I just got down watching the family of Lt. Michael P. Murphy, who died while leading a reconnaissance mission deep behind enemy lines in Afghanistan will receive the nation’s highest military award for valor, the Medal of Honor.
As with anyone, it was very touching watching and hearing this mom, dad, brother, and one of the soldiers who was there with Michael on the recon mission.
This is my first post. My dad Sgt George Kubeck was a combat engineer in WWII. He was part of the 1251st Engineer Combat Battalion. I'm trying to find anything on the battalion. What Brigade, Division or army were they part of? My dad's records were part of the group lost in the St. Louis fire. I figured out that he was part of the 1251st by reading the back of some pictures. The Army historian was able to find only one piece of documentation listing where they were stationed for training, when they went to England and then to France. At least I know that they existed. I would appreciate any, and I mean any info that you might have encountered. When I googled it, I found several obits listing that they were members of the unit.
My dad was lucky enough to go back to Germany during the seventies on business. He managed to find the spot where they had put a bridge over the river and got to stand on the bank. He never really talked about his time in the Army, but I did ask him how it felt to go back and stand on the same spot all those years later. His response was "It was really nice to stand there without someone shooting at me".
FW: Nisei WWII Veterans Stamp Campaign seeking to get French testimony and letters of support
Aloha, Le 442nd a besoin d'aide pour que le service postal americain edite un timbre honorant nos liberateurs. Allez sur stamp kit et remplissez le formulaire pour l'envoyer le plus vite possible. Pour les Maires de Bruyeres et Biffontaine et Etienne Pourcher pouvez vous envoyer un message avec entete ou une deliberation du conseil pour demander qu'un timbre honore le 442ème. Merci d'avance Pierre
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Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2007 02:36:05 -0700 Dear Mr. Moulin,
First of all, thank you for all of the work you have done, and do, as a leading historian of the Nisei WWII veterans.
My name is Wayne Osako, the coordinator who is working on the grassroots campaign to honor these veterans with a U.S. commemorative stamp. I have a number of relatives and family friends who are among these veterans.
I noticed that you signed the online stamp petition. Thank you for that.
As you may know already, the Postal Service notified us at the end of September that its Stamp Committee will formally review our proposal at their next meeting sometime to be determined this fall. This Committee makes decisions for the Postmaster General on stamp subjects. We in the campaign are desperately gathering as much documentation as possible from a variety of sources to support the proposal. The documentation must be as convincing and impressive as possible.
One key part that is missing is testimony from France and other European nations affected by the Nisei's service during the war. We would like to ask your help in gathering documentation of support for this stamp from French people who would be willing to provide personalized letters of support in favor of the stamp. This could be done individually, or through a letter that a number of people sign. Petitions might also be circulated.
One of my relatives was a member of I Company, and a few years ago he travelled to Bruyeres, I believe, and saw a monument or memorial of some kind honoring the Nisei who liberated the town. His name is Art Iwasaki.
We in the campaign would like to see if there are any people in Bruyeres and other towns nearby who would want to help in this effort. Perhaps people of Biffontaine would also want to participate.
I'm sorry but I do not speak nor write in French, and I would need assistance in translating information about the campaign. [i have been trying to obtain the help from my French friend who lives in Japan, but I'm not sure when he can have it completed because he is very busy]. We are in a bit of a time crunch to gather letters and petitions of support from France due to the pending announcement of the Postal Service's meeting. But even if we could get a handful sent to the Stamp Committee during the next few weeks, it would be a tremendous help.
Even after the meeting of the Committee takes place, we can still gather such support and send it in. The Postal Service will probably continue to mull over the idea of a stamp for some time, perhaps even years. We in the campaign will not give up until the stamp is officially announced by the Postmaster General. We will work on growing the campaign through city and state resolutions, through petitions, and through letters and postcards of support from individuals and organizations. A Congressional Letter of Support will be circulated in Washington, DC, this month, seeking lawmakers who would sign in support of the stamp--we are trying to get Americans across the country to urge their representatives to sign.
Would you be interested in helping us extend the campaign to France? I'm sorry for being so forward in my request, without any introductions. But I wanted to at least ask if you would want to participate in any way.
Feel free to contact me anytime to discuss the campaign.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Wayne Osako
(714) 222-6530
Attachments: Campaign petition kit, and Monterey Park, Ca City Resolution (passed Oct. 3, 2007) in support of the campaign
