Carol Mitchell has provided this wonderful old photo of the Ridgefield High School baseball team in 1940. Shown from left, front row: Primo Zandri, John Forcelli, Tony Del Biondo, Vinny Petrini, Evo Principi, John Tulipani, Al Crowley, Alfred Tulipani, and Charlie Stolle; back row, Coach Kip Holleran, who was also the principal of the high school; Tom Sheehan, Bob Fossi, Lloyd Paris, Charlie Flynn, Charles Coles, Charles Cogswell, Faust Verna, and Tony Chaudy. The bat boy in front is Dick McGlynn, who became the town’s first paid fire chief. Many of these young men continued to live in Ridgefield most or all of their lives. One who didn’t was Charles Cogswell. In 1942, he joined the Army Air Force. By 1944, Staff Sgt. Cogswell had flown 43 combat missions as a B-17 waist gunner and was eligible to come home and conclude his hazardous duty. Instead, he volunteered for more flights and soon after, his plane was hit by German fire and the crew bailed out over the Adriatic Sea near Padua, Italy. Though he was still listed as missing in action at the war’s end, his remains were never found.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 12:19:04 +0000
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