Pearl Harbor Survivor Jack Holder Dies at 101-- Part 4: 'Two Scotch and Sodas Every Night'

Jack Holder was at Pearl Harbor for the 75th anniversary of the attack.  There he shared his thoughts about the event 75 years later.

"You relive the moments.  You're so grateful for our wonderful country in which we live," he said.  You regret the scarifices, but you also exhilirate from the victory that we made and how we're doing now."

Speaking about his longevity in life he attributed it to "good heart exercise and two scotch and sodas every night."

He also shared a message to today's youth of America:  "I tried to stress with them the need to stay in school, learn all the education you can and remember that we live in the greatest country in the world, learn to respect it, and be willing to protect it."

The Greatest Generation.  --GreGen

Life After Auschwitz-- Part 1: The 75th Anniversary of Its Liberation

From the January 26, 2020, Chicago Tribune by Markus Schreiber and Kirsten Grieshaber.  "Life after Auschwitz:  Survivors to unite 75 years after liberation to visit horrific symbol of Holocaust."

Oswiecim, Poland.  On January 27, 1945, the Soviet Red Army liberated the Auschwitz Nazi death camp in German-occupied Poland.  The Germans had already fled westward, leaving behind the bodies of prisoners who had been shot and thousands of sick and starving survivors.

The Soviet troops also found gas chambers and crematoria that the Germans had blown up before fleeing in an attempt to hide evidence of their mass killings.

But the genocide was too massive to hide.

Today, the site of Auschwitz-Birkenau endures as the leading symbol of the terror of the Holocaust.  Its iconic status is such that every year it registers a record number of visitors -- 2.3 million last year alone.

--GreGen

75th Anniversary of the Allies Liberating Paris Back in 1944-- Part 1

From the August 25, 2019, Dubuque (Iowa) TelegraphHerald "I think we saved the world" by Angela Charlton, AP.

U.S. WW II veterans were back in Paris to mark he 75th anniversary of the liberation of France's capital from the Germans.

Now in their nineties  these men want everyone to remember what happened back then  so that it doesn't happen again.

"The veterans, all the veterans of World War II,  I think  we saved the world," said Harold Angle, who came to France with the U.S. 28th Infantry Division in 1944, and recounted his experiences to the Associated Press.  "To be under the domination of a dictatorship like the Hitler regime and some of the terrible, terrible things that they did."

Bow 96, he is among Allied veterans, French Resistance fighters and others taking part in ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday marking the 75th anniversary of military operations that liberated Paris from Nazi occupation.

--GreGen

Japan Marks 75th Year of Surrender

From the August 16, 2020, Chicago Tribune by Mari Yamaguchi.

On Saturday, Japan marked the 75th anniversary of its surrender in World War II, with emperor Naruhito expressing "deep remorse" over his country's wartime actions at a somber annual ceremony curtailed greatly by the coronavirus pandemic.

Naruhito pledged to reflect on the war's events and expressed hope the tragedy would never be repeated.   However, there was no apology from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who gave thanks for the sacrifices of Japan's war dead but had nothing to say about the suffering of Japan's neighbors.

Japan's surrender came on August 15, 1945, but the formal proclamation was not signed until September 2, 1945.

Abe said the peace Japan enjoys today is built on the sacrifices of those who died in the war.  He pledged that Japan will reflect on lessons from history and will not repeat the war devastation.  He listed damage inflicted on Japan and its people, including the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, massive firebombings of Tokyo and the fierce battle of Okinawa.

Of course, Japan is facing the great loss of the World War II generation due to age like with the United States and the rest of the world.  

I would like to see more of an effort to recover the bodies of Japan's war dead and still MIA, like what the United States is doing.

--GreGen

World War II Surrender Ceremony on Board the USS Missouri to Be Held September 2, 2020

From the August 24, 2020, "WW II surrender ceremony in Hawaii limited to local veterans" by Hannah Patrick.

This 75th World War II anniversary at Pearl Harbor will likely be the last  opportunity for many of that war's aging veterans to attend a commemoration, but sadly will only be limited to those veterans living in Hawaii because of coronavirus concerns.

Originally plans called for 200 to assemble on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri, where the original surrender ceremony took place in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.

Organizers are working on a way to make the event virtual for WW II veterans on the mainland.

Here's Hoping They Find a Way to Make It Virtual.  --GreGen

Bedford, Virginia, Remembers D-Day-- Part 1

From the June 2019 AARP Bulletin "Bedford Remembers" by Alex Kershaw.

Lucille Hoback Boggess of Bedford, Virginia, celebrates her 90th birthday on June 8, just 48 hours after the anniversary of D-Day.  The events of that day, 75 years ago would forever change her life and that of her family and her hometown.

Boggess remembers waving goodbye to her two brothers from the Bedford train station under a cold blue February sky in 1941 after their National Guard unit was called to active duty.  None of those soldiers, including several sets of brothers, could foresee the role they would play in the greatest invasion of that war (or any war for that matter).

On June 4, 1944, the southwestern Virginia town of Bedford, population 3,200, suffered the highest per capita loss of any American community.  When the telegrams began to arrive, the tight-knit town was devastated.

--GreGen

Germany Surrenders 75 Years Ago: End of World War II in the European Theater

From the May 6, 2020, Mesa (Az) Daily Independent  "AP was there:  Nazis surrender, ending WW II in Europe" AP.

Reims, France.

Nazi commanders signed the surrender to Allied forces in a French schoolhouse on May 7, 1945, 75 years ago.  This ended World War II and the Holocaust.

Unlike the mass celebrations 75 years ago when the news went out (it had been expected for weeks), surviving veterans and civilians back then are not celebrating this milestone (which became known as V-E Day) because of the coronavirus confinement which is of particular danger to them because of advanced age and conditions.

During the war, AP reporters and photographers put their lives on the line with five of them killed and one,  correspondent Joe Morton, who was executed by the Nazis.

On May 7, 1945, AP witnessed the Nazi surrender and was first to  announce it to the Allied public, defying  authorities who wanted to delay the momentous announcement.

However, there was still the war in the Pacific against Japan to continue.

A Great Day.  --GreGen

Chicago's U-505-- Part 2: 75th Anniversary of Its Capture This Year

It was captured off the coast of what was French Morocco  in 1944 by Task Force 22.3, a U.S. Navy anti-submarine group commanded by Chicago native Daniel Gallery on June 4, 1944, two days before D-Day.  This past June marked the 75th anniversary of its capture.

This capture was kept top secret during the war.

The U.S. government donated the U-505 to the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) in 1954 and it was displayed outside the museum for 5 years.  Chicago weather and the elements caused much deterioration to the ship and in 2005 it was moved to a specially designed indoor facility.  It is one of only four German U-boats still existing worldwide.  All of them are museum ships and not operational any more.

June 4th was the 75th anniversary of its capture and a commemoration ceremony was held at the ship that included a proclamation by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

--GreGen

Some More on Bernard Dargols-- Part 2: To the French People He Was a Liberator

**  A few hours after landing on Normandy, Bernard Dargols was on a jeep nicknamed "La Bastlle" and he found himself surrounded by  Frenchmen who couldn't believe their ears.

"What a feeling to hear French spoken, to be taken in the arms of all these people older than me, calling me their liberator," he recalled.

**  "If I had kept all the bottles of calvados brandy  they were giving me, I think I could have opened my own specialist shop!"

**  IN 2014, he told Time magazine how badly he wanted to fight the Germans after he saw newsreel footage of Adolph Hitler shaking hands with French leader Philipe Petain, whose government collaborated in deporting 73,000  Jews from France to Nazi concentration camps.

**  His mother survived the Nazi occupation by hiding in her building.

**  He later moved to Paris.

**  "Today we're seeing the signs of anti-Semitism, he told AFP in 2014.  "I want young people to fight back against it."

--GreGen

Some More on Bernard Dargols-- Part 1

I have just finished writing five posts about this Frenchman's role in liberating his country as an American soldier during the war.

From 30 April 2019, Breitbart News "Bernard Dargols, Paris-Born GI who fought at Omaha Beach, dies at 98" by Simon Kent.

**  Paris-born Jew and only Frenchman to storm ashore at Omaha Beach in an American uniform.

**  Immigrated to U.S. in 1938 to work in Manhattan.

**  Became an American citizen.

**  Waded ashore as U.S. Army staff sergeant at age 24.

**  "If the Liberty Ship had been able to quickly ho into reverse, I think I would have asked them to do it."  He recounts coming to the shore.

More to Come.  --GreGen

One By One, D-Day Memories Fade-- Part 5

The road Bernard Dargols took from Omaha Beach inland now nears his name.

The battle to wrest Normandy from the Germans took longer than the Allies had figured, but, for Dargols, the final prize was invaluable.  When he made it to Paris, he went to his childhood apartment and found his mom -- unexpectedly alive.

For four decades, he didn't talk much about the war. But as more and more survivors died, and at his granddaughter's urging, he realized the importance of speaking out and sharing his stories with schools and journalists.

Dargols would have had a clear message for the D-Day anniversary had he lived, his granddaughter said:  "Never take democracy for granted.  Dictatorship is always a bad solution. Keep democracy alive.  Fight for democracy, for freedom, for peace."

--GreGen

One By One, D-Day Memories Fade-- Part 3: How Many Are Still Alive?

Normandy school teachers, veterans' families and military memorials are racing against time to record survivors' stories for posterity.

It was history's biggest amphibious invasion, on that fateful June 6, 1944, day, some 160,000 Allied forces came ashore to launch Operation Overlord to wrest Normandy from German control.  More than 4,000 Allied forces were killed that day alone.  Nearly a half a million people were killed on both sides by the time the Allies liberated Paris in August 1944.

It is unclear how many D-Day veterans are alive today.  The survivors are now in their 90s or 100s.

Of the 73,000 Americans who took part, just thirty are currently scheduled to come to France for this year's 75th anniversary.

--GreGen

One By One, D-Day Memories Fade As WW II's Witnesses Die-- Part 2

An ever-smaller number of veterans will stand on Normandy's shores on June 6 for D-Day's 75th anniversary.  Many will salute fallen comrades from their wheelchairs.  As each year passes, more firsthand history is lost.

Bernard Dangols has outlived many of those men storming ashore June 6, 1944 and knows the importance of sustaining their memory.  "I'm convinced that we have to talk about the war to children, so they will understand how much they need to preserve the peace," he wrote in his memoir.

Even to his death, Dargols battled today's complacency, intolerance and those who think of D-Day as just a movie.

In recent years, "seeing any type of violence, of anti-Semitism and racism, either in France, in Europe or in the U.S." really upset him, said his granddaughter, Caroline Jolivet.

--GreGen

Don't Forget D-Day-- Part 5: "Now, Let's See What You're Made Of"

"Mortar rounds killed a trio of soldiers next to (U.S. Gen. Norman) Cota and wounded his radioman; knocked flat but unscratched, the general regained his feet and followed the snaking column toward the hillcrest, past captured Germans spread-eagled on the ground.

"Then over the lip of the ridge they ran, past stunted pines and through uncut wheat as Cota yelled, 'Now let's see what you're made of!'   GIs hauling a captured MG-12 machine gun with ammunition belts draped around their necks poured fire into enemy trenches and at the broken ranks pelting inland.'

"War is terrible.  Tragic.  D-Day was those things.  It also was heroic and necessary.  Younger generations of Americans won't understand what happened on June 6, 1944, unless they are inspired to learn it.

"If you know the D-Day story, share it, teach it."

So True.  --GreGen

Don't Forget D-Day-- Part 4: Books, Movies and Participants

This is from the June 6, 2019, Chicago Tribune editorial page.

"True, books and movies do capture the action of D-Day and testify to the bravery of the combatants.  But libraries and digital archives are no more than repositories.  Books can't teach unless they are opened.  Movies can't add perspective if they aren't watched or appreciated.  (The first part of "Saving Private Ryan" for example.)

"For years D-Day's participants played a key role as storytellers, though often reluctantly.

They dropped from parachutes and charged heavily defended beaches to free a continent from tyranny.  They struggled inland as their comrades fell.  They suffered through battle.  They won the day.

"Now they are disappearing."

--GreGen

Don't Forget D-Day-- Part 2: WW II Vets Are Dying Off

"This tale of valor and sacrifice has become more important to retell because those who fought the war -- and learned its lessons of selfless service for the common good -- are disappearing.  More than 16 million Americans served in the military during the war,  Fewer than 500,000 veterans are still alive.  Most are in their mid-90s now.

"Books recount U.S. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower's agonizing responsibilities as supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe.  He didn't know if his invasion order would result in success or slaughter for the Americans, British, Canadians and others he ordered ashore at Normandy.

--GreGen

Honor D-Day's 75th Anniversary, Know the Story and Teach Others-- Part 1

From the June 6, 2019, Chicago Tribune editorial "Honor D-Day's 75th anniversary by knowing the story -- and teaching others."

"All great historical achievements risk fading into obscure past events, reduced to calendar notations or unread Wikipedia entries -- unless those moments are kept vivid and meaningful for future generations.

"June 6 is one of those imperiled dates.  It's the 75th anniversary of D-Day, one of the most audacious military actions in American history.  On June 6, 1944, about 156,000 troops of the United States and its allies invaded Nazi-occupied France by sea and air, gaining a foothold in northern Europe that would help lead to victory over Germany in World War II within a year.

"At 4 a.m., as thousands of lost and scattered parachutists blundered about in the dark, the first 52 gliders arrived 'like a swarm of ravens', in one German description."

--GreGen

His Dad and Gen. Eisenhower-- Part 3: And That Is Why He Voted Republican in 1952 and 1956

"What was so impressive was that not only did the general defuse an uncomfortable situation, but he did it without embarrassing either the major or the private in front of the rest of us.

"Eisenhower disappeared into the tent, emerged a half-hour later, shook our hands and departed.  That was the only time I ever saw him in person, but I will never forget it."

Then Cory Franklin's dad, Murray Franklin, answered his cousin's question as to why he had voted for Eisenhower instead of Adlai Stevenson for president.  "Adlai Stevenson was a good man, but I voted republican.  Dwight Eisenhower was my commanding officer on D-Day."

That ended the politics discussion.

This is one of those special stories that I so love in history.  It is the human side of things.  I am hoping that the ever shrinking number of World War II veterans are writing down their memories as I'd hate to be losing stories like this.

What Dwight Eisenhower did in this story is a good example of why he was the commander to get D-Day accomplished.

--GreGen

His Dad and Gen. Eisenhower-- Part 2: "Doing Your Job"

"Before the general could do anything, the major standing next to me exploded.

" 'Private, do you know what you are doing?'  He was about to ream out the poor private in front of everyone standing there.

"That moment, Eisenhower came over to the major and spoke to him quite softly.  Because I was standing next to the major, I could hear what the general was saying.

" 'Major, that's OK.  He was just doing what he was trained to do.  There's no problem.'

"Then Eisenhower turned to the private, showed him some sort of identification, smiled at him and said, 'Good work private.  Doing your job'.

Just Doing His Job.  --GreGen

His Dad and General Eisenhower-- Part 1: Five Days After D-Day

From the June 6, 2019, Chicago Tribune "When service transcended party:  D-Day, my dad and Gen. Dwight Eisenhower" by Cory Franklin.

His family traditionally voted Democrat, except his father, who voted for Eisenhower in both 1952 and 1956.  And, he had a reason.  It came from the D-Day campaign.

His father had an Eisenhower story from that event.

"It was about five days after the Normandy beachhead was established, word came down that Gen. Eisenhower was coming to visit our company and talk to our chief officer in his tent.  Sure enough, on the appointed day, he came with a retinue that was surprisingly small.

"I was using a crutch but as third in command I stood with my superior, a major, outside the tent as our men stood at attention.  When Eisenhower approached the tent, everyone saluted, but before he entered, the private assigned to  guard the entrance stopped him and asked for his identification -- he was asking the supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe for identification."

Well, What Do You Think Happened?  --GreGen