Officials recently marked the completion of the new Connecticut National Guard training support building named in honor of World War II Medal of Honor recipient and New Haven native, Col. Robert B. Nett (ret.).

Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell, State Department of Public Works Commissioner James T. Fleming, and Major General William A. Cugno, Connecticut National Guard Commander and Adjutant General, hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Camp Rell in Niantic on September 11, 2004. Col. Nett and his wife Frances participated in the ceremony.

Built by general contractor Carlin Construction of New London, the $1.6-million facility, located at Camp Rell in Niantic, is a 6,420-square-foot single-story brick building consisting of a large meeting hall, a lobby, offices, and storage and equipment rooms. The multipurpose building will serve as an assembly area for leadership training classes for officers and non-commissioned officers, as well as for other presentations and activities.

The funding for the project was split between the state and the federal government.

Col. Robert B. Nett, for whom the facility is named, was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army's Company E, 305th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division, when he performed several acts of heroism during the Battle of Leyte, Philippine Islands in World War II. Leyte was a focal point of the U.S. invasion of the Philippines in 1944 to rout the Japanese occupiers.

Col. Nett commanded Company E in an attack against a reinforced enemy battalion which had held up the American advance for two days from its entrenched positions around a three-story concrete building.

With another infantry company and armored vehicles, Company E advanced against heavy machinegun and other automatic weapons fire with then-Lt. Nett spearheading the assault against the strongpoint. During the fierce hand-to-hand encounter that ensued, he killed seven deeply entrenched Japanese with his rifle and bayonet and, although seriously wounded, continued to lead his men forward, refusing to relinquish his command.

Severely wounded a second time, but still unwilling to retire, he pressed ahead with his troops to assure the capture of the objective. Wounded once more in the assault, he calmly made all arrangements for the resumption of the advance, turned over his command to another officer and then walked unaided to the rear for medical treatment.

Speaking at the dedication, Governor Rell said, "To the men and women who serve this great nation, today — September 11th — is a day to move forward. The dedication of this new training hall is one of many steps we are taking at this beautiful camp to make it the best in the nation. I am very proud of this effort."

DPW Commissioner Fleming stated, "As commissioner of Public Works, it gives me great satisfaction to know that my agency is playing a key role in the planning, design and construction of new facilities at this vitally important National Guard training facility. To the many soldiers who are here today who have served in the Gulf region, we salute you and thank you for your courage and dedication to the goal of trying to bring peace to that region of the world."

The state Department of Public Works is responsible for the design and construction of major capital building projects (except highways and bridges) for most state agencies, leasing and acquisitions statewide, and facility management, maintenance and security of state buildings in the greater Hartford area.