The fascinating story of Medal of Honor recipient Russell Dunham. He was responsible for taking out three German emplacements, the final two after being shot in the back and bleeding severely.
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My wife and I recently went on a bike ride to the Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary on Farley Island in Vero Beach Florida. It's a relatively new memorial park that we both believed extended the respect, honor, and dignity to all our military veterans.
He stormed the beaches at Normandy on D-Day. He led his group of 12 off the beach without suffering a single casualty. His brother Roland was to storm the Normandy beach that day. Walter would learn a month later that his brother was killed when his transport had taken a direct hit just as the ramp was being lowered. He doesn't consider himself a hero for his actions, but he does consider his brother Roland and all the other men who paid the ultimate price to be the real heroes. This year is the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. We must never forget or allow this to happen again. https://scrapbookpages.com/AuschwitzScrapbook/History/Articles/Liberation.html… 91 year old Clyde Henry Baldwin is laid to rest by hundreds who did not know him. Thank you for your service to our country. May you rest in eternal peace.
https://krdo.com/news/2020/02/07/hundreds-come-out-in-the-snow-to-honor-fallen-veteran-with-no-family/?fbclid=IwAR2FZSEEYNkYisUiQmwGVcQ0mOIqw0dSvjeMo6Hva21l_roi7TxMj7n7c2A Today, January 21, 2020, would have been Major Richard Winters 102nd birthday. He never considered himself a hero, but instead said he fought with a group heroes. Thank you for your service and sacrifice, and may you rest in peace. One of my favorite WWII films if "The Great Escape." One of the more interesting characters in the movie was Virgil Hilts, played by Steve McQueen. McQueen was actually portraying American flier, Davey Jones. Jones' military history was actually very interesting. He started as an army recruit but would find his way into the Army Air Corps where he became a pilot. Jones was one of the pilots who participated in Doolittles Raid on Tokyo. He and his crew were one of the few that made it to China and avoided capture. He would find his way back home and get sent to North Africa. It was there that his plane was shot down and he was taken prisoner and sent to Stalag Luft III where he would eventually participate in the great escape. I found his story amazing and inspirational. https://youtube.com/watch?v=lvJD3HUDYj4… https://youtube.com/watch?v=d2Hf1rKkgus… https://youtube.com/watch?v=2-H4fJsP5eg… Daniel B. Dickens, December 9, 1926, South Bend, Indiana. Only child, His father was struck by a truck and killed when he was five months old. His mother never remarried. He had one cousin who he grew up with (William Bowen) who would later be President of Princeton from 1972 until 1988. He was 2 days short of his fifteenth birthday when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. At that time he was attending high school and worked a variety of jobs to help with the family expenses. During his senior year of high school he filled out a request for officers training. He indicated that 300 male students filled out the request but only three were selected, himself and two others. He was sent to Poly Tech Institute in Terre Haute Indiana to attend officers training. After several months the top 30% of the class was sent to Indiana University to attend college and complete the remaining courses in officer training. He was there for three weeks and he hated it. He refused to attend classes, and was subjected to physical punishment before kicked out of the OCS program and returned to South Bend. This however did not release him from his military duty and he was sent along with 5000 others to a camp in Iowa for training before receiving orders that he and the others were being sent to the Pacific Theater. The Army gave him the ran of Master Sergeant and responsible for all the men on the ship. This was not a rank or responsibility that he particularly appreciated. “When they told me I had been selected to be the master sergeant I said you’re shitting me. Out of 5000 men and they pick me.” They were headed for the Philippines, when half way into the trip Japan surrendered. “We were in the middle of the ocean when we learned the Japan had surrendered. There was no celebrating. Some were actually disappointed that they would not be seeing any combat, or so they thought We ended up spending the next nine months island hopping in the Philippine Jungles, flushing out and fighting Japanese soldiers who did not know that the war had ended.” He was grateful that he would end up losing his rank of master sergeant before leaving the Philippines. “An officer came up to me and started yelling at me before ripping off my stripes. I said thank God.” “We ended up being sent to Sendai Japan. While I was there I learned that I could earn an extra fifty dollars per month if I joined the paratroopers, so I joined. I was in the 82nd paratroopers before being a part of the 101st Airborne. I sent that extra fifty bucks a month to my mother.” He would spend the next 18 months in Japan. He was sent for communication training, and would be responsible for setting up all telephone and communication systems from the southernmost Japanese island to the northernmost for all of the armed services. His position as a communication technician allowed him see a great deal of Japan including Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I was amazed at the devastation and total destruction of these two cities.” During his time in Japan he found the Japanese people to be very nice, and were thankful that the war was finally over. When asked about his discharge from the army this is what Mr. Dickens stated, “My military career ended rather unceremoniously. I was still with the paratroopers and was preparing to make a day practice jump in northern Japan. Just as we were getting ready to board the plane an officer came up to me and said that my mother had requested and had been awarded a hardship discharge because she needed help back home. I asked the officer does that mean I don’t have to jump? He told me I didn’t have to. I took off my parachute and threw it across the room. I was happy to be going home. I ended up giving my chute to a friend who sent it home to be made into a wedding dress for his fiance. My official discharge date from the Army was October 25, 1946. Upon Mr. Dickens return to the states he took advantage of the GI Bill and attended Indiana State University where he studied mathematics and physical education. His goal was to become a teacher, because he could spend his summers on Mackinac Island, Michigan. It was there that he found a part time job washing windows that first summer. He learned about a manager position with a men’s clothing store. The store manager had fallen off a horse and had broken his leg. “I interviewed with the owner telling him I knew everything about the clothing business. I didn’t know a thing. I ended up working there five years, and when the owner retired he sold me the business to me for $35,000.00. I couldn’t even spell $35,000, but I did my best. I eventually sold the business and moved back to South Bend and started another business with a partner, an office supply business. We opened up seven stores across northern Indiana. It was very successful. My partner retired and I was approached by a man who wanted to by my business. I don’t remember his name, but he would end up owning the NBA basketball team the Washington Wizards. I was in my seventies, was ready to retire so I sold my business.” He and his wife have been enjoying retirement ever since. I had the pleasure of interviewing 93 year old WWII Navy veteran Charles McCaffery. Mister McCaffrey enlisted in the Navy during his senior year of high school. He was from Medford, Massachusetts. He went to both boot camp and PT school in Rhode Island, before being sent to Milne Bay, New Guinea in September of 1944.
He was a replacement on a PT boat, serving as a Quarter Master 2nd class. He indicated that as a Quarter Master he was at the wheel of the PT boat during engagements with the enemy. All his missions were conducted at night and involved going between islands, up and down rivers to find and engage the enemy. During his tour of duty he island hopped as the allies continued their advance on Japan. He indicated that his PT boat engaged the enemy often, but declined to elaborate on specifics. I sensed that some of those stories are to painful and personal to share. He was on the island of Morotai in the Dutch East Indies when Japan surrendered in August 1945. He was sent stateside in December 1945 before being discharged in January of 1946, and he returned home to Medford, Massachusetts. Mr. McCaffrey was very guarded about his life after the war simply stating that he married and raised a family |
AuthorTadeous Furlepa is a writer who enjoys researching and writing historical World War II stories. Prior to him becoming a published author he spent more than thirty years in the IT Industry as a Senior Analyst Archives
February 2020
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