World War II

April 4, 2025

Today - learn how state lawmakers feel about President Donald Trump’s new tariffs, celebrate two veteran birthdays and get ready for trout fishing season.

Al Liberatore Sr. celebrated his 103rd birthday with friends at United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania's Scranton Senior Community Center.

Local

'We were there to finish it': World War II veterans celebrate landmark birthdays in Scranton

Kat Bolus | WVIA News

Two World War II veterans celebrated a century and more than a century of life in Lackawanna County over the past week.

Walter Sowa, a World War II veteran, holds a picture of himself next to the Enola Gay, the American B-29 bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb used in combat over Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. Sowa, seen at his home in Nanticoke, turned 100 on Jan. 5, 2025.

Local

Nanticoke WWII veteran turns 100, recalls encounter with Hiroshima B-29 bomber Enola Gay

Roger DuPuis | WVIA News

Walter Sowa, a 1942 graduate of Newport Township High School in Luzerne County, reflects on his military service and decades as an educator at Penn State Wilkes-Barre.

Gene Passarella conducts the Gene Dempsey Orchestra during La Festa Italiana in downtown Scranton.

Local

A LOOK BACK: Music, family and country - Wounded Scranton WWII veteran leads orchestra at age 99

Sarah Hofius Hall | WVIA News

At 18, Gene Passarella headed to war. At 99, the Purple Heart recipient heads to downtown Scranton, ready for the next performance of the Gene Dempsey Orchestra.