The community is invited to attend a special mural dedication for two World War Two heroes from the town of Rose at a special ceremony on Memorial Day morning.
Matt De Cracker from Mural Mania has been involved in painting murals in Wayne County and along the Erie Canal since 2007.
“It was last May while painting a mural for Wolcott, N.Y. at the Rose Community Center that this history came alive to me. After painting for a while, I looked down at my phone and the news story of John Thomas appeared. The article said he graduated from North Rose. His body was coming home after 80 years. He was shot down on August 1st during Operation Tidal Wave. John was flying a B-24 on that fatal day when 1/3 of the airmen didn’t return. In the hallway of the Rose Community Center, I found John’s class photo from the class of 1938. Chills immediately went up and down my spine. A few days later I found out from a friend that John’s Classmate Melvin Donald Putnam from the same class flew a P-47 and was shot down in 1944. Melvin was involved in Operation Crossbow supporting B-17s on bombing missions in Southern France, they were bombing V-1 sites. On this Memorial Day, Mural Mania along with the citizens of the Town of Rose are honored to remember the sacrifices these two young men made for their country and community.”
The Rose Cemetery is on Rt. 414 between the communities of Rose and North Rose. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m.
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