Hi Larry & Marion!! This is SO exciting! Tomorrow would've been my Dad's birthday!
He'd be tickled pink that we were talking. I have ALOT of stuff - so bear with me.
I'm attaching this photo of my dad with some special 5th army award that the company
recd for service at Anzio. You can see "206th MP co" at the bottom.
You can only upload under 100mb photos right?
It was such a blessing that my grandmother saved all my Dad's letters and photographs!
There are small scraps & pieces in them that give a special insight into what he & the
othe fellows went through. I also did alot of reading & research and was able to match
the letters & photos to war events & figure out where he was on different dates.
From WWW.army.mil, I got several great booklets on Salerno & Anzio. You might find them
helpful Larry. Also, a great book called "From The Riviera To The Rhine" by jefferey Clarke.
One of the greatest unexpected benefits that I got from doing the research on my Dad, was
a much better understanding of him as a person - as a son, husband, and father. What these
BIG, BIG men went through & sacrificed, colored the rest of their lives & they kept it to themselves - no one, even those closest, really knew anything about it. I think,in a way,this
silence was perhaps their greatest act of heroism. A daily act of valor, unnoticed during their
lifetimes, but now being witnessed by their sons & daughters so many years later.
The night that I read my dad's letters, I was up at 2am blubbering like a baby and
saying: "Oh Daddy! I'm so sorry that I didn't really understand!".
I think that's our assignment now - to understand, TELL, and appreciate.
Much more later!
All the best to you Larry & Marion!
BTW - Marion, my Dad's mother's name was Marion Josephine Howard nee Jordan
isn't that a funny coincidence?
Mary Ann