More Than 150 WWII Vets to be Honored Wednesday

Boris Osheroff graduated with honors in chemistry from St. John’s Pharmacy School. When he entered the U.S. Army in 1943, he did not understand why a screening left him assigned to a group in New York City that hardly seemed like a military mission. It turned out he was selected to work on the Manhattan Project, and for much of the war, he was part of the team that developed the first atom bomb.

Mr. Osheroff, who is 90 and has lived in Silver Spring since 1956, will be among more than 150 Montgomery County-area World War II veterans who will be honored at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 19, at the Silver Spring Civic Building at Montgomery County Honors World War II Veterans. The event is believed to be the biggest Washington area tribute to World War II veterans since the opening of the National World War II Memorial opened in Washington, D.C., in 2004.

Ted Koppel, who for 25 years hosted the ABC News show Nightline, will be the event’s host and one of the speakers. The event will be simulcast live on many of the County’s public cable television channels that compose the PEG (Public, Education, Government) Network, including County Cable Montgomery, Montgomery Community Media, Montgomery College Television, Montgomery County Public Schools TV and Rockville 11.

Among those who will be attending is Alyce Dixon, who turned 105 on Sept. 11. The still active Ms. Dixon was one of the first employees at the Pentagon from 1940-43, working as a civilian. She entered the Army in 1943 and became one of the first women to join the military as a member of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC).

Also attending will be George Boggess, 100, who served in Europe with General George Patton’s Third Army. He was in the Battle of the Bulge, where he was wounded. Among his military awards were the Purple Heart and the Silver Star. His post-war life included serving with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on three Civil Rights campaigns, including the famed march from Selma to Montgomery.

World War II veterans who have committed to attend the event have been involved in some of the best known aspects of the war, including the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the Battle of Bulge, the Battle for the Remagen Bridge over the Rhine River, the Battle for Iwo Jima and the Battle of the Coral Sea. One veteran served on a destroyer that sank more enemy submarines than any other. Veterans who served in segregated units of all black soldiers and all Japanese-American soldiers also will be attending, as will veterans who played key roles in military intelligence and counter intelligence.