The Zinavage Legacy

"Names change," writes Wilfred Zinavage, "but genes don't; neither does history." In this detailed history of one family's struggle across generations, Zinavage records how history has marked the descendants of Antoni and Ketrin Ziniewicz. From humble roots in Russian-controlled Poland to the challenges of starting again as immigrants in America, their story is a familiar one of hardships and obstacles overcome, and of what it means to be a family.


A collection of historical narrative, letters saved and lovingly transcribed, family photographs, and personal memoir, The Zinavage Legacy captures one family's story with compassion and complexity, a brilliant firsthand look at one thread of the American experience.


About the Author
Raised on a farm in Baltic, Connecticut, (near New London, "the submarine capital of the world"), Wilfred Zinavage joined the U. S. Navy at eighteen. Trained as an Aviation Electronics Technician, he became an air crew member and flew on the Navy's first nuclear bomber (the P2V-7 Neptune bomber). Hand-picked along with seventeen other specialists, he later became one of the Navy's first in-flight technicians on the world record-holding P3C aircraft. At the peak of his career, he was involved in several secret projects. He still suffers nightmares from his military experiences.


After his twenty-year military career, Zinavage retired back to his home with his young family. As a civilian and until he retired once again, he held many titles. He was a first aid instructor, actor, songwriter, author of a novel entitled Deployment, biomedical technician, and armed nuclear security officer, Town Selectman and even a write-in candidate for Lieutenant Governor. He earned a college degree from Eastern Connecticut State University in general studies and lacked nine credits from becoming an electronic engineer. In his spare time, he became a TV show co-host on public cable access television and stays active with the Vietnam Veterans of America and the American Legion.