WWII Soldier Coming Home Friday

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Bernard Calvi
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A World War II hero will be returning to the Berkshires on Friday night, 82 years after he died as a prisoner of war in the Philippines.
 
Pvt. First Class Bernard Calvi's body will arrive from Hawaii on Friday and will be taken to Paciorek Funeral Home in Adams that evening. 
 
A welcome home standout will take place on Hoosac Street in Adams beginning at 8 p.m. Calvi is set to arrive at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut at approximately 6:40 p.m. and arrive at Paciorek Funeral Home about 8:20. 
 
Calvi had enlisted in the Army Air Forces in September 1940. He and William P. Gilman Jr. of North Adams, good friends and classmates, had been stationed in the Philippines with the 17th Pursuit Squadron five weeks before Imperial Japan launched its attack against United States and Allied installations across the South Pacific. 
 
They disappeared after the fall of Corregidor, an island in Manila Bay to which U.S. forces had retreated, in May 1942. Calvi's parents, Lena and Joseph of Quincy Street, were informed in 1945 that their son had died July 16, 1942, at Cabanatuan Prison Camp after surviving the Bataan Death March. Gilman died a month later.
 
Some 2,800 prisoners died in the camp after suffering from starvation, disease and dysentery. They were buried in makeshift communal graves, which made identifying and recovering remains after the war difficult, according to the Department of Defense's POW/MIA Accounting Agency. 
 
DPAA is tasked with recovering American service members missing in action and had played a key role in the recovery of Pvt. First Class Erwin S. King of Clarksburg from Guadalcanal. King was buried at Southview Cemetery on Sept. 24. 
 
Calvi was 23 when he died. Like King, his immediately family had passed away but this nieces and nephews and cousins had continued efforts to find him and bring him home. 
 
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church on Tuesday, Dec. 10, and burial with military honors will follow in the family lot in Southview Cemetery. 
 
A calling hour will be held at the church on Tuesday beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Tags: POW/MIA,   WWII,   

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Snow Advisory Called for Berkshires

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — More snow is on the way for the region but it's anyone's guess how much we'll get. 
 
The National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y., has Southern Vermont is under a winter storm warning and the Berkshires a winter storm advisory. 
 
Higher elevations could see up to 12 inches but the forecast for now is 6 to 8 inches by Friday.
 
Southern Vermont could see difficult travel with heavy snow and reduced visibility starting later Wednesday afternoon and through Thursday morning. Snowfall rates could reach up to 1 inch per hour within lake effect and upslope snow areas.
 
Travel could still be hazardous in Northern Berkshires but snowfall should be lighter with less accumulation. Windy conditions at 30 to 40 mph and snow squalls will continue through Thursday. 
 
There is significant risk for snow and sleet along the Green Mountains and into Clarksburg, North Adams and parts of Williamstown. There's an elevated risk for all of North Berkshire and the Southern Berkshire hilltowns along with expectation of wind gusts and cold. 

NEW WEATHER ADVISORY: Special Weather Statement Gusty winds between 30 and 40 mph with the occasional 45 to 50 mph gust will be possible tonight, especially along and just behind the cold front. These winds may blow around loose objects so be sure to... See more: watchedsky.social/app/alerts/...

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— National Weather Service Alerts (@skeetbot.watchedsky.social) December 4, 2024 at 2:33 PM

A Clipper system will land in New England tonight.These kinds of systems tend to bring a widespread few inches of snow to New England. It will be potent by clipper standards,which will raise totals in areas. Details: #MAwx #CTwx #RIwx #NHwx #MEwx #VTwx www.newenglandstormcenter.com/post/alberta...

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— New England Storm Center (@nestormcenter.bsky.social) December 4, 2024 at 9:15 AM
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