Charles Fall served in the American Civil War with the 26th Michigan. In May 1864, General Grant launched his Overland Campaign. Opposing armies first clashed at the Battle of the Wilderness, then met outside Spotsylvania Courthouse. Fall and his 26th Michigan found themselves at the center of it all. On May 12, 1864, at dawn, [...]
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 [...]
Lt. Robert McHolland, from Hurley, Missouri, landed at Utah Beach with the 90th Infantry Division in early June 1944. His introduction to World War II came quickly, among the infamous hedgerows of Normandy. He first served as a platoon leader with Company M of the 358th Infantry. Later that summer, McHolland would be promoted to [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
It’s LFWW time again. This week we’ll feature a note from Lt. Bob Gage, of Albion, Indiana. Lt. Gage was a B-24 bomber pilot, serving with the 370th Bomb Squadron, 307th Bomb Group, 13th Air Force in the South Pacific. He and his crew had quickly made names for themselves. Lt. Gage was bumped up [...]
Hump day, and time for Letters From War Wednesdays. This October 1965 note comes from trooper, Dennis Black, who served with 1st Platoon, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Air Cav Division in Vietnam. Black had just returned to the field at the time of this writing, having healed from shrapnel wounds. The letter [...]