Daytona State presents WWII veterans panel, Feb. 25

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 26, 2016) - Daytona State College will host a rare opportunity to experience World War II history from the perspective of those who served, during a panel discussion

on Thursday, Feb. 25, beginning at 7 p.m. at the college’s News-Journal Center, 221 N. Beach St. in Daytona Beach.

“An Evening of History with World War II Veterans” will feature surviving members of the armed services, most in their 90s, who will speak about their wartime experience, as well as share their wisdom gained from generations of daily living. The event is free and open to the public.

“Opportunities like this become fleeting with time,” said event organizer Julie Miller, a former Daytona State mathematics professor who last year was named professor emeritus by the college. “This will be a wonderful opportunity for us to honor these veterans and for students and the community to have history taught to them by the people who actually experienced it.”

Daytona State President Tom LoBasso, a retired Army National Guard veteran, will open the event and introduce the veteran panelists, who will be interviewed by DSC professor Dr. Ron Morrison. Retired DSC professor Dr. Ram Nayar will serve as moderator.

The veterans confirmed for the panel are:

• Master Sgt. James Edward Robinson, 96, a 30-year veteran of the Marine Corps who was recommended for the Navy Cross for heroic service in Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands and earned a Silver Star for bravery under fire during the infamous Battle of Peleliu. 
• Army 1st Lt. John Morgan Welch, 96, who served in the 4th Infantry Division during the D-Day assault on Utah Beach. After the war, Welch became the publisher of the DeLand Sun newspaper and was the first chairman of the Daytona Beach Junior College District Board of Trustees in 1957.
• Sgt. Kent D. Miller, 90, who joined the Army at age 18 and served with the 102nd Infantry (Ozark) Division, where he trained as a medic. He later joined the 2nd Armored Division, which played a major role in the liberation of Europe. 
• Sgt. Jennie DeAngelis, 93, was one of 150,000 women who served in the Women’s Army Corps and among only 48 who served in combat during the war.
• Pfc. John Brinkley, 87, is the youngest of the panelists and did not turn 17 until eight months after the war. Brinkley volunteered for the Marine Corps in 1946, but was not shipped overseas and left the Marines in 1947, only to later join the U.S. Air Force from 1951-1955 to serve in the Korean War. Today, he is president of the Veteran’s Museum and Education Center, a non-profit organization that promotes awareness of the service and sacrifice of veterans from World War I to the present. The organization is slated to open a new 1,600-ft. museum of military history this spring on Beach Street in downtown Daytona Beach.

For more information on the event, contact Julie Miller, (386) 451-6068, Julie.Miller.math@gmail.com.

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