WWII Veterans to Speak at Las Positas College

Las Positas College has invited the public to attend a series of free events focused on honoring our veterans and learning about their perilous war adventures in November. Veterans Day events at LPC kick off on Wednesday, November 11, 2015 with a flyover of a Vietnam H2 Huey helicopter that will land in the parking lot in front of the Mertes Center on the LPC campus between 9:45 and 10:00 a.m.

At 10:00 a.m., three inspirational speakers will take the main stage of the Mertes Center for the Arts, beginning with Brian Thompson who works with the Military Service Department of Education in Washington, D.C. A Tri-Valley native, Thompson is also a former history teacher who will discuss the European and Pacific Theaters in World War II, as well as the GI bill-then and now.

Thompson served in the 82nd Airborne Division during the war in Afghanistan.

Joining Thompson on stage will be two special guests, both World War II veterans. John Shirley served in the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II and was a POW. Mickey Ganitch was in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Pennsylvania at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

These two honored veterans will tell of their experiences during this pivotal time in American history. The public is invited to share in this rare opportunity to hear these personal accounts. Last year marked the 70th anniversary of D-Day, and today less than one million of the 16 million soldiers who served in World War II are still alive.

Other events leading up to Veterans Day include a free movie night sponsored by the LPC Student Veterans Organization on Tuesday, November 3, on the main stage of the Mertes Center for the Arts. The featured film will be “Restrepo”, a documentary covering the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers to Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley (not recommended for children).

On Wednesday, November 4, LPC Veterans Stories is scheduled in the Mertes Center for the Arts, where student veterans will read their writings and relay their experiences in the military. Refreshments will be served in the lobby from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Stories will be told in the theater beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Las Positas College is located at 3000 Campus Hill Drive in Livermore.