Fireside Chat Allows Soleil Laurel Canyon Veterans To Share Stories

The Soleil Laurel Canyon Clubhouse Library in Canton housed a little bit of history Nov. 3, and it wasn’t the many books lining its shelves.

In honor of Veteran’s Day, three World War II veteran and Soleil Laurel Canyon residents, gathered in the library for a fireside chat with fellow members of the Soleil Veterans Club.

Bill Dennard, Don Hink, Al Yuzzi and Irwin Zuckerman all served our country during the war and the stories and memories they gathered during their service still resonates today.

Bill Dennard

While Bill Dennard was unable to join the fellow World War II veterans for their chat and photographs, his story is quite an interesting one.

A native of Savannah, Bill joined the Marine Corps in 1945 at the age of 17. After boot camp in Parris Island, S.C., he was shipped to Camp Pendleton in California to train for the invasion of Japan. On his way to California, however, the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb, ultimately ending the war. During the rest of his 16-month service, Bill was on Military Police horse patrol guarding the outlying mountain areas of Camp Pendleton against game poachers.

Bill moved to Soleil in 2006.

Don Hink

At 18, Don Hink enlisted in the war on Dec. 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor attacks.

A native of Iowa, he was sent to Wichita Falls for knowledge management training to become an airplane mechanic. He was then sent to Santa Monica to a Lockheed plant to learn about P-38 planes. He was shipped to England in November 1942, where he spent two weeks in Thornton Abbey. He and his division were then given new planes, P-47s, causing them to go from twin engine in-line to single engine radial aircrafts. They were then moved to Duxford, an old Royal Air Force base, which is now a museum.

Don spent three years in England from November 1942 to October 1945. His primary duties as an airplane mechanic were to ensure the safety of the aircraft.

“We’d have to perform routine safety and maintenance checks before every takeoff,” he said. “You know, just make sure the plane was running safe.”

When he came back to the states, Don took flying lessons by way of the GI Bill. After marrying his wife, he then began a career setting machinery for corn processing in Iowa until 1983. He then retired and moved to Florida before moving to Georgia in 2007.

Al Yuzzi

Al Yuzzi was born in Brooklyn, New York, and joined the Army Air Corps in 1945. At the time of enlistment, he was 17 years old, so young that his mother had to sign for his 18-month enlistment.

Al was initially stationed at Fort Benning and was paid $50 each month. Upon learning he could snag an extra $50 each month if he attended jump school, Al’s mother signed another form to have him move to Fort Bragg in North Carolina. There, Al completed training to become a paratrooper.

He recalled parachuting onto another man’s parachute and had to literally run off of his chute to avoid risking their parachutes getting tangled.

“If your chutes get tangled, that’s it,” he said. You’re done. So when I landed on top of him, I had to run as fast as I could to keep my parachute from getting tangled.”

He went on to become a member of the 82nd Airborne Division.

When asked if he served in any other wars, he replied, “No – I’m Italian. I’m a lover, not a fighter.”

Al moved to Georgia in 1971, and has since relocated to Soleil.

Irwin Zuckerman

Fellow veteran, Irwin Zuckerman is also a native of New York. He enlisted in 1943, just after his 17th birthday, and became active duty the next month.

He was originally stationed at Syracuse University, where he learned to fly a C-46 airplane. He was then transferred to Europe in 1944, where he served most of his three years in the war.

While in Europe, Irwin was stationed in Bastogne where he was able to meet General Patton, and served as his personal adjutant for a day.

“My company was in charge of sending men in to protect General Patton,” Zuckerman said. “I was able to be his adjutant for a day – anything he needed, I’d run out and go do. Best general our country’s ever had.”

He also spent time at Camp Lucky Strike in France, a rehabilitation camp where evacuated American POWs were sent to recuperate before being shipped back to the U.S. Irwin then spent a year and a half in Belfast. At one point, Irwin and his troop were actually behind enemy lines and had to evacuate immediately.

“We had to high-tail it out of there really fast,” he recalled.

After his time in the war, in 1946, Irwin began work in housing development.

The president of the Soleil Veteran’s Club, Buz Buzogany, helped coordinate the intimate chat, and members of the club came to sit and enjoy the stories as they took notes, learning about their fellow servicemen.

As World War II veterans pass each day, the legacies of these men are truly stories to be told and our gratitude for their service rings eternal.

Photo: veterans Al Yuzzi (left) and Irwin Zuckerman discuss their service during World War II at the Soleil Laurel Canyon library. Credit: Kat Goduco