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New book chronicles Long Island’s growth and role in World War II

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Long Island and its people played a huge role in the Allied Forces winning World War II.

The latest book by Dr. Chris Verga, an educator and historian who lives in Bay Shore, tells the definitive tale.

The book, World War II Long Island: The Homefront in Nassau and Suffolk, also ties the rise of the Long Island to its role in the war, which transformed our pastoral and provincial communities into a modern suburban behemoth.

Below are just a few factoids from the book published by Arcadia’s History Press division. It will hit local store shelves and be available online starting Feb. 22.

Long Island held the record for producing the most fighter planes in the country with the rapid rebirth of its aviation sector.

Dozens of Nazi spies infiltrated industry throughout the island and communicated industrial secrets back to Germany as the FBI chased them down.

Five Medal of Honor recipients called the region home.

At the close of the war, the United Nations established itself in a weapons factory in Lake Success.

about the author

Verga is an instructor of Long Island history and on the foundations of American history at Suffolk Community College, as well as a frequent contributor to the the Greater Long Island new websites.

His published works include Images of America: Civil Rights Movement on Long Island, and Images of America: Bay Shore and Saving Fire Island from Robert Moses, both by Arcadia.

He has an educational doctorate from St John’s University. His dissertation work included Long Island Native Americans and the impact of tribal recognition within their cultural identity.

Top: An Islip scrape metal drive in 1944. (courtesy)

A Nazi U-boat patrol plane before taking off from Mitchell Air Force Base, also known as Mitchell Field, in present-day Garden City.

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