Would like to introduce a web page:

Hotel CompanyVietnam 1969 - 2nd Battalion, 26th Regiment, United States Marine Corps

http://www.maciasclan.com/USMC_H226_1969/Index.htm

This is the unit that Bob Bottoni was in. He is the son of one of our VI Corps vets, Frank Bottoni, 235th Battalion, 1108th Regiment. Bob and I had a chance to talk for quite a while at his dad's reunion, and I am more than happy to place their website here.

Make sure you check out some of the fantastic paintings that are on display in the Gallery.

While attending the 1108th Engineer 2007 reunion last week, Dawn, Scott, Ray, Cathy, Bob and I (kids of the vets), were already thinking ahead to next year. In a nutshell? Well we are looking into having the reunion in DC, so all of us can visit the WWII Memorial. I have already sent for some information to see if this is feasible.

Would like to have the other VI Corps engineer units attend too, so would love to hear from ALL OF YOU out there. I am going to present my idea at the Seahorse reunion in a few weeks. Hey, the more the merrier.

It would be fall 2008, so we could avoid the summer rush of kids and of course the hottest part of the year.

In my Dad's WWII photos, there are lots of pictures of him with a dog.

I asked Ma about it and she told me: "The dog's name is Sally and she attached herself

to your father at Anzio". HUH? How can you have a dog in the middle of a war zone??

Then I noticed "Sally" was in photos with Dad taken in Rome. How'd she get from Anzio to Rome? Dad had told my mother that somehow Sally always managed to find him amidst thousands of other GIs and that his buddies always got a kick out of it. He also said

that while walking along a road, a Nazi plane strafed their column and he dove into

a ditch & Sally dove in on top of him. Dad got some kind of injury

to his leg, but it must've been minor & they were both OK.

When I got to Dad's pictures in France - there was Sally again. C'mon!!! What'd she

do? get on an LST as part of the invasion of Southern France???

Sure enough, I found several grainy photos of Sally & you can see she's on a boat ramp

with water on either side. In one of them (I can't locate the scanned photo at the moment),

she's looking at my father holding the camera with almost an asking expression. Like

she's saying: "Can I go too?" Well, clearly the answer must've been "yes".

How in the heck did he manage THAT???

I don't know what happened to Sally when dad came home in March '45.

It must've been another loss & heartache for him to leave her behind.

Here's Dad with Sally at Anzio & Rome and Sally getting on board for Aug 15th invasion.

Anyone else know of GIs with pets in theater?

Mary Ann

Here's some fantastic info regarding Honor Flight Network.

http://www.honorflight.org/index.htm

Honor Flight is a non profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. We fly our heroes to Washington, DC to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to the senior veterans – WW II survivors along with those other veterans that may be terminally ill. Honor Flight first flew in May 2005 with six small planes flying 12 WW II veterans, departing out of Springfield, Ohio. In 2006, with a waiting list of veterans expanding rapidly, we transitioned to commercial airline carriers to accommodate the maximum number of veterans as possible. Partnering with HonorAir in Hendersonville, North Carolina and Hero Flight in Provo, Utah, we formed the “Honor Flight Network.†Together, we are aggressively expanding our programs to other cities across the nation in 2007. Based on recent statistics, we are losing WW II veterans at the rate of 1200 per day. Honor Flight will continue do whatever it takes to fulfill the dreams of our veterans and, very importantly, our senior heroes travel absolutely free.

Subsequent to the WW II veterans, our efforts will then focus on our Korean and then Vietnam veterans, honoring them similarly.

HONOR FLIGHT – our way of paying a small tribute to those that gave so much; to take a memorable, safe, and rewarding FLIGHT with HONOR!!!

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At the latest 1108th Reunion in August 2007, the planning committee, which I am now a proud member of, is considering hosting the 2008 reunion in Washington DC. This would allow many of our vets, including their families, to visit the WWII Memorial. We have already begun looking into the possibilities, and when I saw the site listed above, I thought, how perfect!

Lost-Battalions-Franz-Steidl

Picked this one up at Bargain Books for $7.

It`s a well written & researched vivid account of of the 7th Army fighting in the Vosges Mountians in the fall of 1944. It covers the actions of the 7th Army and the German 19th Army from the beaches of southern france to the Vosges, detailing the battles from Epinal to St Die, focusing on the 36th ID and the 442nd RCT.

Book Description

The story of two World War II battalions--one German, one American--each cut off behind enemy lines in the same forest at the same time, and the heroic efforts to save them--Infantry Magazine

Editorial Reviews

Many books discuss the internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II. Few, however, detail the bravery of the thousands of Nisei who volunteered for service in the U.S. Army. Although this book is not specifically about the Nisei, it covers their participation in the campaign that would make their regiment the most decorated unit in American history. In the fall of 1944, the Allies were driving hard and the Germans were falling back on all fronts. A stand was made by the Germans in the rugged terrain of the Vosges Mountains, where fighting was bitter and intense. The Nisei are not examined in a vacuum, but in conjunction with the actions of other units, both American and German. Much of the book is based on official reports and thus confusing to follow, yet it has numerous personal letters, citations for valor, and interviews that bring the participants to life. A title that will be useful for both students researching the war and those who wish to explore how people can rise above adversity to achieve lasting fame and glory.