Rockland’s role in World War II Remembered

Story and Photo By Kathy Kahn 

While America gears up to celebrate its 250th birthday this year, another historic anniversary was remembered in our Rockland County community over last weekend. 

Tappan’s Camp Shanks, a.k.a “Last Stop U.S.A.” for over 1.3 million service members, is a testament to America’s resilience and tenacity.  Once encompassing over 2,000 acres that held housing for the men and women en route to the war, the memorial at the site of Camp Shanks is a somber reminder of those heroes.

Dominican University hosted its International History Conference on WWII at Prusmac Center in Blauvelt May 28-31, with presentations made by local historians and former servicemen who shipped out from Camp Shanks to Asia. Speakers from all branches of the service traveled across the country to take part.

This year’s conference welcomed two dignitaries from the United Nations: Consulate General Mateusz Sakowicz of Poland and Consulate General Senen Mangalile of The Philippines, who spoke at length of the many trials and tribulations their countries suffered under Axis occupation. Mangalile  told the audience of historians and history buffs of how the Philippines, once a commonwealth of the United States, became a major target of Japanese invaders. The Consulate stated that much of the country’s written history had been destroyed during the Japanese bombing on December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked. 

Thanks to the efforts of local historian Jerome Kleiman and his curiosity about a street in Tappan named Bataan that got his attention, his efforts led the creation of Dominican University’s first symposium on the significance of Camp Shanks in America’s history as Kleiman worked with Dr. Scott White and Christopher Libertini.

 Libertini said the goal is to establish a permanent public monument on the traffic triangle at the intersection of Bataan Road and Western Highway to honor the troops who fought so valiantly in the Philippines, a major destination in southeast Asia for Camp Shanks’ troops.  

“We’re spreading the word that we’d like to get a monument built to honor those who participated in the war in the Philippines and who endured horrors during the Bataan Death March,” says Libertini. The goal is to raise $1 million to erect a monument and have it ready in time to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Bataan in 2027. For those who would like to donate or learn more about the proposed monument, please contact Dr. Chris Libertini at chris.libertini@duny.edu