In Sourbrodt, at a place called Bosfagnes, just some 100 yards away from the German World War Two former Russian Labor Prisoner Camp, there is a small monument to commemorate the lost of a British Royal Air Force Bomber. (GPS Location : 06″08″02″E – 50″29″14″N
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Mar
27
2009
Category : Fields Researches, War Remains Related
Mar
27
2009
Category : Russia
I’ve found these informations interesting and that’s why I am making a post of it. Note that the website where I found these is located in Russia and here is the URL : wio.ru
Make sure to visit the site because it’s full of interesting others World War Two informations.
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Mar
27
2009
I got these photos from the family of my wife, she’s German, and I served 2 years in the Belgian Army, Siegen (Germany) 17RAV-TPT.
Note the marked soldier and the HJ boy is my GranPa (wife side) and he came bad from Russia in 1949 after being catched in South Russia in 1943.
He was really a nice and a great man and I loved him.
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Mar
27
2009
Category : North-Africa
319.1/48 (Foreign Obsrs) (S) GNGBI. (3-29-43)
SUBJECT: Observer Report.
E. S. Johnson, Col Infantry / Observator
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Mar
26
2009
As time goes by memories seems to be blown away. In some Belgian cities you will have to find old peoples if you want to hear something about World War Two. In some major cities there is nothing that could tell to someone that a war happened there during the 40s.
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Mar
26
2009
Category : Veterans Taps
Dale C Heuer
World War Two Veteran
A Co, 1st Bn, 193rd Glider Infantry Regiment
17th A/B Division – 1st AA/B Army
31-07-1923 – 18-06-2008
Margaret A. Heuer
22-02-1927 – 14-12-2008
It is with a heavy heart and my deepest sympathy that we belatedly learn of the passing of another of our Distinguished Veterans and a Valued Comrade. This notice was particularly sad because it includes the death of his lovely Wife just five months later. In a letter to Mich Stinchcomb Mr. Craig Heuer informed us that his Father, Mr. Dale C Heuer, Co A, 193rd GIR passed away on 18 June 2008 followed by his Mother Mrs Margaret A Heuer on 14 December 2008. Through the information provided I was able to contact the Heuer Family and the Funeral Home to obtain the essential information for this message. Ms Cheryl Zeiser, Administrative Assistant at the Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home was extremely helpful.
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Mar
25
2009
Category : EUCMH Mails Center
TREASURED LETTERS FROM THE PAST
From : Karin Lindsay
Newsletter : I Co, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment
Author : Captain Ivan R. Hershner
Affectation : HQ, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment (43-45)
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Mar
22
2009
A Short History of the Parachute and
the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment
(Chip Cifone USA & Gunter G. Gillot Jr BE)
Parachute and Umbrellas :
It seems that the first draw of a parachute look like things was made in China some 2000 years before JC. As the story told us, Shun, the Emperor itself trapped in his burning palace used some large umbrella (not sponsored by Coca Cola) to jump out of a window and landed relatively safely on the ground.
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Mar
20
2009
Category : Archives Movies, Bombing Berlin
Another very nice World War Two (Universal Newsreel). Interesting but poor quality (screener) : Bombs away over Berlin, German POW in the USA, Japs Air Force …
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Mar
15
2009
Category : Veterans Taps
It is with a heavy heart and my deepest sympathy that we learn of the passing of another of our Distinguished Veterans and a Valued Comrade. Through a message from Mr Gene Herrmann we learned that Mr Frank E Leciejewski, Btry B, 681st Gld Fld Arty Regt, passed away on 11 March 2009. Because the Leciejewski Family had moved into an Assisted Living Facility I was unable to contact Mrs Genevieve Leciejewski, his Widow. I was able to contact his Son, Mr Frank A Leciejewski, who provided the essential information for this message.
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Mar
14
2009
Category : Army Air Forces
This is the second part of this study on the United States Army Air Force in World War Two. This part contains the list of the Air Force Groups.
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Mar
14
2009
Category : Army Air Forces
At the peak of its strength in World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (AAF) had more than 2.400.000 men and women in uniform. There were pilots, navigators, bombardiers, gunners, and radio operators, clerks and typists, artists and flautists, teachers, mechanics, statisticians, and engineers-for it took many talents and skills to conduct and support the war in the air. All these persons, from privates to generals, had to be welded into an organization capable of giving direction and coordination to their diverse activities. For combat the men were formed into squadrons, and squadrons into groups. Above the groups were wings, and wings were organized into commands, and commands into the 16 air forces of the AAF. The upper part of the structure had to be built while the war was on, but the foundation WAS old. Some of the squadrons, two of the groups, and one wing had combat records from the First World War. One squadron, the oldest in the Air Force, could trace its history back to 1913.
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Mar
13
2009
Category : War Politic Papers
Notes of Lecture by Major Percy G. Black, Military Attaché, Berlin Embassy.
Col Rehkopf : For the past three years Maj Percy G. Black has been Attaché and Assistant Attaché at Berlin. He returned last week and this morning comes to the War College his very recent and first-hand information on that absorbing subject. I present to you Major Black.
General Peyton and Gentlemen :
This morning, I am not going to give a continuously lecture, I am simply going to try to touch on some of the high points, particularly of the Polish campaign and of the organization of the General Army and some of the factors which made this campaign one of the most outstanding in history. I am bringing out these points with a view to you asking questions afterwards. There isn’t time to cover the whole subject but I want to touch on the high points which perhaps will give a lead to questions. I have one request to make and that is that the questions I be confined to military and not to political subjects. I am going to diverge a little from my program and start in by talking of the morale and conditions in Germany at the moment. I know you will be interested in that and I think that perhaps a false impression has been created in the United States in the press.
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Mar
12
2009
Category : 1914-1918, US AEF Papers
The Art of War has no traffic with rules, for the infinitely varied circumstances and conditions of combat never produce exactly the same situation twice. Mission, terrain, weather, dispositions, armament, morale, supply, and comparative strength are variables whose mutations always combine to form a new tactical pattern.
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Mar
12
2009
Journal Entries of Major Paul Bystrak. He was in the 1st Quatermaster [QM] Company, 1st Infantry Division, December 15, 1944
Location CP : Hauset (vic) (Belgium)
Location ICP : Neu Moresnet (Belgium)
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Mar
09
2009
Category : Veterans Taps
It is with a heavy heart and my deepest sympathy that we belatedly learn of the passing of another of our Distinguished Veterans and a Valued Comrade. Through a fellow trooper we learned that Mr. Walter Epprecht, Co C, 194th GIR, passed away on 22 May 2007. I was very fortunate to contact his Widow, Mrs Ilse Epprecht, this morning.
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Mar
09
2009
Category : Militaria Shop
There are some items ready to be swaped for American Items and / or Archives.
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Mar
08
2009
146-1121/ECG, Capt Arthur Hill, CO H&S Co, pictured in Verviers, Green Square (Place Verte) in November-December 1944.
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Mar
08
2009
Nice pictures from my own photos collection about the German Paratroopers (Fallschirmjäger).
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Mar
08
2009
War is over in Europe and the US Army and it’s Allies are in Germany. They all have a new job to do : cleaning Krautsland from the Nazis. That why the War Department requested the following movie.
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Mar
08
2009
Category : Luftwaffe, Walter Oesau
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Walter Oesau was born on June 28 1913 at Farnewinkel in the Dithmarschen region of Schleswig-Hostein. He went into the Reichsarbeitsdienst [RAD] in 1933 and then joined the Army, serving as a private in an artillery regiment. By 1934 he had become a Fahnenjunker and began flying training with the Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule. He entered the Luftwaffe at about the time it was founded and, with his flying training completed, in 1937 he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 132 ‘Richthofen’ as a Leutnant.
In April 1938, Lt Oesau volunteered for service in the Spanish Civil War and was sent to join J/88 where he flew the He 51 biplane with 3. Staffel. He claimed his first victory on 15 July, his second on the 17th and his third victory a day later.
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Mar
08
2009
Category : Books Reviews
Let me recommend, “Once Upon A Time In War : The 99th Division in World War II,” published by the University of Oklahoma Press, November, 2008. It is a narrative history that begins with Pearl Harbor and ends with family reunions back home in 1945. The book is based on interviews with more than 350 veterans of the Division, so it focuses on the experiences, emotions, hardships, and behavior or ordinary GI who fought in Northern Europe.
Robert E. Humphrey
Professor
Sacramento State University
Sacramento, CA
Mar
07
2009
Category : Books Reviews
Willis S. Cole, Jr., known to most as “Sam,” has a life-long interest in military history. For more than sixteen years Sam has been intensely researching the crashes of two American World War Two bombers in France.
One, the “Lady Jeannette,” is a dual Congressional Medal of Honor B-17G, that crashed on November 1944, the other is a Top-Secret B-24J, flying a Top-Secret night mission while attached to the RAF, that crashed in the early morning of 10 November 1944.
In 1997, Sam wrote the nonfiction military history book, “The Last Flight of The Lady Jeannette,” about the dual Congressional Medal of Honor, B-17G, “Lady Jeannette.”
Using available official records, hundreds of interviews with survivors, the French in the area where the B-17G supposedly crashed, the
families of those who died in the crash, and the families of those who survived and had later died. The book proved the “Lady Jeannette” had crashed near Tincourt-Boucly, in the Department of the Somme, France.
In the summer of 1998, with newly acquired physical evidence from the supposed “Lady Jeannette” crash-site, Sam then began to prove all the official records, except for the Graves Registration records for the dead were false. And even those records were somewhat false, with two of those GR records showing they had been tampered with, after their creation. As the new evidence prove beyond dispute, two American bombers were now involved, the “Lady Jeannette”, that had crashed at another, unknown, location, and a newly discovered B-24.
In due time the Air Force Historical Research Agency, the Air Force, the National Archives and open-minded military historians had to agree the “Lady Jeannette” did not crash where the false official records state she had crashed. In fact, it was the newly identified Top-Secret B-24J, shot down by American “Friendly-Fire,” that did crash at that location.
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Mar
07
2009
There are the 14 shots for March 2009. Sorry I forgot to post the January and February 14 shots because I was doing the site a major upgrade. So I am back at it now while I still have 50 percent of the site to restore. Remember that your are welcomed to comment these photos.
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Mar
07
2009
Category : Cavalry Troops
The 6/CG-Mecz, under command of Col Edward M. Fickett and consisting of the 6-Sq/6CG and 28-Sq/6CG, landed in France on Jul 10 1944. The group was trained for the mission of establishing the Army Information Service for Gen George S. Patton’s Third Army while in England and in Normandy.
In July 1944, the Third Army became operational and with the 6/CG attached. Until Nov 1 1944 the group operated the Army Information Service, performing an invaluable mission for the Army Commander in keeping him completely informed as to the activities and location of his forward troops.
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Mar
07
2009
Category : Archives Movies, DDay minus One
Review from Christine Henning, USA
The story of the paratroop and glider corps, who landed in France the day before D-Day and cleared the way for the invasion, is told with first person narration. It’s actually a fairly compelling story, which impresses you with the bravery of the men involved. The footage is excellent, giving you a real feel for what it must have been like to be over there.
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Mar
07
2009
A nice and fairly accurate portrayal of combat in the Aleutians. One item I thought very interesting was the lack of mention regarding the large Canadian contribution to this theater. I would have to guess it was not considered appropriate for the home audience in the US at the time.
Considering the minor theater the Aleutians seemed to be view as it is a great tribute to this campaign. I found the scenes of vastness of the area amazing. The views of old aircraft in action would be of great interest to aviation fans. For most people, I’m sure this is film will be the only views of the Aleutian Islands most people will ever see !
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Mar
06
2009
Within a fortnight I was driving a new general, Carl (Tooey) Spaatz. The now-famous and retired Tooey Spaatz was, in early 1942, a grimly silent major general. As chief of the new Eighth Air Force, he had a gigantic job. And he spent every waking moment pondering over problems involved in the daring principle of daylight bombing. A rather unspectacular, balding man who would hardly stand out in a crowd, he called to mind that pensive statue : The Thinker. He concentrated so intensively that I often thought he was asleep. Naturally, he had no time for the ordinary little details of everyday life. He was, in fact, coldly impatient with them. That’s how I came to drive for General Spaatz. His temper had finally boiled over because his sergeant was late again in arriving at a conference. The Yank chauffeur was naturally bewildered like many other Americans by the maze of tangled little streets which history had forced upon London. When the General heard of my MTC experience, he requested that I be loaned out to his headquarters immediately.
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Mar
05
2009
Category : War Trials Related
Joachim Peiper (SS #132) was born in Berlin, Germany, on Jan 30, 1915. His father, Waldemar Peiper, was a career Army officer in German’s Imperial Army who fought in East Africa during World War I. He married, in 1909, Charlotte Marie Schwartz from Berlin. Joachim Peiper had two brothers, Hans-Hasso and Horst (both in the SS, one drowned with the Bismark while the other was ’suicided’ in Poland for obscure reasons.
Peiper was just 18 when, in 1933, he decided to join his brother Horst in the Hitlerjugend. In order to learn riding, he first enlisted in the 7. SS Reiterstandarte, on Oct 12.
In 1934 he caught the attention of SS Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler who convinced him to enlist with the SS Verfügungstruppe. In 1935, Peiper attended the SS officer’s training school (Junkerschule) in Braunschweig and was commissioned the following year.
On Apr 1, 1936, he was transferred to the Leibstandarte, where he was later appointed adjutant to Himmler. He held this position until Aug 1941. During this period, he temporarily left his duties and actively took part in the Battle of France.
In August 1941, he returned to the front lines and commanded various infantry and panzer units within the Leibstandarte, by now expanded to a full division.
While on Himmler’s staff, Peiper also met and married his wife, Sigurd ‘Sigi’ Hinrichsen, (she war working in Himmler’ General Staff) with whom he had three children : Hinrich, Elke, and Silke. Himmler was particularly fond of Peiper and took a keen interest in his ascension towards command. By age 29, Peiper was a full colonel of the Waffen-SS, well respected and a holder of one of wartime Germany’s highest decorations, the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, personally awarded to him by Adolf Hitler.
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