PARSIPPANY — “The Last Air Battle of World War II: a Veteran Remembers” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, October 8, at the Bethel in Trinity Park, in Mount Tabor.
Bill Watkinson, a WWII veteran naval aviator who flew fighter aircraft from the carrier USS Yorktown, will speak about the very last missions flown over Japan during July and August 1945. Watkinson lives in Flemington, but still spends time in South Carolina serving as a docent aboard the USS Yorktown museum.
There will be photographs and a brief video.
“I’ll have copies of a magazine article I recently wrote about Bill and his squadron titled ‘The Last Waltz,'” said Mount Tabor author David Sears. “As you know, August/September marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. There are fewer and fewer chances now to hear directly from those who participated.”
There will be a magazine and book signing after the program, with proceeds going to the co-sponsors of the program, the Mount Tabor Historical Society and the Mount Tabor Branch of the Parsippany Public Library System.
Refreshments will be served at 7:00 p.m. and the program begins at 7:30 p.m. Attendees are advised to park at the Mount Tabor post office at 26 Simpson Avenue.
For directions, visit www.mounttabornj.org. For more information, call (973) 975-0001 or (973) 627-9508.
