Book Signing-Special Part of CMW

The 22nd Annual Currahee Military Weekend returns this week with activities beginning tomorrow.

Brenda Carlan, Stephens County Historical Society Executive Director, says it is an exciting time for the community.” We are really excited this year with the anticipation after last year going through in name only. We did have a lot of people to come to Toccoa, but we did not have any planned events, and it is always an exciting time for us because we get the opportunity to show our history. We get so many returning visitors and new attendees to come to this event. It has become like a Currahee family reunion.”

One of the special events of Currahee Military Weekend will be Friday afternoon when authors gather with the public for a book signing in the Mitchell-Allen meeting room at the Currahee Military Museum from 1-5 P.M. “The book signing has always been a successful event” says Carlan; “This gives people the opportunity to spend time with the authors. In the past, we would have several veterans. We still do, but in a different era you might say. It gives the public the opportunity to meet the authors of these books that have captured World War II on paper.”

With each passing year it is tougher for World War II veterans to attend Currahee Military Weekend, but Carlan says there will be one present at the book signing. “This year we have one returning veteran, Vincent Speranza, he was with the 501st in WWII, and his book “Nuts” he will be here signing. He is always exciting and a fun listen. I would encourage anyone that has not read the book to read. It is not strictly World War II from beginning to end, but it talks about what made Vince-Vince, always interesting.”

Among the other authors attending are three new visitors to Currahee Military Weekend. Byrne Bennett from the state of Washington has written a book about his uncle Joe Mann, who trained in Toccoa with the 506th and received the Medal of Honor. The book is entitled “A Greater Destiny”. Jeremy Holmes, authored a book about his grandfather that served in the 511th, the only regiment that trained here and fought in the Pacific, and local author John Hewitt with a book about his father that was a training instructor in World War II and his life after in Toccoa.

Again, the Currahee Military Weekend book signing will be this Friday from 1-5 in the Mitchell-Allen Room at the Currahee Military Museum.