West Haven Veterans Museum Sets Remembrance Ceremony

Written by Michael P. Walsh

WEST HAVEN, CT — The West Haven Veterans Museum & Learning Center will hold a remembrance ceremony at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The museum, off Sawmill Road at 30 Hood Terrace, will honor the memory of board members Frank Carrano, Gordon Bergman and Alyce Benson.

Carrano originally founded the museum in New Haven’s Goffe Street Armory as the 102nd Infantry Regiment Museum. He died April 30, 2020.

Bergman, a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War, served as the museum’s vice president, and Benson volunteered much of her time there. He died April 9, 2020, and she died March 23, 2021.

“Each will be remembered for their service and dedication to veterans,” said Arlene DeGrand Painter, the museum’s manager.

The public is invited to the ceremony, which will include light refreshments.

To make seating arrangements, call DeGrand Painter at 203-934-1111 with the number of people attending.

The 9,000-square-foot museum, a living history of America at war, shows collections from the 102nd Infantry Regiment of the Connecticut Army National Guard and the New Haven Grays, a protective force formed after the War of 1812.

It also displays relics from each conflict since the U.S. fought for independence, allowing visitors to walk a timeline around the camouflage-clad warehouse.