnel from World War I and World War II and

provides a look back on military members who held a variety of titles including cooks, medics, nurses, pilots, infantry, seaman, a POW, and a member who worked on the Manhattan Project.

“My program will show the continued commitment of our Revolutionary War soldiers by honoring those who served during The Great War; World War I, and World War II,” said House.

She noted the men and women of the two wars left home and love ones to better themselves to fight for a stranger’s freedom and gave great support to the war with pride, dignity, and honor.

“They sought no promotion,” House said. “They coveted no distinction, they patiently lived and bravely died.”

She said their work was done and they have been given just reward in heaven yet it’s up to everyone to continue honoring them and keep their memory alive.

A few of the “Heroes Among Us” presented will be:

Private First Class (Pfc.) Kenneth W. Parks was a medic during World War II and assigned to the 104th Infantry Division, 414th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed The Timberwolf Division.

Pfc. Parks was the uncle of Greene resident Nancy Bromley, who said he was her family’s favorite uncle.

“When asked about his service, Bromley said he would respond, “You don’t want to know.”

House said after some research, she found Pfc. Parks was wounded twice and received the Purple Heart. She said she also learned about some of the places he went and the horrible things he saw during the war.

Pfc. Robert Ingraham was assigned to Company H., 357th Infantry Division and later as a machine gunner with the 90th Infantry Division of the late General Patton’s War (POW).

“It is possible that Pfc. Ingraham was the only POW of World War II who served from Greene, but we haven’t finished the research in all of Greene’s Heroes yet,” House said.

Additional research brought insight to Private (Pvt.) Julian B. Clinton, who served in World War I with Battery B, 78th Division, 309th Field Artillery. His wrote letters home about his exposure to 'Fritz’s gas,' causing issues with his eyesight.

“The gas Pvt. Clinton referred to was from Fritz Haber, a German chemist who was considered the “father of chemical warfare,” she said.

Following his discharge, Julian Clinton returned to Greene and started a car business, yet suffered from the lasting effects of the gas and died at a young age. He is buried in Sylvan Lawn Cemetery.

House also mentioned Technical Sergeant Minnie Brachin who worked in the Intelligence field and was associated with the Manhattan Project and successful completion of the use of the atomic bomb.

“The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons,” House said. “The project was responsible for developing the specific means of delivering the weapons onto military targets in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945.”

Pvt. Lloyd O. Jackson served in World War I with Company B, 305th Machine Gun Battalion, 77th Division (“The Liberty Division”).

House said Lloyd’s dream was to become a Holstein-Friesian Cattle Breeder yet was drafted and in September 1918, Pvt. Jackson’s company was caught in German machine gun cross fire and he, along with several others, were killed.

She said Pvt. Jackson was the first Greene soldier to die in The Great War and the American Legion in Greene is named in his honor.

House reflected on a saying, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” and said those words serve as a timeless reminder that a lack of understanding of our history can lead to similar errors in the future.

“We must honor all our Heroes not only to keep their memory alive, but so we do not repeat past mistakes,” she added.

For fifteen years, House has been a member of the Greene Historical Society, researching soldiers and veterans from the local area and found that town borders overlap, not only with service people but families, workplaces and businesses.

With the help of the members of the Greene Historical Society and President Nancy Bromley, House brings many research stories to life and documents local history.

Donations will be accepted and will go to the American Legion Post 692 Lloyd O Jackson.