Connecticut C.W.V. Elects Officers
National Commander Catholic War Veterans USA Inc. Leo Haley (back to camera), installs newly elected Department of Connecticut officers at Post 1562 Derby, CT recently. Photo by: Markanthony Izzo 
From left holding bible,
Randy Bruce, Dept. Commander Michael Ranno; 1st VC Thomas Budd, 2nd VC Michael Kasinskas, 3rd VC Ed Bernholz, Treasurer William Hunt; Directors Robert Wamester, Tom Voytek, Joseph Dulla, Al Neudeck, Sherman Marsh, and OOD Samuel Campbell.
By MARLENE CLARK; Courant Columnist
National Veterans Group Rewards Wamester For Years Of Dedication
Area veterans know Bob Wamester as a tireless worker. A member of Catholic War VeteransPost 1166 at St. Mary Church in Middletown since 1961, he’s had several leadership roles at the local, state and national levels.
Wamester’s dedication has earned him the Honor Legion of the Order of St. Sebastian medal, the higest honor bestowed upon a member by the national group. He received his medal at a special Mass celebrated in New Jersey.
Several Connecticut members were on hand for the ceremony, including Post 1166 Commander Joseph Kokoszka. Wamester’s wife, Bernice Wamester, their daughter and son-in-law, Patricia and Andrew Raczka, and grandchildren Robert and Ashley Raczka also were there for the tribute.
Wamester served as state commander from 1991 to 1996. He stepped down after earning a spot on the national board of Catholic War Veterans. He was recently elected to serve as national historian.
He also will help in the effort to construct a national war memorial at Arlington Cemetery dedicated to women in the military. He hopes to raise $14,600 in Connecticut. The number represents the number of Connecticut women who have served and are serving in the military. He also is involved in the $25 million project to create a national Purple Heart museum in Enfield.
Wamester, who served in WWI and Korea, explains his dedication to veterans this way: ``They stand for what Old Glory means. If it weren’t for the vets, where would we be today? We answered the call to our country. That’s why we have the good living we do today.’’
The St. Sebastian award is named for the Catholic War Veterans’ patron saint. There’s a strong connection between the patron saint and Middletown. The statue of St. Sebastian at St. Sebastian Church on Washington Street comes from the National Catholic War Veterans and Wamester helped the church get it.
In the early 1990s, the group moved its headquarters from Washington, to Alexandria, Va., but could not erect its statue on the new property. Kokoszka said that Middletown would be the appropriate home and that Post 1166 take a role in getting the statue. As state commander, Wamester had an official voice on the national board. He spent three years lobbying to bring the statue to Middletown. In 1995, the national group agreed that Post 1166 should get it.
“I told them, `Give me three months, and I’ll have it out of here,’ ‘’ said Wamester.
Post members had agreed to donate the statue to St. Sebastian Church, and the pastor, the Rev. Joseph Sibilano, paid for shipping and insuring it. Still, it was homeless. The St. Sebastian convent stood in its way. The church and city were negotiating the convent’s fate (it would later become home of the new Kid City museum), and the statue was stored at St. Sebastian Cemetery in the meantime.
The convent was moved off site this year. Members of Post 1166 presented the statue to the church May 18 during the St. Sebastian Festival. The statue and medal have found a rightful home.
Forty-three teens from Middletown, Portland, Cromwell and Meriden proved to themselves and others this summer that they are valuable and contributing citizens in their communities.
September 08, 1997|By MARLENE CLARK; Courant Columnist
Mass To Honor Robert Wamester, April 16, 1998
MIDDLETOWN — St. Mary’s Catholic War Veterans Post 1166 plans to honor Robert Wamester with a Mass at St. Mary of Czestochowa Church Sunday at 11 a.m. A dinner will follow the Mass at 1 p.m. at the parish center on South Main Street.
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Members of the post and their guests are asked to be at the church before the start of the Mass. State and national guests will pay tribute to Wamester, who served as the state’s Catholic War Veterans post commander for six consecutive terms.
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