 |
|
 |
| A
TIME TO REFLECT – The
newly opened World War II Memorial on the National
Mall in Washington, D.C., was dedicated May 29.
It honors the 16 million who served in the armed
forces of the United States during World War II,
the more than 400,000 who died, and the millions
who supported the war effort from home. In creating
this photo illustration of the memorial, Navy Lt.
Cmdr. Jane Campbell said she wanted to contrast the
black and white photographic images of that era with
the colorful reflections told by veterans of the "greatest
generation." Defense Department photo illustration
by Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jane Campbell |
|
| National World War II Memorial Dedication |
 |
| By Master Sgt. Bob Haskell / National Guard Bureau |
WASHINGTON — Three men who are pushing 80 or who have already passed that milestone of longevity and who were soldierly trim on Memorial Day weekend represented the way that young men served and fought in 19 National Guard infantry divisions during World War II.
They were present and accounted for, with tens of thousands of comrades in arms from their youth and other members of the “greatest generation,” during the dedication of the National World War II Memorial on sunny, somber May 29.
David Mealor, 81, of Newnan, Ga., recalled enlisting in the Guard’s 31st Division in November 1940 after being told he would be able to go home after training for a year and that he would not be drafted. More |
|
WW
II Vet Recalls
Battles in Pacific,
First
Use of Radar |
| By
Rudi Williams / American Forces Press Service |
WASHINGTON,
May 31, 2004 – With the dedication
of the National World War II Memorial
here, the Memorial Day weekend has brought
much overdue attention to the men and
women whose efforts helped to win the
war in two theaters of combat.
Warburton Miller was revved up to help win the
war in the Pacific during World War II, but when he read newspaper accounts he
didn't know if he'd get the chance. "I was scared to death the war was going
to be over before I got out there to fight," the 82-year-old retired Naval
Reserve captain said.
But it was a different story when he got there.
The United States was a long way from winning, and the war was a long way from
being over, he said. Story |
|
|
World
War II Vet Fred Garrison Says
'War is Hell,'
But Sometimes Necessary |
 |
| By
Rudi Wiliams / American Forces Press Service |
WASHINGTON,
May 30, 2004 – "Any person who
says they wasn't scared in combat,
they're a … liar!" exclaimed World
War II veteran Fred Garrison of Harford
County, Md. "I was so scared one time
I think smoked a pack of cigarettes in
five minutes. I thought I was going to die,
but I made it."
Now a pipe smoker,
Garrison was decked out in his World War II
uniform on the
National Mall where the largest gathering
of World War II veterans since 1945
mustered for the dedication of a memorial
in their honor May 29.
The Mall was awash
in patriotism, and tens of thousands of spectators
and proud veterans like Garrison, who spent most
of his war time with the 551st
Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, keeping
all eyes peeled for the German air
force. Story
|
|
|
| Civilian
Women Played Major Role in World War II |
| By
Rudi Williams / American Forces Press Service |
WASHINGTON,
May 30, 2004 – No one knows what
the outcome of World War II would
have been if more than 18 million women hadn't
worked in home-front defense
industries to free men for overseas battlefields
and to keep the nation
running.
World
War II factory worker Thelma M. Snyder believes
the war would not have been won without the
help of millions of women on the home front.
And she's
right, according to historians.
Women across
America – Snyder, a former
country schoolteacher among them – gave
up their jobs to work in the defense industry,
performing jobs previously reserved for men.
Story
|
|
|
| Coast
Guardsman More Than Witness at Iwo Jima |
|
| By
PA2 Judy L. Silverstein /
Seventh District Public Affairs team |
 BOCA
RATON, Fla. – In the shadow
of Mt,. Suribaichi, a young quartermaster
patrols the deck of LST-758. The year is
1945. Naval guns thunder and the buzz of
bullets punctuate the air as a bloody battles
rages on Iwo Jima.
"Men were dying by the score. I watched
it in utter sadness and terror for them, “ said
Robert L. Resnick, 82, a Coast Guard veteran
and quartermaster on LST -758, beached
off the island that historic day. “I
thought what a horrible thing is happening.
I was an eyewitness to the sad, horrible
day," he said.
"It was
a slaughter, a horrible thing right on
the beach.”
It was a day that has
become the key symbol of the Marine Corps.
Resnick was much more than a witness. Shortly
after the tide turned in that bloody battle,
he provided the stars and stripes and staff
that enabled U.S. Marines to plant the
American flag on the island, a moment captured
on film and relived for generations to
come. Story
|
|
|
Inspiring Words Grace
World War II Memorial Walls |
| By Rudi Williams / American Forces Press Service |
 |
WASHINGTON, May 28, 2004 – Inspirational tributes and poignant quotations from famous, important military and civilian figures are inscribed into the walls around the National World War II Memorial.
The memorial's announcement stone reads, "Here in the presence of Washington and Lincoln, one the 18th century father and the other the 19th century preserver of our nation, we honor those 20th century Americans who took up the struggle during the Second World War and made the sacrifices to perpetuate the gift our forefathers entrusted to us: a nation conceived in liberty and justice." Story |
|
WWII Memorial Sculpture
Panels Depict Contributions |
| By Rudi Williams / American Forces Press Service |
 |
WASHINGTON, May 28, 2004 – The National World War II Memorial features a series of 24 sculpture panels on its ceremonial entrance walls.
Twelve panels each depict the Atlantic and Pacific war fronts.
Each bronze panel is a raised, sculptured image, most based on historical photos. Created by sculptor Ray Kaskey, the panels represent the country's transformation into the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
American Battle Monuments Commission officials said the panels depict the all- out mobilization of America's agricultural, industrial, military and human resources that transformed the country into the arsenal of democracy as well as the breadbasket of the world. Story |
 |
| The Commemorative Area of the National World War II Memorial recognizes the sacrifice of America's "greatest generation" and the contribution of our allies. A field of 4,000 sculpted gold stars on the Freedom Wall commemorates the more than 400,000 Americans who gave their lives, and symbolized the sacrifice of families across the nation. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Daniel J. McLain |
| Memorial Day Activities Honor World War II Veterans, Families |
| By Karla L. Gonzalez / Army News Service |
WASHINGTON, May 24, 2004 – Nearly 60 years after they fought oversees, veterans of the Second World War and their contributions will be honored in the nation’s capital over the Memorial Day weekend.
The Soldiers' Chorus with the Armed Forces Chorus and Marine Orchestra will perform at the National World War II Memorial dedication ceremony May 29. Performances begin at 10 a.m. with the dedication ceremony at noon at the memorial. The chorus will perform a mix of patriotic music and hymns.
Story |
| Memorial Deserves Location |
| Commentary |
| By Jim Garamone / American Forces Press Service |
WASHINGTON, May 26, 2004 – When organizers first proposed placing the National World War II Memorial on the National Mall, critics complained.
They said the memorial would spoil the ambience of the National Mall.
Proponents of the memorial countered that the site
- between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument - emphasized the crucial
role World War II has had in shaping the United States and the world. It's hard
to argue with their logic.
World War II was as central to the 20th century
as the American Civil War was to the 19th. We continue to be affected by that
global conflict as we proceed through the 21st century.
The proponents fortunately
won that argument, and the monument on the National Mall will be dedicated May
29. Story |
|
|
Stars & Stripes Offers
Guide for World War II Reunion |
| American Forces Press Service |
WASHINGTON, May 26, 2004 – The military's Stars and Stripes newspaper, in partnership with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and the American Battle Monuments Commission, has produced a guide and commemorative program for the National World War II Reunion to be held on the National Mall here May 27 to 30.
The program – "Tribute to a Generation" – includes a special events map and agenda; historic Stars and Stripes photos, Bill Mauldin cartoons and newspaper covers; as well as special tributes from Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi, District of Columbia Mayor Anthony A. Williams, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lawrence M. Small and Stars and Stripes Publisher Thomas E. Kelsch.
In addition to providing the commemorative program, Stars and Stripes also has arranged for several World War II veterans of the newspaper and Yank magazine to speak on May 30. Story |
|
|
 |
|
| SHARING STORIES — Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Corey Lewis, a photographer's mate, poses with World War II veteran Stephen E. Kanyusik at the Navy's Battle of Midway Memorial Ceremony at the Navy Memorial in Washington, May 28, 2004. Kanyusik joined the Navy in 1942, and served as a photographer's mate onboard the USS Ranger. The two photographers met and shared stories at the ceremony which drew hundreds of Navy veterans in town for the dedication of the World War II Memorial May 29. Defense Dept. photo by Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jane Campbell |
|
|
|
Army Reservist Says Memorial
'One of Best on National Mall' |
| By Rudi Williams / American Forces Press Service |
WASHINGTON, May 25, 2004 – The sad thing about the official dedication of the long-awaited tribute to "the greatest generation" on May 29 is that "a lot of veterans won't be able to see this memorial," Roderick "Rod" V. Bell, the assistant project manager of the World War II Memorial, said in an American Forces Press Service interview.
More than a thousand World War II veterans die every day," said the 31-year-old construction engineer, who earned a bachelor's degree in that field at Norfolk State University in 1996. But at least, he said, many now-deceased veterans of the war knew they were being honored at last. "Some of them saw the memorial as we constructed it before they passed," Bell said.
"This weekend – Memorial Day weekend -- is going to mark a great event," said Bell, a first lieutenant in the Army Reserve's 3rd Battalion, 111th Air Defense Artillery.
Story |
|
|
 |
|
| HONORING THE FALLEN — Army Lt. Gen. William E. Ward, U.S. Army Europe and 7th Army deputy commanding general, and Army 2nd Lt. Lashonda White lay a wreath at the newly dedicated monument to African-American World War II soldiers in Wereth, Belgium, May 23, 2004. The monument is located on the site where 11 African-American soldiers were massacred by German SS soldiers on Dec. 11, 1944. The monument is currently the only one dedicated to African-American World War II soldiers. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Joe Battle |
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
| Pvt.
Eddie Hart, a farmer from North Carolina, after
being drafted in 1944. Courtesy photo |
| Siblings
Adopt Grave of World War II Veteran |
| By
K.L. Vantran / American Forces Press Service |
WASHINGTON – They
never met him. But, for more than five
decades, a sister and brother in Meersen,
Holland, have painstakingly tended the
grave of a young American who died defending
democracy in Nazi Germany.
Thank You, Eddie Hart," a documentary airing
in May on American Public Television, tells the story of honoring those who died
for others' freedom.
Shortly before World War II ended, the Dutch people
donated more than 60 acres in Margraten to the United States for the Netherlands
American Cemetery, a military cemetery for Americans who died in the war. The
Dutch citizens also established an adoption program. Each Dutch family made a
promise to contact the soldier's family, visit the grave several times a year
and refresh the flowers on a continuing basis. All of the more than 18,000 graves
were adopted.
In 1946, 22-year-old Betty Habets-Vrancken adopted
the grave of Pvt. Eddie Hart, a soldier from North Carolina.
She wrote to Hart's sister Hattie. "Dear Miss Hart," the
letter said, "I am a Dutch girl and I live in the south part of Holland. I guess
you know that there is buried your older brother Eddie and I have adopted his
grave. I hope, dear Miss Hart, that this will be a little better for you to know
that your brother's grave is not lonely and forgotten." Story |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Last Updated:
06/02/2004, 11:34:17 PM EDT |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
