Battle in Stalingrad    Lt. Col. Mikhail Rabinovich  

Mikhail Rabinovich Was born June 9, 1922 in the City of Shpola (Cherkas county), Ukraine. He was a student at the Kiev University, and on July 17, 1941 voluntarily enrolled into the Red Army. After 6 months of military education in the Tbilisi (Georgia) artillery school at the rank of lieutenant from July 17, 1942 till February 2, 1943 he participated in the Stalingrad Battle, as a commander of the artillery platoon and battery, on the Western and 3-rd Byelorussian Fronts as an artillery batteries commander, a chief of staff of an artillery battalion and the assistant chief of the 7-th Guards artillery brigade of the 3-rd Guards Artillery division of breakout of the Sovereign commands reserve. Mikhail participated in the Nazi liberation of the Smolensk area, Belarus, Lithuania, and in the defeat of the German troopers at East Prussia. As a Lieutenant-colonel he retired in 1964. He was a professional engineer and an inventor in the field of the television engineering. Nowadays, he is a citizen of the USA and has lived in the city of Philadelphia since 1992.

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Invocation – The Old Soldier’s Dream by R.C. Grinnell   George Stiftinger

As I walked hillside trail to view a sunset of glorious hue, I saw a man ahead facing the orb of the dying day. As I approached, he smiled pensively, but stood straight and tall, his coat of military style. Then could I see that, indeed, he was of that ancient brotherhood’s creed. And so I asked him, with greatest respect, Soldier, old soldier, please tell me true, In wars’ terrible times were you there too? Through mists of memories he answered, speaking in tones of steel, Yes I was there – at Shiloh, bloody Shiloh, at Verdun, the Marne and Normandy, Bastogne, Okinawa, Seoul, Saigon and more – always more, he continued. His voice drifting away, but won’t it always be that those who know, but do not go. The old soldier faded into the golden sunset, leaving his dream, that someday those who know would learn enough to see when there is no need to send those who must go.

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Future Programs at the Abington Free Library   Coordinator – Brandon Traister

Tuesday, Jan 16th, 2007   Military Intelligence in the 8th Airforce   Sam Arauz
Tuesday, Feb 20th, 2007   Wars of my Life, book by…                     Frank Senko
Tuesday, Mar 20th, 2007   The Carrier USS BonHomme (CV-31)      Paul Crager
Programs are held on the third Tuesday of each month at 3:00PM and at 7:00PM. Please contact Brandon Traister at BrandonTraister@aol.com or 856-296-9256 if you have any ideas for future lectures at the Abington Township Library.Please note that we are not only looking for WWII Veterans, but also for veterans and survivors who lived and served during any armed conflicts to share their memories and experiences with our audience.

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Reservations for the Abington WWII Lecture Series   Coordinator - Karen Burnham

There are many different ways to reserve a seat for a future lecture. You can reserve a seat online by e-mailing Karen Burnham at kburnham@mclinc.org or visiting the Abington Free Library website (*see web address below). You may reserve a seat by calling Karen Burnham at the Abington Free Library at 215-885-5180, extension 15. There is also a sign up sheet in the back of the room at each lecture. *http://abg.mclinc.org/calendar/WWIILS.htm.

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War Veterans Oral History Project   Founder – Brandon Traister

For those who still would like to participate without speaking to the public I invite you to share your experiences privately. Please contact Brandon Traister by phone at 856-296-9256 or by e-mail at Brandon.Traister@us.army.mil.

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Programs at the Bucks County Public Library   Coordinators - Kevin Brown & Dave Martin

Programs are held on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 7:00PM at the Public Library on Pine St in Doylestown. If you have any ideas for future lectures please contact Kevin Brown at Kbrown@nni.com or 215-822-6601.