FDR and MacArthur (and me) Two men we could use today. Although they had their disagreements, they left this country better than they found it. Both were larger than life and both suffered greatly in their rise to greatness. Their lives were perhaps mirror opposites. FDR, struck with polio at the age of 39, fought to overcome his disease, hiding it from the public–a feat … Continue reading Bring ’em back
Frank Merrill, William Darby, and James Rudder. Who were they and what do they have in common? Frank Merrill’s name is perhaps the most well-known of the three, the man having been the subject of a number of books and Hollywood movies. Brigadier General Frank D. Merrill headed the 5307th Composite Unit in the China-Burma-India theater during World War II. The unit, also known as “Galahad” … Continue reading WWII in Our Backyards – Georgia
During the Revolutionary War, for at least some soldiers there was no thought of celebrating Christmas. On the eve of December 25, 1776, then General George Washington crossed the frozen Delaware River to lead his cold, hungry, and tired, troops to one of the decisive battles of the war. One hundred years later, during the Civil War, the war stopped for Christmas. Troops on both … Continue reading Christmas at Wartime
George Herbert Walker Bush (and George W. Bush) Back in the year 2000, my father turned eighty. I was at a loss as to what I could give him to celebrate–like many another elderly gentleman, he had everything he needed and wanted nothing. I’d heard that the White House would send birthday greetings to seniors on their reaching major milestones: eighty, ninety, and one hundred … Continue reading Close Encounters of the Presidential Kind
The D-Day anniversary on 2019 promises to be an event you won’t want to miss. If you are planning a trip to Europe in 2019, you might want to add a little (or make that a big) side trip to Normandy. As June 2019 marks the 75th anniversary of the World War II invasion of France, there will be many, many events in the Normandy countryside … Continue reading Normandy + 75 Years
I’ve yet to trace the origin of sweetheart scarves, whether they began with WWI or earlier. What I do know is as Corporal John Lurker departed Evansville, Indiana, USA for Europe in 1918 at the height of the “war to end all wars,” my grandmother’s beau presented her with one. The scarf measures about a foot square, is trimmed in lace, and made of silk … Continue reading 100 Year-Old Memento
The events occurring on D-Day, June 6, 1944, nearly seventy-five years ago, are widely celebrated in books, films, and on any number of web sites. Some call the landings on the beaches of Normandy the most celebrated battle of the war—though there were others of equal scope and ferocity in Europe and the Pacific. But D-Day is just that, the day the invasion began and, … Continue reading After D-Day
Memorial Day this year is Monday, May 28, 2018. I’ll be wearing (or perhaps just posting) a bright red poppy over my heart to say, “I Remember.” Millions of people around the world wear a poppy on Remembrance Day to honor the fallen in World War I and other wars. In the United States we wear poppies on the Friday before Memorial Day or on … Continue reading Poppies: We Remember
