Jack Kelly, Producer

For most Americans, the Second World War began on December 7, 1941. From that day that has lived in infamy to its conclusion in 1945, every community in America was touched by this historic cataclysm. South Florida War Stories honors the men and women who fought in World War II through the lives of fourteen local veterans. Drawing upon their memories, we reconstruct the events that shaped their lives – from the bombing of Pearl Harbor to the explosion of the atomic bomb over Japan. Their stories run the gamut from the humorous to the horrific.

Biographies
Barbara Duffy was a member of the Army Nurse Corps. Her unit was shipped to Hawaii after the fall of Corrigador. She was stationed there when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and witnessed the devastation. In 1943, her unit was shipped back to the mainland.

Jerome Mintz was in the Army Air Corps and stationed at Pearl Harbor in early 1941. He was chief radio operator and net control station for a Hawaiian chain. After Pearl Harbor he joined the Air Corps commandos and was subsequently stationed in Ireland and England. He took part in the Battle of Britain. After the war, he flew nearly 200 hurricane missions.

James Lobozzo enlisted in the Army Air Corps at 18 and was stationed at Hickham Field in Hawaii. He was assigned to an ordinance bomb, ammunition and small arms unit. Following Pearl Harbor, he was stationed at various locations in the Pacific until 1944. He has been married for 62 years.

Wallace Pickard enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was a Second Lieutenant and pilot. He stopped over at Hickham Field on December 6th on his way to his unit in the South Pacific. He was injured in the attack the next day. He spent the next 12 months in hospital recovering from his wounds. He was later assigned to General George Marshall’s staff, promoted to Major and worked on the B-29 program. He married one of his nurses, had three children, including one son who recently retired as a brigadier general of the Air Force.

Seymour Lichtenfeld was from Gary, Indiana, and enlisted in 1943 and was assigned to the 106th Infantry Division. He was captured by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge and spent the remainder of the war as a POW in Stalag 4B, Stalag 3B and Stalag 3A. The Russians liberated his camp in April 1945. He returned to the United States and was discharged in November 1945. Following the war, he attended Purdue University, became an engineer, and practice in Chicago. In 1963, he moved to Miami, raised three kids, and finally retired here.

Abe Stein lived in Palm Beach and enlisted in the Army in November 1940. He was assigned to a medical unit and stationed at Scofield Hospital in Hawaii. After Pearl Harbor he returned to the states for further training and started Medical Depot Companies. His unit was then sent to Southampton, England to prepare medical supplies for D-Day. He was later stationed in Paris and remained there until 1945.

James Griewisch was from Milwaukee, WI and enlisted in the Navy in November 1943. He was 17 years old. He was assigned to a Landing Ship Tank and took part in various amphibious landings in Italy and the English Channel. He made more than 50 crossings in the Channel shuttling equipment between England and Europe.