Youngest WW II Vet? Bill Stewart, 93

From the Bluefield Daily Telegraph

World War II veteran Bill Stewart, 93, participates  in an event celebrating the upcoming birthday of fellow veteran Joseh Eskenazi,  who at 104 years and 11 months old, is considered to be the oldest living veteran to survive the Pearl Harbor attack.

The event was held at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Wednesday,  January 11, 2023.

According to the museum,  Stewart served in the Occupation of Japan.  And, he is believed to be the youngest living World War II veteran.

He remembers going aboard the battleship USS Arizona  as a Boy Scout when its home port was in Long Beach, California.

He is one of the last three people living who were on the Arizona.

--GreGen

Oldest WW II Vet Dies, Lawrence Brooks, 112, Dies-- Part 4

After the war, Mr. Brooks worked as a forklift operator until he retired in the 1960s.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home when he was in his late 90s.  He had to be evacuated from his home's roof via helicopter.

Starting with his 105th birthday, the National World War II Museum began throwing him annual birthday parties.  His favorite part of those parties was watching the Victory Belles trio performing  music of the 1940s.

During the coronavirus years of 2020 and 2021, the museum  organized a parade in front of his home  with brass bands and the Krewe of Zulu warriors in full regalia.

"Even at age 112, Mr. Brooks stood up and danced a little.

Truly One of America's Greatest Generation.  --GreGen

Hoping That New Orleans Will Not Be Taking Down the Confederate Statues

I expect the city will do just that and soon.  This would be too bad, as I really like this town with Bourbon Street and all that great music and food.  I would also like to go to the National World War II Museum which I have been writing about a great project they are undertaking.

However, if those statues come down, I might have to show my displeasure at the horrible thing they have done to my heritage by organizing my own little boycott.  Now, I know that just one person counts for little in the grand scheme of things, but it would be something I would have to do.

My Civil War Round Table group is planning a trip there in a few months to look at sites, but I haven't signed up for it while waiting to see what the city does.

I Really Don't Want to Have to Boycott New Orleans.  --GreGen

Personal World War II Stories Going Online-- Part 6: The Hurricane Katrina Factor

The museum has allocated $4.4 million for the project so far --  about two thirds from donations and grants and the rest from the museum's operating budget.  Iron Mountain, a records management company, gave $100,000 to digitize one hundred of the interviews and plans on donating a similar amount this year.

The idea of putting the collection online came about following Hurricane Katrina.  The museum didn't get flood, but was closed for months afterwards to repair damage from roof leaks and looting.  (Looting, really?)  When it did reopen, few visitors showed up.

--GreGen

Personal World War II Stories Going Online-- Part 5: Interviews

So far there are 4,000 staff-collected video oral histories, 3,000 video and audio recordings made by others, and nearly 2,000 "written histories" like journals, diaries that can be photographed, annotated and transcribed for online research.

The museum's six historians travel widely, scheduling at least four interviews per trip.  Afterwards, they add catalog information, including a short description of contents and when and where the interviews were made.  They annotate key words most likely to be searched.

Now, this is a job I would really love.  Just cover my expenses, I don't need to be paid.  Researching is obviously a big love of mine.  And, the chance to get to talk to and record these people.

Wow, I Could Really Go For That Job!!  --GreGen

Personal World War II Stories Going Online-- Part 3: Collecting Oral Histories

Since May 2016, the National World War II Museum has collected 500 oral histories.  But the war generation is fading fast.  Even people who were children during the war are in their 70s and 80s.

The U.S. Holocaust  Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., has about 10,000 oral histories available online.  These are among the 66,000 that can be viewed or listened to on their site.

Putting oral histories online is not just a matter of uploading and linking to huge audio and video files.  At the World War II Museum, their six historians also describe the contents for online searching.

Greatest generation.  --GreGen

Personal World War II Stories Going Online-- Part 2

Ultimately, all of these first-hand accounts of Pearl Harbor, D-Day, Germany fighting, surrender, Hiroshima, Japanese surrender and the home front will be online.

Founded in 2000, the National World War II Museum is one of New Orleans' top attractions.  The digital collection is open to anyone, anywhere, but only about 250 of the oral histories are online so far.  Uploading more will take time, partly because the museum's six historians are racing to interview the last veterans.

I'd have to say this recording the histories of the surviving veterans is much more important at this point.

--GreGen

The Saga of PT-305-- Part 8: A Rebirth

The Mediterranean PT-Boats fared better than their Pacific counterparts, which were stripped of valuable equipment and most burned on beaches in the Philippines, so few of those remain.

In 2001, the Defenders of America Naval Museum in Galveston acquired it.  It was authenticated as a Higgins-built PT-boat by a stamp under the deck in the bow and shipped by truck from Maryland to Galveston.  But a planned restoration project was stalled by lack of funds and, in 2007, ownership went to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.

It had taken a volunteer group in Portland, Oregon, 12 years to rebuild a the World War II-era PT-658, and they had left-over parts, including an aft (stern) 20-foot section of another cannibalized PT-Boat in Vancouver, Washington, which was donated to the New Orleans project.

New Orleans is expected to spend between $3 and $5 million on the project.

So Happy to Have A Real One Back.  --GreGen

PT-305 Restored in New Orleans-- Part 3: $350 a Ride

The National Museum of World War II was started by historian Stephen E. Ambrose is thriving now.  But, back in 2005, Hurricane Katrina badly damaged it and visitors slowed to a trickle after that.  The museum had to lay off 60% of its staff.  It took them six years to get back to its pre-Katrina levels of 350,000.  In 2016, so far, they have drawn 700,000.

It is hoped that the "new" PT-305 will help even increase that.  Rides on the boat will cost $350, with the first one scheduled for April 1, 2017.  It will be home-ported in Lake Pontchartrain, the same place where it was launched 74 years earlier.

--GreGen

World War II PT-Boat Restored--- Part 1: 13 Feet Chopped Off

From the November 21, 2016, New York Times "New Victory for World War II PT Boat: Restored and Museum-Ready" by Patrick McGeehan.

The PT-305 was taken to a barge on the Mississippi River and from there it will become a fully interactive exhibit for the National World War II Museum in New Orleans this April.  The museum hopes to offer the only opportunity in the U.S. to ride in a PT Boat.

It weighs 50 tons and is 78 feet long. and was found in Galveston, Texas as a sawed off wreck.

After the war it was a tour boat in New York City and later an oyster boat in the Chesapeake Bay.  Like other revamped PT Boats that survived the war, it had 13-feet of its hull chopped off so it wouldn't need a licensed master captain under Coast Guard regulations.

--GreGen

World War II Museums Show Way to VJ Day-- Part 6: National World War II Museum

The war with Japan and the country's eventual surrender are told in a new exhibit opening this December at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.

The "Road to Tokyo" follows the trail of GIs beginning at Pearl Harbor and then through the island hopping across the Pacific over the next nearly four years.  The exhibit will show the grueling conditions faced by our men, but also facing an enemy from a vastly different culture.

Aging veterans greet visitors in the lobby at a small table and will share their experiences.

--GreGen