More than 100 people safely gathered at a residence in Mineola on Saturday to celebrate the 100th birthday of World War II veteran and retired Army Sgt. Anthony Catalano.
The event was organized by Village of Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss to honor Catalano for his service. While many people with masks were present outside Catalano’s home on the corner of Nancy Road and Herricks Road, members of Mineola’s Boy Scout Troop 45 lined Nancy Road with flags for a procession of vehicles to come and share birthday wishes.
“This is just incredible, thank you so so much,” Catalano said as people stopped to safely bump elbows and say happy birthday to one of Mineola’s oldest residents.
“The world needs more people like Tony,” one resident said. “This guy is 100 years old, and is talking to everyone here like they’re his best friend. He’s Mr. Popular around these parts.”
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and Town of North Hempstead Councilman Peter Zuckerman were among those who came by to wish Catalano a happy 100th.
“Sergeant Catalano is an American hero … We owe him a debt of gratitude for his lifelong service to our nation and community,” Curran said.
“Happy 100th Birthday to my friend Anthony ‘Tony’ Catalano,” Zuckerman said on Facebook. “You are a true patriot and an American hero! Thank you for your service.”
Strauss said Catalano, who served in Gen. George Patton’s famed 3rd Army, has told him “many stories” of his tenure overseas. For one thing, Catalano’s company helped liberate the Dachau concentration camp.
“To this day he gets visibly shaken when even he mentions the horrors they saw,” Strauss said.
Strauss described a story of when Catalano and his men were trapped in four feet of snow in the forests of France. Strauss said there was no way for any supplies to get to the men, and they suffered in subfreezing temperatures for days. Catalano had to wake up his men every two and a half hours to prevent them from freezing to death, according to Strauss.
After Catalano sacrificed his own coat to drape over a 19-year-old soldier from Brooklyn, bulldozers finally plowed their way to rescue Catalano and his men, Strauss said.
“Sergeant Catalano has been extremely active in past years going to schools, teaching students about the experiences he and his fellow veterans have gone through,” Strauss said. “It is because of men and women like Sergeant Catalano that we are here today and that the United States of America even exists.”
