1st Annual Wild Bill Guarnere Memorial Golf Outing and Dinner

A Day of Competition, Laughter and Great Success

On Friday April 17, 2015 under bright blue sunny skies the 1st Annual Wild Bill Guarnere Memorial Golf Outing and Dinner sponsored by Gary Sinise and the Gary Sinise Foundation began. As the golfers arrived for registration, they were treated to lunch provided by Picas Restaurant, Subway, Herr’s Foods, Turkey Hill, Giant and Pretzel Boys. Our team, along with our friends at ParadoxLabs, O’Reilly Buick GMC, Heritage Homes, Cole Chiropractic Center, Aramark, and Palm Printing rallied as the golfers headed for the course in hopes of scoring a hole-in-one to win a brand new car provided by O’Reilly Buick GMC.

Once the golfers hit the course the Wild Bill Team headed out on the course to offer assistance. For some it ended up being quite an adventure. Who knew you could go off-roading on a golf course? Seriously though, along the course we witnessed golfers intently focused, some frustrated cause they missed the shot and others just having fun relaxing with friends.

Most golfers finished up by 6:30 and then it was time to head inside for an evening of food, fun and lots of prizes. As the golfers piled in they were serenaded by the National Anthem sung by James Clark. James is a senior at Ridley and that young man was phenomenal. His voice had such power and emotion that many in the room were brought to tears. For me, from the first note to the last, I had chills. We are so grateful for James because he stopped in as a favor moments before he had to go get pictures for prom.

The night featured so many impactful moments that I feared I would not be able to recreate them for our readers, but once I started writing- it got easier. I hope I did them justice.

Shortly after a fantastic meal, guests were invited to watch a videotaped message from actor Gary Sinise. Gary has been very generous to the Fund and his message to the crowd was poignant and sincere. Guests seemed to embrace his message and accept his challenge to continue to support our Nation’s veterans.

The microphone was then handed over to Dennis Murphy, who serves in the Board of Directors for the Delaware County Veterans Memorial. Murphy announced to the crowd that the bronze statue of Wild Bill would have a home and will become a permanent part of the second phase at the Delaware County Veterans Memorial on West Chester Pike. This was fantastic news due to the fact that, for months, the Guarnere family had been searching for a location that the Wild Bill statue could call home.

Murphy explained that the statue will become the centerpiece in the open air meditation chapel of the Delaware County Veterans Memorial. The nondenominational prayer spot and garden will provide a place for individuals and groups to dedicate an engraved paving stone and offer a viewing of veterans’ names etched into the walls of the memorial so every visitor can take a moment to contemplate the sacrifices made by those the memorial honors.

Bill’s son Gene expressed gratitude and commented that he “likes the fact that it is a place for all veterans.” Murphy told the crowd that the dedication for the statue is scheduled for D-Day, June 6, 2015; however, the actual statue is not expected to be placed on the grounds until September.

For Debi, Bill’s granddaughter, she was most excited about the fact that the memorial will also to provide education to inform visitors and students about the dedication, courage and commitment of our Nation’s veterans. “Gramps often went to the schools,” said Debi. “The educational portion would make him very happy.”

Next up was Guest Speaker Pennsylvania State Senator Thomas J. McGarrigle, he spoke about how we must always remain committed to our veterans and the importance of recognizing these heroes.

The evening also included Philadelphia Councilmen David Oh and Gene Guarnere presenting the very first Wild Bill Guarnere Legacy Award recognizing excellence for efforts to preserve and protect the achievements and memory of the men of Easy Company. The award is intended to honor those that make exemplary efforts in promoting dialogue about respect and appreciation of those men who served. The award is given to individuals displaying the characteristics of scholarship, high motivation, initiative, integrity, leadership qualities, civic responsibility and/or exceptional judgment.

Our award recipient was a high school senior from Garnet Valley, Nick Iacovelli. Nick learned about Wild Bill Guarnere when he was in middle school and used his allowance to purchase the boxed set Band of Brothers DVDs. Nick was hooked and it only took a few nights to complete watching the HBO series. Nick was surprised when he learned that one of the men from Easy Company grew up in South Philadelphia. Nick couldn’t believe that he lived so close to the hero Wild Bill Guarnere.

During Nick’s junior year at Garnet Valley High School, he and his history teacher, Amanda Reid-Cossentino, were selected as one of 15 student-teacher pairs to attend the Normandy: Sacrifice for Freedom, Albert H. Small Student and Teacher Institute. Nick embarked on a rigorous one year study of D-Day and WWII; participating in scholarly study at home and in Washington, DC which culminated in the Silent Heroes Project. Nick’s final goal for the Normandy Scholarship was to submit a project for National History Day. When Nick learned that the theme for National History Day 2015 was Leadership and Legacy in History, Nick knew exactly who he wanted to research: his hero, Wild Bill Guarnere. On a snowy day in March, Nick presented his website detailing the Leadership and Legacy of Wild Bill to the local judges at the Chester County Historical Society. Nick qualified to move on to states level and will be competing at Millersville University on May 12th.

In talking with Nick, he considers himself very lucky to have had the opportunity to learn about the courageous men and women who fought and paid so dearly for the freedom we have today. He is proud to carry the torch to ensure their stories are never forgotten.

The Wild Bill Guarnere Memorial Fund considers themselves to be fortunate knowing that young men and women across our country will not let the memory of the heroic actions of the men of Easy Company disappear.

A little later, Michael Barkann, a sportscaster from Comcast hosted the live auction with our President Debi Rafferty. The two were quite the pair as they sought out buyers in the crowd. In addition, there were sixty-two raffle items and ten silent auction items that both overwhelmed and impressed guests. Some of the most popular items included tickets to sporting events, signed Wild Bill memorabilia, spa packages and a Dyson vacuum cleaner. The Wild Bill team is very appreciative to all those who donated prizes.

The night was certainly filled with surprises and took us one step closer to completing our goal of securing the needed funds for the statue. We were overjoyed by the turn out and the willingness of people to help make this dream come true.