I often forget what day of the week it is, where I left my cell phone or even when I’m supposed to pick up the kids, and where. One thing old soldiers never seem to forget is the day that they were wounded in battle. Several years back, BOOTPRINTS author and 90th Infantry Division soldier, [...]
I run in fits and spurts. Right now I’ve got this U.S. Army Air Corps bug going that I can’t seem to shake. For this edition of Letters From War Wednesday, we feature a short note from Donald Parker, who served in World War II with the 499th Bomb Group. Most of our Air Corps [...]
Looking for a little help from all you genealogy addicts and history buffs out there. As you may know from recent posts on this blog, the good folks at Garveston, England are planning a ceremony set for June 6, 2012 to dedicate a memorial honoring the Garveston Twelve. Officials are searching for info and surviving [...]
Mondays roll back around way too quickly, but at least we have the 90th Infantry Division Pic of the Week. This amazing shot comes to us from the Saar River in Germany. With the heavy rains in the fall of 1944, the Saar River was overflowing her banks, and had become decidedly unruly. I love [...]
Friday again, and time for what’s “new” in the world of “old,” with the Weekly History Wrap Up. Kentucky Marine, Dakota Meyer, received the Medal of Honor this week in Washington. World War II bomber pilot, and the son of Mexican immigrants, Roberto Ruiz, flew 35 missions of Europe. World War II Lady Marines reunite [...]
Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve made several posts on waist gunner, Pete DeBrular and the Garveston Twelve. Today, we take a brief look at another member of the Garveston Twelve–Lt. Gerald E. Hirschman. Lt. Hirschman served as the navigator on the ill-fated B-24 bomber, piloted by Lt. Ray Sachtleben, that crashed at Garveston, [...]
For the newly drafted, plucked from hometowns across the country, life in the service was an adjustment, to say the least. Terry Weber was drafted by the U.S. Army in December 1965, during the Vietnam War. Following Basic Training, he reported to Fort Polk, Louisiana for AIT in March 1966. “I don’t like the Army, [...]
Last week, we looked at chance meetings in war with the reunion of the Gage brothers at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. Today we’ll examine a similar encounter, though under the most tragic of circumstances. Brothers Pete and Tom DeBrular, orphaned at an early age, grew up and received their educations at the Indiana Masonic Home, [...]
Monday morning already? Yep, and time for the 90th Infantry Division Pic of the Week. I love this photo. You can almost feel the excitement as 90th ID soldiers gather in the town square at Susice, Czechoslovakia to listen to Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s legendary VE Day speech, informing the world of Germany’s defeat. And [...]
Wow, what a week! TGIF, and time for the Weekly History Wrap Up. Even after 150 years, the jury’s still out on Civil War notable, William Quantrill, and his legacy. The World War II battleship, USS Iowa, is heading to LA, where it will permanently dock and serve as a museum. Two World War II-era [...]