France honors eight U.S. WWII vets in Coral Gables ceremony
EIGHT WORLD WAR II VETERANS RECEIVE THE HIGHEST FRENCH AWARD FOR THEIR SERVICE AND RECALL MEMORIES FROM THEIR YOUNGER YEARS AS SOLDIERS
BY ERIKA CAPEK
ecapek@MiamiHerald.com
Willing to sacrifice their lives in the early 1940s when World War II raged, eight South Florida veterans were recently recognized with a significant honor.
On Aug. 28, those veterans, all in their 80s, came together to receive the prestigious
Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur medal, the highest French distinction, for their ''eminent service to the republic'' of France.
The ceremony took place at the private Coral Gables residence of the French Consul General in Miami, Philippe Vinogradoff.
''It was a beautiful ceremony,'' said Patsy Centimole, 85. ``It was a really nice medal and such a great honor.''
Centimole entered active duty in May 1943 and was assigned to the 141st Infantry, 36th Division.
''I spend 2 ½ years fighting,'' Centimole said. ``I was wounded in Italy in the middle of summer in 1943 and again in France during the winter of 1944.''
He participated in the assault landing in Frejus, an area of southern France as part of Operation Dragoon and at the battles of the Vosges and Alsace.
''In 1945, I came back home to Redbank, N.J.,'' Centimole said.
In 1950, he moved to the area that became Cutler Bay.
He has also received the Purple Heart, Silver Star, Bronze Star and other awards.
Jay Pease, 83, began active service in the U.S. military in January 1944 and was assigned as a corporal to the 289th Regiment, 75th Division. His first combat engagement was the Battle of the Bulge that December.
''My division helped push the [battle line] back in order to liberate Colmar, France,'' Pease said. ``It is called the Colmar Pocket. I also fought in Germany in the Ruhr Pocket but was wounded in 1945 on the right shoulder.''
Pease stayed in a field hospital in Frankfurt, Germany, for several months before being sent back to McCoy, Wis. In 1946, he took a train to Jackson, Mich., and in 1983 came to Pompano Beach, where he now lives.
''I was very honored and humbled to receive this award,'' Pease said. ``I couldn't help but think of all the other guys in combat that couldn't make it back. It was a moving and emotional experience.''
Stanley Geller is another veteran who participated in the liberation of the Colmar Pocket.
Entering active duty in August 1944, he was assigned to the 15th Infantry, 3rd Division.
During the liberation, his division captured the vital Neuf-Brisach Bridge, one of the most important and successful campaigns of the war to that date.
''I was wounded in 1945 and then discharged in early 1946,'' Geller said.
He came to North Miami Beach in 1969 and now lives in Tamarac.
Geller also has received the Purple Heart and Silver Medal.
John Cooney, 87, began active duty at 24 years of age in 1943 and fought until March 1946. He was assigned as a captain to the 75th Infantry Division, in which he acted as a general staff officer, an aide-de-camp, and range officer and an administrative officer.
''I landed in Normandy and also participated in the Battle of the Bulge,'' Cooney said.
He crossed the Colmar Canal and took part in the liberation of Colmar and fought between the Rhine River and the Vosges Mountains under harsh conditions.
In 1947, Cooney was brought back to the Pentagon to work for the Special Planning Division.
''I later went to live in St. Paul, Minn., and moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1960,'' Cooney said. ``I really appreciated this award and was pretty surprised.''
Cooney also has received 14 other combat awards for fighting in France, including the Silver Star, Bronze Star with cluster and Army Commendation with cluster.
Mitchell Chockla, a resident of South Miami for several decades, joined the service when he was 23. He was assigned to the 7th Regiment, 3rd Division.
''I went overseas in June 1943 and landed in North Africa,'' Chockla said. ``I was part of the invasion in Sicily that July. Our division went through the Sicilian campaign. After I was relieved, I went through more amphibious training in Naples.''
He was wounded in 1944 and spent a year in an Army hospital. In 1945, he was discharged and returned home to Derry, Pa.
''I was one of six brothers who served in the war,'' Chockla said. ``We all returned, and three of us received Purple Hearts.''
In 1943, Robert Blitz entered active duty as part of the 35th Infantry, 320th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Company H. He dealt with heavy weapons and was a machine gunner.
''I participated in the invasion of Normandy at Omaha Beach,'' Blitz said. ``I was wounded in 1944 near St. Lo. I was operated on near the beach and flown to England.''
Blitz spent four months in the hospital, then returned to duty in October.
''Unless a person lost an arm or leg, everyone was ordered back to France. I trained there to become a military policeman and was stationed in Paris as part of the 386th Battalion,'' Blitz said.
He also participated in the Battle of the Bulge and was wounded again while guarding a train loaded with cans of gas that came under intense enemy fire. With his wounds hurting badly, his colonel told him he was going home.
Blitz was discharged in 1945. He now lives in Pembroke Pines.
''This award means a lot to me. It says the French appreciate what I did for them and the sacrifices I made,'' Blitz said.
Luis Goldsmith was 19 and in college when he was drafted into the Army in 1943. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 120th Infantry.
''In 1944 in the Battle of Mortain, our battalion was surrounded,'' Goldsmith said. ``I was wounded by shrapnel and evacuated and hospitalized in England. After six months of staying there, I was shipped to France for the Battle of the Bulge.''
However, the battle was over by the time Goldsmith got there.
He was discharged in 1946 and went home to New York City. In 1961, he moved to Aventura, where he lives now.
''I'm just one of many who did what I had to do -- and I would do it again if I had to,'' Goldsmith said. ``I was shook up about the whole thing. It really hit me and everything I went through came back. I'm very grateful for the consul general for remembering us.''
Entering the Army in 1942, Harry Rosenfeld, M.D., was assigned to the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment as a squad leader in charge of an 81mm heavy mortar crew.
He trained in Ireland and fought in three major campaigns, including the Central European Campaign and the German Campaign.
''I was wounded twice, once in Luxembourg because of shrapnel wounds to the face and another time in Germany, when I was hit in the left shoulder by a shell,'' Rosenfeld said.
He was evacuated to England and by the time he was better, the war had ended.
''I came back to the U.S. in 1945 and went home to Fort Monmouth, N.J., where I went through a period of rehab,'' Rosenfeld said.
He went on to undergraduate and medical school and became a doctor. In 1958, Rosenfeld came to Coral Gables and started his own practice in 1959. He now lives in the Hammocks in West Kendall.
''I accepted the award in name of all my comrades who had fallen,'' Rosenfeld said. ``I didn't fight for honor or glory. I'm very luck to have just survived.''
Rosenfeld has received two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star Medal for his actions.
Lester Mintz, who wasn't able to attend the ceremony, was in the Anti Tank Company, 104th Division, 415th Infantry and participated in the Battle of Normandy and northern France. He now lives in Hollywood.
France honors eight U.S. WWII vets in Coral Gables ceremony
France honors eight U.S. WWII vets in Coral Gables ceremony
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