Remember when the huge Armory that overlooks Amsterdam’s Southside wasn’t a Bed & Breakfast? It instead served as the headquarters of Company G, 105th Infantry, 27th Division of the New York State Guard. The unit manned almost entirely by residents of Amsterdam, was federalized on October 15th, 1940 and sent to Fort McClellan, Alabama for training. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Company G was rushed to the Pacific where it was put in the middle of some of the fiercest island fighting faced by any unit in the war. First Class Private Theodore Canape missed that combat…

You can read the rest of my story about this Amsterdam soldier in my new book “A Year’s Worth of Amsterdam Birthdays.” To order your copy, click here.