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NORWALK, Conn. A steel helmet, a duffel bag and a cap donations from Norwalk's veterans and their families are making Karen Doyle Lyons smile.
Lyons, Norwalk's Republican registrar of voters, is collecting historical artifacts to display in the corridor in City Hall as an homage to the experiences and achievements of Norwalk's veterans. The city has acquired two display cases for the Veterans's Wall of Honor. It also plans to mount a DVD player on the wall and a television below it to play a documentary about World War II's Enola Gay and other appropriate films.
Donations of memorabilia to display and money to support the endeavor are being sought. The collection will be displayed in the hallway next to the registrar's office on the first floor of City Hall. A bench will be set up across from the television, allowing veterans to watch in comfort.
Lyons already has many things in the city's collection, including an autographed photo of Jake McNiece, leader of the "Filthy Thirteen," a legendary squad of 101st Airborne Division paratroopers in World War II and the inspiration for the movie "The Dirty Dozen." There is map of that war's South Pacific theater, autographed by many of the members of the crew of the Enola Gay, the first aircraft to drop an atom bomb as an act of war.
Mayor Richard Moccia is contributing an American flag that was flown in his honor over the American Embassy in Iraq by Norwalk Police Officer Pat English, who recently returned from serving overseas. "It's wonderful that it was flown in my honor, but I represent the citizens of Norwalk," Moccia said. "Everybody who comes here should be able to see that flag."
Recent donations include a menu Gerald Keegan's father was given during a World War I holiday observance in a commissary, Japanese bomb shells, patches and a steel helmet from the Korean War.
Lyons is assembling a dedication book for the wall of honor and is selling ads. For more information, contact her at 203-854-7764.
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