Just a few days after turning 100, Tony Battaglia shared his recollections as a U.S. Army medic serving in the embattled Aleutian Islands during World War II. "It was a long time ago," the Honesdale resident said, freely recalling that time over 80 years past. 

Pfc. Battaglia was born June 12, 1924, in Mount Vernon, New York, to Italian immigrants, Antonio and Carmella Battaglia, who didn't speak English. They raised four daughters and three sons. His brother Frank served in the U.S. Navy in the war, also making it home alive.