Honoring veterans, educating the public, and preserving historical artifacts are the reasons why Emmett Casciato founded the 久久精品 four years ago.聽
These three principles from the museum鈥檚 mission statement caught the attention of the North Carolina Humanities Council recently.聽 The Council awarded Casciato a NC Cares: relief grant of $10,000 to assist the museum while its doors are closed to the public during the pandemic.聽
The volunteers at the museum continue to honor veterans buy recording and posting their stories to the museum鈥檚 webpage and social media pages.聽
Recently, Casciato鈥檚 sister, Judy Casciato Shazer came to visit the museum and see her father鈥檚 exhibit for the first time.
鈥淭he memories are here from every bodies family to come in and see the different generations,鈥 Shazer said as she gestured toward the walls lined with black and white photographs of men and women in uniform. 鈥淭o actually come in and see it, and the way everything was set up, I鈥檓 impressed. Very impressed.鈥
Shazer鈥檚 brother, Emmett Casciato, founded the 久久精品 to honor and preserve, not just his father鈥檚 memory, but the memory of all veterans.
鈥淗e looks like my father. He acts like my dad,鈥 Shazer said looking at Emmett. 鈥淚f you want to know my father, just look at Emmett.鈥
Shazer鈥檚 father, Amato D. Casciato, dropped out of high school to join the Navy when the war started.聽
鈥淗e was a 20 mm anti-aircraft gunner on the bow of the ship,鈥 said Emmett Casciato pointing to a photograph of a young man sitting on a very large gun.
Command assigned Casciato to LCI 675. A Landing Craft Infantry ship that deposited troops onto enemy beaches.
鈥淗e said he felt so bad,鈥 Casciato said remembering a story his father told him about World War II. 聽鈥淗e said these poor men were puking and urinating on themselves. He said 鈥業 will never forget that smell.鈥欌
Casciato鈥檚 ship participated in Operation Dragoon, the lesser known invasion of southern France after D-Day.
鈥淎s a kid, I鈥檇 ask him, I said, 鈥楧ad did you ever shoot any planes down?鈥 He said, 鈥榯his is how it went.鈥 He said, 鈥業 had a bucket around my neck, the seas were high, I鈥檓 puking my guts out, I鈥檓 pulling the trigger and they are wheeling me around.鈥 He said, 鈥榯here were so many tracers in the sky that you didn鈥檛 know who鈥檚 was who鈥檚.鈥 He said, 鈥業 just fired away.鈥 He said, 鈥業 probably hit nothing but I was just firing away.鈥欌
Casciato survived Europe, so the Navy sent him to the Pacific for the rest of the war.
鈥淓mmett called and said, 鈥楯udy, do you have any pictures of daddy?鈥欌 Shazer said remembering when her brother decided to open a military history museum. 鈥淎nd I did.鈥
Amato鈥檚 medals, uniform, and 20 mm anti-aircraft magazine with shell are among many artifacts in the World War II exhibit designed by Emmett Casciato at the museum in Brevard.
鈥淚鈥檓 so happy I sent the pictures and Em blew them up and framed them,鈥 Shazer said.聽 鈥淚t鈥檚 just nice that my father鈥檚 memories are going to get to go on. If they are hanging here, they will always go on.鈥
So many stories to tell, and every story is important to tell according to Casciato.
鈥淎 country who forgets its defenders, in itself will be forgotten,鈥 said Casciato.聽 鈥淪o we have to constantly remind people of the sacrifices, the courage, and what they did.鈥
Like the courage of the Casciato family to create a place for all to be remembered.
鈥淚t makes me feel proud of my brother, and my father, and everybody in the military,鈥 Shazer said.
All pictures for slideshow are courtesy of Judy Casciato Shazer.