Eddie Wells served in Vietnam with the 321st Artillery, 82nd Airborne Division. This July 27, 1968 note home speaks of his time up north. “Well, we finally moved. We moved way up by the DMZ. We are on top of a mountain. There are mountains all around. The only way anything can be brought into [...]
With the recent natural disaster in Japan still very much on everyone’s heart, a monster World War II storm came to mind. In October 1945, a typhoon hit off the coast of Okinawa. It became known as “Typhoon Louise.” Seaman Dalles King was out to sea, aboard LST 133. “We had 80-foot swells—mountains of water!” [...]
Last Friday afternoon, a magnitude 8.9 earthquake rocked Japan. The resulting tsunami no doubt dealt even more destruction to the northeastern coastline. The city of Sendai, population one million, felt the full brunt of the blow. Our prayers are with the people of Japan. The area is certainly familiar to many American veterans. For some, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
William “Tom” Franks from Wawaka, Indiana fought in World War II with the 121st Infantry, 8th Infantry Division. He would earn two Purple Hearts in Northern Europe–shot through the neck in Normandy and later shot in the leg in the Huertgen Forest. Remarkably, he would survive both wounds. This April 1944 note home is [...]
This Wednesday, our letter comes from Albion, Indiana infantryman, Terry Weber. Weber served in the Vietnam War with Company A, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Known as the “Golden Dragons”, the unit worked the Central Highland jungles as part of Operation Paul Revere. This personal note to his family is date June 17, [...]
The origins of the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military’s highest award, can be traced to the Civil War. Fewer than 3,500 have been earned since its inception. Henry Hardenbergh was born in Noble County, Indiana in the early 1840s. He grew to manhood on a farm in York Township, west of Albion. He joined [...]
Hump day again, and time for our weekly feature, Letters From War Wednesdays. The History Junkie just doesn’t see enough out there on WWI. So let’s again take a look back at the Great War. Merriam, Indiana soldier, Virgil Winebrenner enlisted in the U.S. Army in April 1916. He was assigned to Company K, 18th [...]