Western NY Vet Donates WWII Items To State Military Museum

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) — A World War II veteran from western New York has donated items he brought back from his combat service in Europe to the state military museum.

Charles Brown traveled to the New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs on Monday to deliver the items and to meet with current members of the New York Army National Guard's 258th Field Artillery.

The 93-year-old native of Delavan, outside Buffalo, served in the same unit after being drafted into the Army in 1943. Brown was 19 when his battalion landed in France in July 1944. The unit fought its way across Europe into Germany when the Nazis surrendered in early May 1945.

The items Brown donated to the museum's extensive WWII collection include letters, front-line maps, original photos and a day-by-day summary of the unit's service.