My dad was from Ada, OK and served as a Combat Engineer in the 303rd, 78th Division. I have the same small dusty box many of you do. It has his Bronze Star Medal, campaign ribbons, old coins, etc. Also found his scrapbook, unit history, and maps. As a child, I knew Dad was in the Army, but never heard him talk about much. Only now, after starting to research his history, have I realized how much these young men did for us. I am so proud of him. Would love to hear from other vets and their kids. Wonderful Website!

If this has already been mentioned pardon me. I am so exited after just reading that Ken Burns, who produced the award winning documentary on The Civil War is making another series...this time about WWII. The series will be 14 and a half hours in length, airing on PBS in September. After he finished making the Civil War in 1990 Mr. Burns vowed he was done making movies, but changed his mind because he felt there are too many kids in this generation that think that WWII was fought only by Germany against Russia. If any of you have seen his film "The Civil War" you will understand why I am so exited about this...can't wait!

Jim

Friggin' dumbass. I don't know why there is a place in our society for people that do stuff like this.

A motorist drove a car through West Virginia's open-air, pedestrians-only Veterans Memorial early Sunday morning, damaging at least one black granite panel that lists the state's war dead, authorities said. State Administration Secretary Rob Ferguson, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, described the damage as extensive.

"There's got to be a couple hundred thousand dollars worth of damage,'' Ferguson said as he surveyed the memorial. "They really took it out.''

Artist P. Joseph Mullins, who designed the memorial and sculpted its four statues, was pleased the damage was not worse. Besides the cracked panel, the memorial had red paint scrapes and at least two limestone barricades were knocked over.

"It suffered the slings and arrows of this outrage,'' said Mullins, a U.S. Army veteran. "It has to withstand the Visigoths, and it stood up pretty well in this instance.''

The Charleston Police Department cited Newton resident Howard Roland Gentry, 59, for leaving the scene of an accident and failure to maintain control. A voicemail message left at Gentry's residence was not immediately returned.

A police complaint alleges Gentry drove onto the Capitol Complex sometime between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. and tried unsuccessfully to drive his Subaru up the steps of the state Cultural Center.

Next, Gentry allegedly drove across the grounds, knocked over a limestone barricade and drove through the memorial.

After exiting on the other side, Gentry allegedly knocked over a second limestone barricade and a light pole, according to the complaint. Gentry left the Capitol Complex and drove onto Interstate 77, where he was stopped at the Westmoreland Road exit approximately three miles away.

Mullins said steel and glass bridges that cross the memorial's reflecting pool must be inspected for structural damage because they were not designed to hold vehicles.

Left unscathed were the memorial's four bronze statues, each representing both a branch of the U.S. military and the four major wars of the 1900s.

The black granite panels line the interiors of the four limestone columns and list the more than 10,000 West Virginians killed during the U.S. conflicts of the 20th Century. Dedicated in 1995, the memorial has become a popular feature of the state Capitol Complex. The state has been raising funds to correct misspellings and add names to the panels.

http://www.wvgazette.com/section/News/2007032517

http://news.aol.com/photos/_p/veterans-mem...325163009990004

Given to me by James Hennessey

Easter in a Foxhole

http://namtour.com/EasterinaFoxhole.html

Received this from Howard Huebner, 82nd Airborne, 507th PIR. This is correspondence between a few people:

24 March 1945 was the defining moment for the troops of the 17th Airborne

Division. Not much was written about that event in history because someone

had tipped off the Germans on the date, time and place of our attack. Wounded

German prisoners under my care told me that they knew. We lost a thousand men

in that one day. In Iraq, we are losing 1000 a year!

Painful either way, but absolutely shocking in 1945. It was also embarrassing

to IKE and to our military command to have a mole (spy) embedded in their

headquarters..

Bill

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Flory, Lilly and Joe Somers: and others:

In 'ein Augenblick', it is now 62 years since the most desperate

time of our lives.

I appreciated hearing from you, and I thank you all for what you are

doing for the troops we had left behind. The average age of

them who had given up their lives in 1945 was about 21 years old.

Had they lived on, they would now all be over 80 years old. For the

value of your prescious freedom and our own, they had each given

up a lifetime of years for family, children, grandchildren, and the joy

of living into old age.

They must now all be in agreement that their sacrifice was worth it to

know that you all have regained your freedom and culture, and that

there had not been another war on your land for several generations

already, and, hopefully, for many more generations yet to come.

I am certain they would have all appreciated your dedicated efforts

of homage and honor to their remains interred in your land in your care.

I look forward to meeting those of you who plan to attend our final reunion.

I understand Real Desmarets is planning to come too.

I am the Hospitality Chairman at our reunions, and I look forward to meeting

and helping you in October 2007 when you arrive at the 17th Airborne

Registration Desk.

Sincerely,

Bill Tom

TFH Mail Call Editor.

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----- Original Message ----

From: Lilly Somers

Hello dear friends,

Today we remembered what happened 62 years ago. Together with some other friends of the 17th Airborne Division we visited the Margraten cemetery to decorate graves. This year the weather on Varsity day was very cold and rainy. In the Ardennes even is some snow on the ground.

Flory together with Mr. Pierre Ackermans and Mr. Joe Bisscheroux. We do meet them every year.

Flory Somers together with Mr. John Smeets, Luc Horc, Jos Bex and Pierre Ackermans.

All friends together at the cemetery entrance. Two other friends are not on the picture. From the left to the right:

Frank Bontje, Pierre Ackermans, Joe Bisscheroux, Joe Somers, John Smeets, Flory Somers, Luc Horc, Jos Bex.

Frank Bontje came whole the way from Amsterdam. And Jos Bex came whole the way from Arnhem to the cemetery.

Mr. Smeets, Horc and Bex are going to attend the next and last 17th Airborne Division reunion.

Sincerly,

Lilly, Flory and Joe Somers