Story Behind the Stone

On Friday, May 2, 2025, our office received a remarkable message from James Leaney, a resident of Rodmell, England, located approximately four miles inland from Newhaven port in East Sussex. While tending his garden, Mr. Leaney discovered a World War II-era American dog tag inscribed with the name William D. Walsh, Jr. Curious about its…

From a “kid from Brooklyn” to a celebrated war hero, Robert Passanisi’s life was one of remarkable determination and service. Born in 1924 as the youngest of twelve, he learned radio repair as a teenager, a skill that would prove crucial in his military career. In 1942, moved by the war film Bataan, the 17-year-old…