November Program Remembers World War II Invasion of Italy
On November 14, the Sheffield Historical Society will commemorate the sacrifices made by our veterans, particularly in World War II. Our speaker, John Toffey, will discuss and read from his book, Jack Toffee's War, A Son’s Memoir.John Toffey is one of four generations of Toffeys who fought in the military. His great-grandfather, John Sr., earned the Medal of Honor for Valor at Missionary Ridge during the Civil War. His grandfather, John Jr., fought with Perishing in Mexico and retired as a major general in command of the New Jersey National Guard. His father, John III, the subject of this memoir, attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel before his death in Italy in 1944. John IV himself interrupted his studies at Yale to enlist in 1951 during the Korean War, went to Infantry Officer Candidate School, and was a company officer in the U.S., Korea, and Japan.
After his service in the Korean War, Toffey completed his studies at Ohio State University, graduating in 1955 with a degree in English. He has a Master’s Degree from Columbia University. Toffey has served on the faculties of the Kent School, the Columbus Academy, Simon’s Rock College, and Berkshire School, where he taught English, coached football and baseball, and performed various administrative duties.
John Toffey IV was 13 years old when his father was killed in the hill town of Palestrina, one day before the Allies marched into Rome. Lieutenant-Colonel Jack Toffey had commanded a combat battalion longer than any other officer in the Mediterranean theater.
Only in 1996, when his father’s letters were discovered, did John Toffey begin to piece together the story his father “never got to tell”. It is a moving account of a young man’s journey to know a father who went to war in 1942 and never came back, weaving memories, history, interviews with surviving member of his father’s unit, and his father’s letters home into a fascinating tale of a family, a war, and the threads that connect them.
Toffey’s book also portrays life on the home front in Ohio, where a boy, his sister and his mother waited out the war, scanning newspapers and magazines for news of Dad, and devouring letters full of humor and love for his family, and dreams of a good life after the war.
John Toffey’s talk and book signing will take place on Friday, November 14, at 7:30 p.m., at Dewey Hall in Sheffield.
