Hours before any of the Allied soldiers landed into Normandy from the sea, tens of thousands of American Paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne were dropped behind the assault beaches on June 6, 1944, 72 years ago today to guard the flanks against German counterattack. Most of the transport pilots flying the Airborne troopers to their Drop Zones had never flown through anti-aircraft fire before and that, combined with fog and low cloud, caused wide dispersal of the aircraft,…..
I was born in Huntington, West Virginia in1948. I was with the 101st Airborne, 1/506 and was trained in Artillery, transferred to Infantry and then trained to be a Forward Observer. The first picture shows me in Nam. Like many other soldiers, I was only 19 years old. My brothers joined the Navy. But I joined the Army and wanted to go Airborne. The training camp was kind of hard, as I was 18 and a little homesick. I came…..
This is Sgt. Andrew Davis. He was a United States Marine who served in the Persian Gulf and Iraq. He was awesome and very talented, thoughtful, outgoing, and loved by everyone. He loved to sing. Here is a glimpse of Andrew with moments of his life www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-1QX4-QiEM Andrew was my daughter’s boyfriend and one of my son’s best friends. He had Post Traumatic Stress issues and took his own life… May he sing among the Angels every day. ~ Letty…..
Mother’s older brother, my Uncle Frank G. Daurte was born in March of 1924. He served in WWII, KOREA, and VIETNAM and is a true Hero to me. I had the honor to walk with this great man. I’ll tell you this Uncle Frank was very stern with us boys. Uncle Frank’s little brother ‘ Jack ‘ also served in WWII as a Merchant Marine. I wanted to see him one last time in full-dress but back then we were…..
This picture was taken of my Dad, Robert F. Drake on April 22,1944 in his Army Air Corps Uniform. During WWII he was a Medic in the Army Air Corps. He quit high school and enlisted, He did not wait to be drafted even though he was a Brethren and a conscientious objector, which in part why he was a Medic. They did not carry guns. But it turned out that Dad was an expert shot. From what I have…..
During WWII, Dad served in the Signal Corps. He used to talk about the Philippines and Japan. But he never saw combat. Dad’s brother and my other two uncles served in the quartermaster and paratroopers, also during WWII. They never talked too much about their wartime experience. My oldest brother who has since passed was in the army drill team and served for three years. I am proud of leaving high school and going into the Army. It taught me…..
My father-in-law was in the Korean War and received a Purple Heart. My father was in the Korean War and my husband is a Captain in the USAF. Our son has beem in the USAF for thirteen years. From left to right is: Henry David Dempsey ‘ Korea’ Thomas Jr Van Buren ‘Korea Capt,James Thomes Van Buren USAF Jonathan David Van Buren USAF Sharing our veteran stories one day at a time www.JennyLasala.com
Today we attended the annual luncheon and met so many wonderful veterans of all wars! Pictured here with me is Neil Hansen, one of the 69 Vietnam Veterans whose story appears in the book, NEVER FORGOTTEN, The Vietnam Veteran Fifty Years Later. General Baker was among some of the speakers today and said that the best way to help those serving is to help those who serve, wise words to live by. Collecting our veteran’s stories one day at a…..
Capt. Joe Geiger was born in Rochester, New York and served with the US Army with a deployment to Afghanistan in 2011. His ancestors fought in the Amy all the way back to the Revolutionary War. Joe served in the U.S. Army with training in Field Artillery. He led soldiers, computed firing data, fired cannons; called in artillery and mortar fire and helicopter and air strikes while imbedded with the infantry during his deployment to Afghanistan in 2011. Joe got…..
“My Heroes are those who risk their lives every day to protect our world and make it a better place – police, firefighters, and members of our armed forces.” ~ Sidney Silver Josh Weddell is an Iraq War Veteran from Selkirk, New York. He wouldn’t trade his military experience for anything. His grandfather William E. Weddell was a veteran of WWII. He was part of the United States Army Band and actively played in the band during WWII. Josh’s other…..
