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World War II veteran Irwin Stovroff speaks at the Poland library
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.A large crowd gathered at the Poland library to hear Irwin Strovroff talk about his experiences in World War II. This year is the 70th anniversary of Stovroff being shot out of the air during the war.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Development Director of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County Debbie Liptak introduced Irwin Stovroff before his speech at the Poland library.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Irwin Stovroff, 90, gave a speech at the Poland library about his experiences as a Prisoner of War in World War II and the work he's doing helping veterans deal with post-tramatic stress disorder, depression and suicidal thoughts.
By TIM CLEVELAND
On Sept. 10, Irwin Stovroff appeared at the Poland library to give a speech on his experiences in World War II and the work he’s doing to help veterans.
Stovroff, who turned 90 on Aug. 10, grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., is a graduate of Rayen High School and now lives in Boca Raton, Fla.
His appearance was the first of monthly events at the Poland library.
“It was a group of Friends of the Library who wanted to start a history buff presentation series,” development director of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County Debbie Liptak said of how Stovroff was invited to speak. “Irwin came to our Celebrate Poland [event], shared his story, and I said you’d be an excellent start to our program series. He’s our first speaker and we’re going to have one every month.”
Stovroff gained the rank of second lieutenant in the military. He served as a Bombardier with the 44th Bomb Group. On his 35th and final bombing mission, he survived being shot down over Nazi-occupied France and was held for 13 months in the Stalag Luft I prisoner of war camp in Germany.
Stovroff and approximately 9,000 airmen were rescued by Russian troops on the night of April 30, 1945.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of his capture.
Upon returning home, Stovroff married and raised a family. At the age of 75, he began volunteering at the local VA hospital. He began Vets Helping Heroes in 2007 to help veterans and active duty military personnel deal with post-tramatic stress disorder, depression and suicidal thoughts by being given service dogs.
His life story is recounted in the book “An Extraordinary Life ... Gone to the Dogs”, written by L.A. Weiser.