The Bradford Area Public Library is hosting the virtual program, ‘Horseshoe Curve and the Nazi Saboteurs of 1942’ via Zoom on Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m.
To register, email marketing@bradfordlibrary.org. This program is free and open to the public.
When the United States entered World War II in late 1941, Altoona was an important part of the war effort. Being a vital rail connection between the Midwest and the east coast shipping ports, it became a desirable target. A successful strike at the Pennsylvania Railroad and specifically, the Horseshoe Curve would have hindered America’s ability to move troops, war material, and natural resources necessary to support the fighting in both theaters.
In June of 1942, four highly trained Nazi saboteurs came ashore on Long Island, N.Y., and attempted to move inland to their assigned targets across the eastern seaboard.
Retired Gunnery Sgt. USMC Kenneth Serfass is returning to the Bradford Library virtually this year to tell the story of the Nazi saboteurs, as a PRR trainman.
Many in the community will remember Serfass as a civil war reenactor and impressionist of General and President Ulysses S. Grant. Serfass relies on historical research and his own practical experience as a railroad brakeman with the tourist railroad at Strasburg, to give a credible account of those times on the “Standard Railroad of the World.”
Due to contractual obligations, this Zoom presentation can not be recorded and shared with the library’s Facebook community.
