WWII Veteran visits 10th Mountain Division Band

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Seth Barham | A once in a lifetime event to experience living history - the 10th Mountain Division Band had the honor of meeting and performing for World War II Veteran, 2nd Lt. Donald Waful.  

FORT DRUM, NY, UNITED STATES

06.21.2019

Courtesy Story

27th Public Affairs Detachment

A once in a lifetime event to experience living history - the 10th Mountain Division Band had the honor of meeting and performing for World War II Veteran, 2nd Lt. Donald Waful.

2nd Lt. Donald Waful graduated in Class 4 of Officer Candidate School at Fort Knox, KY and was stationed for training at Fort Drum when it was then known as Pine Camp. He served as the tank platoon leader of the 1st Armored Division but was captured in Tunisia in 1942. He spent the next three years as a POW in Italy, Poland and Germany, and rose to being responsible for the morale of the fellow prisoners. Noted by friends as a “wicked trombone player,” 2nd Lt. Waful recruited musicians, singers and dancers to create musical performance groups within the camps. Supplemented with music and instruments by the international YMCA based in Switzerland, Waful’s efforts are what kept the men in good spirits throughout those years.

While serving, he carried on a long distance romance with Cassie, an Army nurse who served at Utah Beach during the Normandy invasion and then the Battle of the Bulge. The two were engaged after their third date, and she waited three years for his release. The two were married three weeks after the war ended in France by a French minister who didn’t even speak English.

When 2nd Lt. Waful was warmly welcomed to Fort Drum, he had one request – He looked the commanding general of the 10th Mountain Division, Maj. Gen. Brian Mennes in the eyes and said, “I want to see your band play.”

• Date Taken: 06.21.2019
• Date Posted: 07.01.2019 12:35
• Story ID: 329914
• Location: FORT DRUM, NY, US