Across the Border
Scott Masters, head of social studies and director of the Crestwood Oral History Project, Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto, Canada, greets WWII Veteran Tim Kiniry at the Millville Army Air Field Museum, flanked by Bob Trivellini, MAAFM vice president, left, and Steve Graham, Museum board member, right.
Millville Army Air Field Museum Veteran Interview Project expands to Toronto, Canada.
The Millville Army Air Field Museum (MAAFM) was honored to participate in an international partnership providing an opportunity for local students and those in Toronto, Canada, to learn more first-hand history about World War II.
On a Saturday in January, the Museum hosted students from Crestwood Preparatory High School in Toronto, Canada, for an interview with World War II veteran Tim Kiniry. Tim, a longtime museum volunteer, was a medic in the U.S. Army. He spoke with students by Zoom from the Museum’s Wyble Historic Research Library & Education Center.
Eleven students had the opportunity to interview 104-year-old Kiniry from Minotola. They were thrilled to hear his important history that included treating the just-liberated prisoners at Buchenwald Concentration Camp and the wounded at the Battle of the Bulge. Students were amazed by his recall, which included dates, times, and other specific details of his service with the 45th Evacuation Hospital. Following the student interview, four Holocaust survivors had the opportunity to speak directly with Kiniry. Students were visibly moved by his compassion and dedication to sharing his history as a Holocaust witness along with other significant events he experienced. Parts of Kiniry’s presentation were then used in a Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration in Toronto on January 29.
As a follow-up to this interactive event, Scott Masters, Crestwood Preparatory head of social studies and director of the Crestwood Oral History Project, traveled to New Jersey to conduct an in-person interview with Kiniry and also with WWII veteran John Quinesso of Vineland. The interviews took place on March 9 at the Millville Army Air Field Museum.
U.S. Navy WWII veteran John Quinesso, Sr. served as a Radioman 2/c on the Landing Ship LSM-302 that shuttled men, tanks, aviation fuel and supplies to Pacific island battle sites. His service took him to Wake Island, Guam, Okinawa and Saipan. Quinesso served from January 1944 to May 1946. His home base was Pearl Harbor. He had the unforgettable experience of receiving the Morse code cable message that the war was over and reporting to his captain that the Japanese had surrendered.
Scott Masters, director of the Crestwood Oral History Project, in Toronto, Canada, with 100-year-old WWII veteran John Quinesso of Vineland. RIGHT: WWII Veteran Tim Kiniry, 104, from Minotola, is shown here in the Museum’s Wyble Library on a group online Zoom interview with students in Toronto, Canada.
The Millville Army Air Field Museum’s Veteran Interview Project was created by the Museum and the Millville Public Schools to preserve the stories of veterans and expose young people to this important first-hand history. The collaboration of the museum with Crestwood adds another dimension to the program. Together they have interviewed hundreds of American and Canadian World War II veterans. In the future, the museum will have online opportunities to speak with some of their veterans.
“We are thrilled to have made this connection with Crestwood in Toronto,” said Robert Trivellini, vice president of the Millville Army Air Field Museum and Veteran Interview Program director. “We were excited to have both Tim Kiniry and John Quinesso interviewed in person and expand the reach of their histories across the border to our Canadian allies. We thank Scott Masters for collaborating with us and look forward to being connected to World War II veterans they have interviewed.”
The Millville Army Air Field Museum (MAAFM) recognizes the more than 10,000 men and women who served at Millville during WWII, including 1,500 pilots who received advanced fighter training in P-47 ‘Thunderbolt’ and P-40 ‘Warhawk’ fighter planes. The museum’s historic complex includes four original, restored WWII buildings that are recognized in the New Jersey Historic Register. The Museum recognizes all aspects of aviation history through its displays, community events, and educational programs. The MAAFM is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays by appointment.
