Our Texas friend, Aggie alum, dedicated follower of the site and 90th Infantry Division veteran, Joel Harrell, informed us of an interesting update to the story of World War II Medal of Honor recipient, Turney Leonard. Leonard graduated from Texas A & M University in 1942 and joined the U.S. Army shortly after. He served [...]
This Wednesday’s Letter From War comes to us from World War II. Ed McGinley landed on Normandy’s bloody Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944, with the 115th Infantry, 29th Infantry Division. McGinley survived to fight through the hedgerows of Normandy. He and his unit helped secure St. Lo before heading west. By the time [...]
Last Thursday, we ran a post regarding a most interesting wayside cross. If you remember the site lies at the intersection of roads D-15 and D-24, just west of Pont l’Abbe in the Normandy region of France. Hobert Winebrenner, author of BOOTPRINTS, and his unit, the 358th Infantry, 90th Infantry Division, helped liberate the area. [...]
Well, it was high school sectional basketball finals weekend here in Indiana. Honestly, a very big deal. Hope your team did well. But now, it’s Monday, and time for the 90th Infantry Division Picture of the Week. How about a snapshot from Bruville, France?
Friday! Friday! Friday! And the best part? Time for the History Junkie’s Weekly History Wrap-Up. Tough question in D.C. Where will the U.S. Navy Museum be located? Seriously, what did we do before the ratification of the U.S. Constitution? How did we govern? Can anyone say, Articles of Confederation? Yes, I’m man enough to admit [...]
In June 1944, the 90th Infantry Division continued to push its way west from Utah Beach. German defenses within the Normandy interior proved stout. American soldiers fought for any and all ground gained, mile by mile, town by town. In BOOTPRINTS, Hobert Winebrenner speaks of the liberation of the villages Picauville and Pont l’Abbe, [...]
Hump day again. For this week’s Letters From War Wednesday, let’s go back to World War II. Burton Wray Matteson served as a medical attendant aboard U.S. Army Transports in the Pacific Theater. I absolutely love his sense of humor. This note to his parents comes from the summer of 1944, while Matteson was working [...]
Germany’s Hurtgen Forest saw some of the most brutal fighting of World War II. In fact, for the U.S., it still stands as the longest running battle in history, spanning from September 1944 to February 1945. U.S. First Army casualties topped 33,000. Tom Franks, from Wawaka, Indiana, fought in Northern Europe with Company I, 121st [...]
Although the phrase is probably overused, some pictures do “say a thousand words.” Case in point, this 90th Infantry Division photo from Bavigne, Luxembourg, and the Battle of the Bulge.
More snow and ice this morning. School’s canceled again. Winter in late February … I’m over it. Let’s put a lid on this past week with our Weekly History Wrap-Up. In 2000, a marker was erected in Pinal County, Arizona dedicated to all those who had earned the Purple Heart. I like it! With all [...]