William Menosky

by William G. Menosky

Tommy gun.  The name evokes different memories or thoughts in a cross section of people both in the United States and internationally.  Some may think of names that wrote the violent history of the twenties and thirties in this country: Capone, Floyd or Dillinger.  Others may think of the Irish crowd with Michael Collins and their early struggle for independence, or the English “Tommies” of the second World War, or even of Colonel Henry A. Mucci, Bridgeport war hero.  Still others may think of Hollywood types like Cagney, Wayne, or more recently, Johnny Depp in the movie “Public Enemies.”  But whatever the first thought, the name carries instant recognition.  The “Thompson Submachine Gun,” ”the Chicago Typewriter,” “the Chopper,” “the Tommy gun”: its story is long, infamous, heroic, and, surprisingly, it runs right through Bridgeport. (more…)