Local WWII vets featured in film

YOUNGSTOWN — The men and woman who star in PBS 45 & 49’s mini-documentary “Northeast Ohio: The War” aren’t unlike the characters featured in Ken Burns’ soon-to-be-released World War II documentary “The War.”

From Austintown, Niles, Canton and Alliance, they were teenagers or young adults when the bombs fell over Pearl Harbor and their lives were forever changed.

Thanks to a regional effort to collect the stories of WWII veterans and their stateside supporters, Northeast Ohioians’ stories will be aired at 10:30 p.m. Oct. 2 alongside the anticipated seven-part epic documentary from Burns.

Sue Havanec, 54, of Austintown, first heard in early spring about the effort to collect the “oral histories” of local WWII veterans. She knew her father John Bilas, 84, of Struthers, had to be involved.

“He always told all of us about these stories,” said Havanec. “I said, ‘You need to do this.’”

Bilas and other local WWII vets had their moment in the spotlight Thursday when PBS 45 & 49 aired the 36-minute local documentary for a small crowd at the Butler Institute of American Art. The showing followed a sneak preview of Burns’ film, which will begin airing on the network at 8 p.m. Sept. 23.

For more, see Thursday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com