D-Day Vet/Former Journalist To Speak At Rotary Meeting

The following information was provided by the Wakefield Rotary Club:

On Tuesday at noon at Peter Sanborn Place, 50 Bay State Road, Reading, the Wakefield and Reading Rotary Clubs will hear from a veteran of the pivotal D-Day campaign in World War II who went on to be a longtime area journalist.

Morley L. Piper  was a new second lieutenant with the US 29th Infantry Division in the D-Day landings in Normandy June 6, 1944, one of the epic military engagements of all time, a battle that changed the course of World War Two. 

He was with the division throughout the war, ending on the Elbe River in Germany, except for six weeks recovering from wounds in the Normandy campaign. His Rotary talk will describe some of the D-Day experiences.  

In civilian life, he has been in the newspaper business for a long time, 12 years at The Boston Globe and 45 years as executive director of the New England Newspaper Association, retiring in 2009.  He kept a part-time job that he had also held for many years as administrator for Newspaper Association Managers, Inc., which he runs from an office the Salem News gave him on retirement.  

He is still active in the 29th Division Association.  They are planning a return to Normandy in June 2014 for the 70th anniversary of D-Day.