KILLINGLY — U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal will visit the RSVP Veterans Coffeehouse on Nov. 24 to present WWIII medals to WWII veteran Fred Carlage of Woodstock.

Carlage, who turns 99 this week, served in the Army-Air Corps from 1941-45 and flew 47 combat missions as a First Lieutenant/Navigator on B-24 Liberators in the Pacific Theatre. Based in Australia, Carlage navigated bombing runs throughout the southwest Pacific to disrupt Japanese shipping and destroy land-based military facilities. As flight navigator, he was in charge of bombing runs (3-6 planes) that generally lasted 15 hours or longer.

He was part of the battles and campaigns for New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago and led a bombing of Borneo that demoralized Japan at the time.  The two medals being awarded by Sen. Blumenthal are the WWII Victory Medal and the WWII Lapel Button.  Carlage previously received the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters.

This will be Sen. Blumenthal’s first visit to the Veterans Coffeehouse.  The ceremony is scheduled to get underway shortly after 9 a.m.  The public is invited.

A native of Union, Carlage was discharged from the Army-Air Corps in July 1945. 

 

 

He attended Rhode Island College of Education, studying mathematics.  He then worked for the State of Connecticut and retired as an OSHA inspector.  He was married for 50 years, and reared two sons and a daughter.