Current Hours
Thursday - Saturday
10am - 4pm
Ritchie Boy Family Reunion
Sat, Jul 26
|Highfield-Cascade
The museum is excited to be hosting its first-ever Ritchie Boy Family Reunion! We are thrilled to provide an opportunity for Ritchie Boy families to come and share their loved ones' stories and connect with each other!
Time & Location
Jul 26, 2025, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM EDT
Highfield-Cascade, Box 699, 14324 Lake Royer Dr, Highfield-Cascade, MD 21719, USA
About the event
We are honored to provide a unique opportunity for Ritchie Boy families to come and tell their loved ones' stories. The day will be filled with guest speakers, a BBQ lunch, visits to the museum, guided tours, and the chance to check out the other businesses at Historic Fort Ritchie. We will finish off the day with an evening fundraiser dinner at Lakeside Hall. All proceeds from this event go towards construction and purchases for our future research center!
Speaker tickets are $10 a ticket per speaker, you may purchase a pass for all speakers for $50 if you wish to attend all lectures, lunch tickets are $16 per person, and the fundraiser dinner from 6p to 8pm is $100 per plate, including one drink from the bar in Lakeside.
We do ask Ritchie Boy families to bring information on their service members so that we may further extend our…
Schedule
45 minutesKaty Self
Main Tent
45 minutesDr. Roger Sabbadini
Main Tent
Tickets
- Sale ends: Jul 26, 4:30 PM EDT
Speaker: Jim Klein
$10.00 - Sale ends: Jul 26, 4:30 PM EDT
Speaker: Jeffrey Kraus
Jeff Kraus grew up in the 1960s with little knowledge of his father’s service in WWII. Although he knew his dad escaped Nazi Germany and served as an interrogator, his father shared no details. After his father’s death, Jeff discovered numerous materials from his military service in the attic. Today, Jeff will share these insights about his father, Herbert Kraus, a proud Ritchie Boy.
$10.00 - Sale ends: Jun 30, 8:00 PM EDT
Lecture Pass
The lecture pass provides access to all speaker events at a slightly discounted rate, you will not need individual tickets with the pass.
$50.00 - Sale ends: Jun 30, 8:00 PM EDT
BBQ Lunch at Lakeside
This lunch ticket is for our barbecue lunch at Lakeside Hall, lunch will be served from 12am-2pm.
$16.00+$0.40 service fee - Sale ends: Jun 30, 8:00 PM EDT
Fundraiser Dinner at Lakeside
$100.00+$2.50 service fee - Sale ends: Jul 26, 4:30 PM EDT
Speaker: Dr. Roger Sabbadini
Author of "Unavoidable Hope: A compelling true story of Italian Jewish refugee" Alessandro (Alex) Sabbadini, who escaped Fascist Italy to America on the eve of WWII only to join the fight in Italy with the U.S. 5th Army. He joined the fight for personal reasons – to liberate Italy and his Jewish family who were being pursued by the Fascists and the Nazis. Alex was one of the first “Ritchie Boys” to have received military intelligence training at the Military Intelligence School at Camp Ritchie.
$10.00 - Sale ends: Jul 26, 12:00 PM EDT
Speaker: Christopher Galen
War and Remembrance: A First-Person Account of World War II in the Mediterranean. As recounted by Christopher Galen, son of Ritchie Boy Capt. William Galen
$10.00 - Sale ends: Jul 26, 4:30 PM EDT
Speaker: Katy Self
Katy Self, the Director of the Ritchie History Museum, will share fascinating insights into the history of Fort Ritchie, particularly during the World War II era. Join us to learn about the historic buildings on Historic Fort Ritchie and walk in the footsteps of the Ritchie Boys.
$10.00 Speaker: Kenneth Wald
"In late February 1986, I heard a story about my father, Heinz Werner Schönwald, who served as a U.S. Army interrogator during World War II. While questioning a German POW from Saxony, the soldier was surprised by the interrogator’s perfect German and knowledge of their hometown. Eventually, the POW recognized my father as a former schoolmate, exclaiming, “You’re the Schönwald boy!” This revelation about my father's wartime service was something I didn’t fully believe until 40 years later."
$10.00
Total
$0.00