Website: https://www.manchestercc.edu/continuing-education/organization-of-active-adults/

Phone: 860-512-2840

Email: sspringsteen@aol.com

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Early in 1942 Tony Pritchard, a young man from Rhode Island who had rarely been outside New England, went into the U.S. Army. By the time he returned home more than five years later, he had been all over the United States and Western Europe, had led troops in combat, had nearly died, and had encountered a world far wider and far more brutal than anything he had known.

Years later his son Arnie inherited Tony’s old army foot locker. It turned out to contain hundreds of letters, photos, and other
documents from this time. These sources vividly portray the people, places, and events which he encountered. They also portray the hopes, fears, and passions which he and others struggled with as they played their parts in the largest conflict in human history.

From a small selection of these documents Arnie has created a story portraying Tony’s experience in combat in 1944-45. The story shows a young man struggling with raw fear, his roll and a leader, and a host of other challenges. Come to see a street level view of history – and join in discussion afterwards.

“A powerful story, an empathic point of view—… (did not deny or dramatize) the human fear, neither did it preach a specific point of view … its honest perspective helps me have a broader understanding of what a person who does military service goes through … your story brings out that need in a loving and human way … I am so glad I made the journey and heard the story. ”

– A listener from Fairfield, CT