A childhood fascination with military history, stories of family members who served in war, and years spent listening to veterans helped inspire Smithtown attorney David DePinto’s remarkable Omaha Beach diorama.
During a recent appearance on The Fog of War and Humanity podcast with historian Richard Acritelli, DePinto discussed his Long Island upbringing, family legacy of service, and his mission to preserve the stories of the Greatest Generation.
His interest in World War II history began long before he built the detailed Omaha Beach diorama on display at the military history museum in Rocky Point.
Raised in North Bellmore and later North Babylon, DePinto grew up in a crowded multigenerational household. His family’s military history reached back to the Civil War. His great-great-grandfather, Horatio Nelson Young, served in the Union Navy and received the Medal of Honor for volunteering to carry a tow line by rowboat under Confederate fire after the USS Lehigh became trapped near Charleston Harbor.
World War II history also surrounded DePinto’s family. His uncle Harold was at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack while serving aboard the USS Trevor, a minesweeper and destroyer escort. He later served in major Pacific campaigns, including Guadalcanal, the Philippines and the Solomon Islands.
Those family stories helped spark DePinto’s early interest in military models, planes, ships and tanks. But his interest deepened through his work as an elder law attorney, where he often met members of the Greatest Generation and asked about their wartime experiences.
One client, Eugene Reichenthal, made a lasting impression. A retired music educator, he had served with the 101st Airborne on D-Day, in Operation Market Garden and at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. DePinto said Reichenthal was humble and reluctant to talk, but eventually shared firsthand memories of Normandy and the brutal cold at Bastogne.
DePinto later combined that historical interest with model building, creating a large diorama depicting Omaha Beach on D-Day. The display includes German bunkers, landing craft, soldiers, battlefield damage and terrain inspired by historical photographs, satellite images and scenes from Saving Private Ryan.
He said the project reflects both research and imagination, showing a “slice” of Omaha Beach and the nearly impossible conditions American soldiers faced as they came ashore under heavy German fire.
DePinto said seeing the diorama displayed in a glass case at the museum gave him new motivation to finish and improve it. He hopes to add more effects and may one day create a Civil War diorama based on his great-great-grandfather’s Medal of Honor action.
Hear his entire Fog of War interview at www.hmtcli.org