In June 1944, the submarine, USS Barbel, piloted by Commander R.A. Keating, took on supplies and completed final training at Pearl Harbor. By July, she was off to war. Only days into her first patrol, the Barbel narrowly averted disaster. “…On the 28th of July, one of the lookouts, Seaman First Class Lange sighted a [...]
Here it is! By popular demand, the History Junkie is starting a new feature. We will call it, Letters From War Wednesdays (LFWW). Each and every Wednesday, we will post a sure-to-be compelling letter from one of our brave lot. Enjoy. Today’s offering, staying with the USS Barbel theme of the week, comes from Bernard [...]
The Everytown, USA Project is off and rolling. Eileen Reynolds Sheehan forwarded the Memorial Roll Call for her Everytown, USA–Cary, Illinois, northwest of Chicago. Eileen’s brother, Franklin Reynolds served aboard the USS Barbel in World War II. He, along with Bernard Duesler and John Bogert, were among the 81 crew members lost when the Barbel [...]
Emotions ran high following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. As with other families across the country, the Bogerts of Clifton, New Jersey, gathered around the radio to listen to the news broadcasts. Bogert brothers, Charles, Bill and John, enlisted in the U.S. Navy the next day. John was a newlywed, having recently married his [...]
Yep. It’s Friday … again. Time for another addition of HJ’s Weekly History Wrap-Up. Ronald H. Bailey over at HistoryNet brings us a truly amazing piece on the Marquis de Lafayette’s return to the States in 1824. This is a must read for all Lafayette groupies (HJ included. Blush! Blush!) and Revolutionary buffs. Another American [...]
As promised, please enjoy vintage photographs of the 5th Infantry Division’s visit to Albion, Indiana in August 1941.
On August 25, 1941, portions of the U.S. Army’s 5th Infantry Division, approximately 5,500 soldiers and 700 vehicles, graced the streets of Albion, Indiana. En route from Camp Custer, Michigan to Pine Bluff, Arkansas for maneuvers, the group bivouacked for one day and one night in and around town. The Albion New Era described the [...]
Today, December 7, is best known as Pearl Harbor Day, and rightfully so. Sixty-nine years ago today, the Japanese attacked the U.S. Naval installation at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing us officially in to World War II. But December 7 is special for me for another reason. On December 7 , 1938, just three years before [...]
Wow, what a weekend! Basketball, basketball and more basketball! The little junkies keep HJ busy. There will always be a soft place in the History Junkie’s heart for the 90th Infantry Division–the Tough ‘Ombres. Over the years, I have met so many wonderful people associated with the group, from front line soldiers, to grieving widows [...]
Yo! Yo! It’s that time of the week again–time for the History Junkie’s Weekly History Wrap-Up. A week after North Korea’s attack on Yeonpyeong Island, Dan Miller at the Opinion Forum brings us a very insightful piece on relations between North Korea, China, Russian and the U.S., then (Korean War era) and now. Some 60 [...]