World War II Veteran; Daughter of Veteran to speak Memorial Day Weekend at Eldred WWII Museum

BRADFORD – Every day is Memorial Day at the Eldred World War II Museum and there’s no better time to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom than to visit this remarkable museum in northwestern Pennsylvania.

The museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday and will open at 10 a.m. Monday.

One man’s story of survival will be the focus of Sunday’s talk at 2 p.m.

Victor Peterson of Kushequa will share his experiences of surviving the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and his four-year deployment in the Central Pacific.

Since many members of the Greatest Generation are passing, it is sometimes up to the next generation to tell their stories.

That is what is happening with the program on Saturday.

Candy Kyler Brown’s father, John Kyler, never told his story about being a ball turret gunner during World War II. How he was shot down over Germany and held as a prisoner of war for 15 months.

Brown will speak about her father’s experience as well as her journey of discovering her father’s service in WWII at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 26.

Brown wrote “What I Never Told You: A Daughter Traces the Wartime Imprisonment of Her Father” not from what her father told her, but from his personal journals he kept during his captivity. He died in 2004. More information about her book can be found at www.remember-history.com.

On Memorial Day, the museum’s doors will open at 10 a.m. The Eldred Memorial Day parade will step off at 11 a.m.

Veterans of World War II will speak and a memorial service will be held at 2 p.m.

Visitors will be able to tour the museum free of charge the entire weekend due to the support of Ka-Bar. A dozen Ka-Bar knives will a part of a raffle that will be drawn on Memorial Day.

Ka-Bar knives, which are used in the military, are manufactured in nearby Olean, N.Y. The Cutco/Ka-Bar Visitor Center, located at 1040 E. State St., in Olean, is open from the Tuesday after Memorial Day through Christmas. More information can be found at www.kabar.com.

For more information on the Eldred WWII Museum or other points of interest in the Allegheny National Forest Region, go to www.visitANF.com or request a Travel Guide and Map by calling 800-473-9370.