The following information was taken from the Hartford Courant, October 9 and 13, 2003:
George Gentile grew up during the Great Depression, did his duty during World War II, then returned home to pursue family and career. Over the years, however, Mr. Gentile always remembered the importance of honoring the wartime sacrifices of his generation -- for veterans and for those who benefited.
Mr. Gentile died Tuesday at his home in Newington. He was 82. A father of three, Mr. Gentile had a dental practice in New Britain for nearly 40 years and served in many civic capacities. In Canton, where he lived for three decades, he was Democratic town chairman and a member of the police commission.
Yet Mr. Gentile is perhaps most widely known for his work on behalf of veterans. A former Marine, he fought the Japanese on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima, where more than 6,800 Marines, soldiers and sailors were killed. Mr. Gentile never forgot, and he was clear- eyed about the heroism -- and the hell -- of war.
He also helped other survivors cope with the emotional legacy of that battle. In 1987, Mr. Gentile founded the national Iwo Jima Survivors Association, an organization dedicated to those veterans - - living and dead. He conceived and championed the National Iwo Jima Memorial Monument, which was erected in a small park on the New Britain-Newington line in 1995. The following year, he formed the Iwo Jima Memorial Historical Foundation to provide for the perpetual care of the monument, including its eternal flame.
Although a determined and energetic champion for the cause of veterans, Mr. Gentile wasn't burdened by it. For all his considerable efforts fund-raising and publicizing, Mr. Gentile remained an easy and pleasant person.
"George was a paradigm of what Tom Brokaw calls `the greatest generation,'" said Louis Gentile, New Britain's director of veterans affairs (he is not related). "He's a disappearing breed. We've lost a gem."
George Gentile, who fought on Iwo Jima in 1945 and decades later founded the Iwo Jima Survivors Association that built a memorial to the bloody battle, died Tuesday.
He was 82.
"It was his dream to recognize these men. They were unsung heroes and he wanted them to be seen as heroes," said Agritelly of Plainville.
Agritelly credits Gentile, who served in the Marines, with beginning the healing process for many Iwo Jima veterans by founding the Iwo Jima Survivors Association.
"These guys went over there and saw all these atrocities, but they never said a word about it," Agritelly said.
The first and only time Agritelly saw her father shed a tear about the war was at the unveiling of the monument in 1995 -- the 50th anniversary of the battle, she said.
Those who knew Gentile recalled seeing him in the 1990s in front of shopping plazas, campaigning to raise money for a memorial park on the Newington-New Britain line off Route 9. The stretch of road going past the memorial is now called the Iwo Jima Memorial Expressway.
"You couldn't stop the man. He was so enthusiastic. The Iwo Jima memorial was his baby, and he saw it through," said Aime Brochu, a New Britain alderman who grew up with Gentile.
Gentile's funeral will start at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Newington Memorial Funeral Home, with a Mass at 10 a.m. at Church of the Holy Spirit in Newington. Burial, with military honors, will be in Center Cemetery in Newington.
Gentile, who lived in Canton for 30 years before moving to Newington nine years ago, had a dental practice in New Britain from 1950 until he retired in 1987.
He was active in politics in Canton, serving as Democratic town chairman and head of the town's police commission.
But his passion later in life was establishing a way to remember the battle of Iwo Jima and honor the men who died there and who survived the fighting.
Iwo Jima, a small island about 600 miles from Tokyo, was the site of a pivotal World War II battle in February and March of 1945. More than 6,800 Marines, sailors and soldiers died in 36 days of fighting. About 20,000 Japanese fighters were killed.
One hundred of the dead were from Connecticut.
A monument to the Iwo Jima battle -- modeled after the one in Arlington, Va. -- was erected in 1995 on land between Central Connecticut State University and Route 9. In 2000, Gentile was instrumental in getting a monument honoring the service of combat medical personnel and chaplains built on the site.
Paul Isacoff of Woodbridge, who served in Iwo Jima as a medical corpsman, said Gentile's dedication to the monument inspired him to donate $11,500 needed to erect the monument
"He was very dedicated to that monument. He would pick up cigarette butts there in the morning. That was his pride and joy," Isacoff said.
It was Gentile's hope that people continue to keep the eternal flame at the monument alive and fund-raisers going, Agritelly said.
"He was a wonderful guy who gave a lot to the city," said James Wyskiewicz, a New Britain alderman. "His service to our country and to this city is second to none. He was a class act."
George Gentile grew up during the Great Depression, did his duty during World War II, then returned home to pursue family and career. Over the years, however, Mr. Gentile always remembered the importance of honoring the wartime sacrifices of his generation -- for veterans and for those who benefited.
Mr. Gentile died Tuesday at his home in Newington. He was 82. A father of three, Mr. Gentile had a dental practice in New Britain for nearly 40 years and served in many civic capacities. In Canton, where he lived for three decades, he was Democratic town chairman and a member of the police commission.
Yet Mr. Gentile is perhaps most widely known for his work on behalf of veterans. A former Marine, he fought the Japanese on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima, where more than 6,800 Marines, soldiers and sailors were killed. Mr. Gentile never forgot, and he was clear- eyed about the heroism -- and the hell -- of war.
He also helped other survivors cope with the emotional legacy of that battle. In 1987, Mr. Gentile founded the national Iwo Jima Survivors Association, an organization dedicated to those veterans - - living and dead. He conceived and championed the National Iwo Jima Memorial Monument, which was erected in a small park on the New Britain-Newington line in 1995. The following year, he formed the Iwo Jima Memorial Historical Foundation to provide for the perpetual care of the monument, including its eternal flame.
Although a determined and energetic champion for the cause of veterans, Mr. Gentile wasn't burdened by it. For all his considerable efforts fund-raising and publicizing, Mr. Gentile remained an easy and pleasant person.
"George was a paradigm of what Tom Brokaw calls `the greatest generation,'" said Louis Gentile, New Britain's director of veterans affairs (he is not related). "He's a disappearing breed. We've lost a gem."
George Gentile, who fought on Iwo Jima in 1945 and decades later founded the Iwo Jima Survivors Association that built a memorial to the bloody battle, died Tuesday.
He was 82.
"It was his dream to recognize these men. They were unsung heroes and he wanted them to be seen as heroes," said Agritelly of Plainville.
Agritelly credits Gentile, who served in the Marines, with beginning the healing process for many Iwo Jima veterans by founding the Iwo Jima Survivors Association.
"These guys went over there and saw all these atrocities, but they never said a word about it," Agritelly said.
The first and only time Agritelly saw her father shed a tear about the war was at the unveiling of the monument in 1995 -- the 50th anniversary of the battle, she said.
Those who knew Gentile recalled seeing him in the 1990s in front of shopping plazas, campaigning to raise money for a memorial park on the Newington-New Britain line off Route 9. The stretch of road going past the memorial is now called the Iwo Jima Memorial Expressway.
"You couldn't stop the man. He was so enthusiastic. The Iwo Jima memorial was his baby, and he saw it through," said Aime Brochu, a New Britain alderman who grew up with Gentile.
Gentile's funeral will start at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Newington Memorial Funeral Home, with a Mass at 10 a.m. at Church of the Holy Spirit in Newington. Burial, with military honors, will be in Center Cemetery in Newington.
Gentile, who lived in Canton for 30 years before moving to Newington nine years ago, had a dental practice in New Britain from 1950 until he retired in 1987.
He was active in politics in Canton, serving as Democratic town chairman and head of the town's police commission.
But his passion later in life was establishing a way to remember the battle of Iwo Jima and honor the men who died there and who survived the fighting.
Iwo Jima, a small island about 600 miles from Tokyo, was the site of a pivotal World War II battle in February and March of 1945. More than 6,800 Marines, sailors and soldiers died in 36 days of fighting. About 20,000 Japanese fighters were killed.
One hundred of the dead were from Connecticut.
A monument to the Iwo Jima battle -- modeled after the one in Arlington, Va. -- was erected in 1995 on land between Central Connecticut State University and Route 9. In 2000, Gentile was instrumental in getting a monument honoring the service of combat medical personnel and chaplains built on the site.
Paul Isacoff of Woodbridge, who served in Iwo Jima as a medical corpsman, said Gentile's dedication to the monument inspired him to donate $11,500 needed to erect the monument
"He was very dedicated to that monument. He would pick up cigarette butts there in the morning. That was his pride and joy," Isacoff said.
It was Gentile's hope that people continue to keep the eternal flame at the monument alive and fund-raisers going, Agritelly said.
"He was a wonderful guy who gave a lot to the city," said James Wyskiewicz, a New Britain alderman. "His service to our country and to this city is second to none. He was a class act."
The following information was taken from the Hartford Courant, October 9 and 13, 2003:
George Gentile grew up during the Great Depression, did his duty during World War II, then returned home to pursue family and career. Over the years, however, Mr. Gentile always remembered the importance of honoring the wartime sacrifices of his generation -- for veterans and for those who benefited.
Mr. Gentile died Tuesday at his home in Newington. He was 82. A father of three, Mr. Gentile had a dental practice in New Britain for nearly 40 years and served in many civic capacities. In Canton, where he lived for three decades, he was Democratic town chairman and a member of the police commission.
Yet Mr. Gentile is perhaps most widely known for his work on behalf of veterans. A former Marine, he fought the Japanese on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima, where more than 6,800 Marines, soldiers and sailors were killed. Mr. Gentile never forgot, and he was clear- eyed about the heroism -- and the hell -- of war.
He also helped other survivors cope with the emotional legacy of that battle. In 1987, Mr. Gentile founded the national Iwo Jima Survivors Association, an organization dedicated to those veterans - - living and dead. He conceived and championed the National Iwo Jima Memorial Monument, which was erected in a small park on the New Britain-Newington line in 1995. The following year, he formed the Iwo Jima Memorial Historical Foundation to provide for the perpetual care of the monument, including its eternal flame.
Although a determined and energetic champion for the cause of veterans, Mr. Gentile wasn't burdened by it. For all his considerable efforts fund-raising and publicizing, Mr. Gentile remained an easy and pleasant person.
"George was a paradigm of what Tom Brokaw calls `the greatest generation,'" said Louis Gentile, New Britain's director of veterans affairs (he is not related). "He's a disappearing breed. We've lost a gem."
George Gentile, who fought on Iwo Jima in 1945 and decades later founded the Iwo Jima Survivors Association that built a memorial to the bloody battle, died Tuesday.
He was 82.
"It was his dream to recognize these men. They were unsung heroes and he wanted them to be seen as heroes," said Agritelly of Plainville.
Agritelly credits Gentile, who served in the Marines, with beginning the healing process for many Iwo Jima veterans by founding the Iwo Jima Survivors Association.
"These guys went over there and saw all these atrocities, but they never said a word about it," Agritelly said.
The first and only time Agritelly saw her father shed a tear about the war was at the unveiling of the monument in 1995 -- the 50th anniversary of the battle, she said.
Those who knew Gentile recalled seeing him in the 1990s in front of shopping plazas, campaigning to raise money for a memorial park on the Newington-New Britain line off Route 9. The stretch of road going past the memorial is now called the Iwo Jima Memorial Expressway.
"You couldn't stop the man. He was so enthusiastic. The Iwo Jima memorial was his baby, and he saw it through," said Aime Brochu, a New Britain alderman who grew up with Gentile.
Gentile's funeral will start at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Newington Memorial Funeral Home, with a Mass at 10 a.m. at Church of the Holy Spirit in Newington. Burial, with military honors, will be in Center Cemetery in Newington.
Gentile, who lived in Canton for 30 years before moving to Newington nine years ago, had a dental practice in New Britain from 1950 until he retired in 1987.
He was active in politics in Canton, serving as Democratic town chairman and head of the town's police commission.
But his passion later in life was establishing a way to remember the battle of Iwo Jima and honor the men who died there and who survived the fighting.
Iwo Jima, a small island about 600 miles from Tokyo, was the site of a pivotal World War II battle in February and March of 1945. More than 6,800 Marines, sailors and soldiers died in 36 days of fighting. About 20,000 Japanese fighters were killed.
One hundred of the dead were from Connecticut.
A monument to the Iwo Jima battle -- modeled after the one in Arlington, Va. -- was erected in 1995 on land between Central Connecticut State University and Route 9. In 2000, Gentile was instrumental in getting a monument honoring the service of combat medical personnel and chaplains built on the site.
Paul Isacoff of Woodbridge, who served in Iwo Jima as a medical corpsman, said Gentile's dedication to the monument inspired him to donate $11,500 needed to erect the monument
"He was very dedicated to that monument. He would pick up cigarette butts there in the morning. That was his pride and joy," Isacoff said.
It was Gentile's hope that people continue to keep the eternal flame at the monument alive and fund-raisers going, Agritelly said.
"He was a wonderful guy who gave a lot to the city," said James Wyskiewicz, a New Britain alderman. "His service to our country and to this city is second to none. He was a class act."
George Gentile grew up during the Great Depression, did his duty during World War II, then returned home to pursue family and career. Over the years, however, Mr. Gentile always remembered the importance of honoring the wartime sacrifices of his generation -- for veterans and for those who benefited.
Mr. Gentile died Tuesday at his home in Newington. He was 82. A father of three, Mr. Gentile had a dental practice in New Britain for nearly 40 years and served in many civic capacities. In Canton, where he lived for three decades, he was Democratic town chairman and a member of the police commission.
Yet Mr. Gentile is perhaps most widely known for his work on behalf of veterans. A former Marine, he fought the Japanese on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima, where more than 6,800 Marines, soldiers and sailors were killed. Mr. Gentile never forgot, and he was clear- eyed about the heroism -- and the hell -- of war.
He also helped other survivors cope with the emotional legacy of that battle. In 1987, Mr. Gentile founded the national Iwo Jima Survivors Association, an organization dedicated to those veterans - - living and dead. He conceived and championed the National Iwo Jima Memorial Monument, which was erected in a small park on the New Britain-Newington line in 1995. The following year, he formed the Iwo Jima Memorial Historical Foundation to provide for the perpetual care of the monument, including its eternal flame.
Although a determined and energetic champion for the cause of veterans, Mr. Gentile wasn't burdened by it. For all his considerable efforts fund-raising and publicizing, Mr. Gentile remained an easy and pleasant person.
"George was a paradigm of what Tom Brokaw calls `the greatest generation,'" said Louis Gentile, New Britain's director of veterans affairs (he is not related). "He's a disappearing breed. We've lost a gem."
George Gentile, who fought on Iwo Jima in 1945 and decades later founded the Iwo Jima Survivors Association that built a memorial to the bloody battle, died Tuesday.
He was 82.
"It was his dream to recognize these men. They were unsung heroes and he wanted them to be seen as heroes," said Agritelly of Plainville.
Agritelly credits Gentile, who served in the Marines, with beginning the healing process for many Iwo Jima veterans by founding the Iwo Jima Survivors Association.
"These guys went over there and saw all these atrocities, but they never said a word about it," Agritelly said.
The first and only time Agritelly saw her father shed a tear about the war was at the unveiling of the monument in 1995 -- the 50th anniversary of the battle, she said.
Those who knew Gentile recalled seeing him in the 1990s in front of shopping plazas, campaigning to raise money for a memorial park on the Newington-New Britain line off Route 9. The stretch of road going past the memorial is now called the Iwo Jima Memorial Expressway.
"You couldn't stop the man. He was so enthusiastic. The Iwo Jima memorial was his baby, and he saw it through," said Aime Brochu, a New Britain alderman who grew up with Gentile.
Gentile's funeral will start at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Newington Memorial Funeral Home, with a Mass at 10 a.m. at Church of the Holy Spirit in Newington. Burial, with military honors, will be in Center Cemetery in Newington.
Gentile, who lived in Canton for 30 years before moving to Newington nine years ago, had a dental practice in New Britain from 1950 until he retired in 1987.
He was active in politics in Canton, serving as Democratic town chairman and head of the town's police commission.
But his passion later in life was establishing a way to remember the battle of Iwo Jima and honor the men who died there and who survived the fighting.
Iwo Jima, a small island about 600 miles from Tokyo, was the site of a pivotal World War II battle in February and March of 1945. More than 6,800 Marines, sailors and soldiers died in 36 days of fighting. About 20,000 Japanese fighters were killed.
One hundred of the dead were from Connecticut.
A monument to the Iwo Jima battle -- modeled after the one in Arlington, Va. -- was erected in 1995 on land between Central Connecticut State University and Route 9. In 2000, Gentile was instrumental in getting a monument honoring the service of combat medical personnel and chaplains built on the site.
Paul Isacoff of Woodbridge, who served in Iwo Jima as a medical corpsman, said Gentile's dedication to the monument inspired him to donate $11,500 needed to erect the monument
"He was very dedicated to that monument. He would pick up cigarette butts there in the morning. That was his pride and joy," Isacoff said.
It was Gentile's hope that people continue to keep the eternal flame at the monument alive and fund-raisers going, Agritelly said.
"He was a wonderful guy who gave a lot to the city," said James Wyskiewicz, a New Britain alderman. "His service to our country and to this city is second to none. He was a class act."
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