Capturing WWII Stories, One Veteran at a Time
'Journey to Royal' is a new, exciting docudrama that highlights the peril of flight crew members during WWII. Have you seen the new docudrama ‘Journey to Royal’ that was released on Amazon in February? It includes stories of World War II veterans involved in rescues (or their families in some cases). While the film highlights... Continue Reading →
Betty White Dybbro volunteered to serve in the WASP program during WWII. She was one of just over 1,000 women to fly American military aircraft -- a first in the history of the world. In keeping with my weekly posts this March about military women during World War II, I’m including an excerpted story of... Continue Reading →
Have you struggled with being forced to stay at home, had your food supply limited, been forced to conduct your life much differently than the past? Then you'll know in a small way how POW's felt during WWII. August 20 was celebrated as POW/ MIA Day. Those military acronyms stand for “Prisoner of War” and “Missing... Continue Reading →
2nd Lt. Jack Humbrecht 1944 The myriad of ways people find to show support to our military are impressive. Recently I had the honor and privilege to meet a World War II veteran who participated in a ‘virtual’ Honor Flight of Northeast Indiana. During the war, Jack Humbrecht was flying a B-17 over occupied Poland... Continue Reading →
“Spectacular!” That’s how Lucille Clarke, 98-year-old Navy WAC (pictured above) who served as a secretary during World War II, described her experience at my book launch on Nov 3 at Allen County Public Library which hosted the event. Lucille is one of 34 World War II veterans whose stories are told in my book, We... Continue Reading →
It’s part of the nature of my project of interviewing some of our nation’s eldest military veterans so I should expect it. With many of them well into their 90s, I have to face the fact that they will all someday be deceased. Still, it is hard to receive that kind of news. Recently, I... Continue Reading →
D-Day. June 6, 1944. Possibly only a handful of dates in our nation’s military history are more well- known other than Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941). D-Day was a top secret event that had been planned for months. Every branch was involved in storming the beaches of Normandy France to overcome Hitler's forces. Here are a few... Continue Reading →
“For more than a year it was a steady routine of dropping bombs and encountering enemy fighters and heavy accurate flak,” he said. His longest mission to Nagoya lasted 18 hours. During the war, Bates flew 33 missions over Japan in B29s.
