John M. "Jack" Keil and Thomas W. Hope, two World War II veterans with strong connections to Rochester, will talk about their memories of the war at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, in conjunction with a wartime exhibit in the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at the University of Rochester. The talk and exhibit are free and open to the public.
Keil, an alumnus of the Class of 1944, flew with a B-24 bomber crew in the Army Air Force and sketched some of what he experienced. Hope, who moved to Rochester in the 1950s, led an Army photographic unit through the battlefields of Belgium and France. Their sketches and photographs are included in the exhibit, "A Nation at War," now on view through Oct. 31 in the Rare Books department of Rush Rhees Library.
Their talk, titled "The Way It Was: Visual Memorial of Two World War II Veterans," will take place in the Hyam Plutzik Library of Contemporary Writing, adjacent to the exhibit of letters, drawings, editorial cartoons, photographs, and memorabilia from the Rare Books collections. The event is part of the Meliora Weekend celebration of reunion, homecoming, and family weekend activities at the University of Rochester.
The exhibit is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday; and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
For more information, contact (585) 275-4477.