Heroic Lives of Francis Velhage and Waldo Hayes

World War One transformed American communities in profound and lasting ways, and West Hartford was no exception. 

In this episode of Trout Brook Tales, host Chuck Coursey and special guest Kathryn Coursey (Chuck's niece and fellow history enthusiast) explore the heroic yet tragically brief lives of two young West Hartford soldiers—Waldo Hayes and Francis Velhage. 

Their courage and sacrifice would be memorialized in 1922 with the establishment of West Hartford’s Hayes-Velhage Post 96 of The American Legion, forever linking their names to the town's history.