Home of the Brave
Submitted stories and first hand oral accounts as told by American veterans
Thomas Hoke Helped Liberate Concentration Camp Thomas Hoke served 20 months in Europe with the U.S. Army during World War II. His unit was the first to reach the Buchenwald concentration camp, leaving memories and scars that would last a lifetime. An incredible story, as told to the Fredericksburg Times, prior to his passing. Rest In Peace, American hero. https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/continuing_coverage/ww2_vets/thomas-hoke-helped-liberate-concentration-camp/article_6bbf4fbd-eb7e-5276-95be-9a514c1dfbf1.html
LOCATION: FOB Salerno, Khowst Province, Afghanistan DATE: 19 August 2008 TIME: 0400L-1000L Afghanistan time CREWS OF THE SCOUT WEAPONS TEAM (SWT): Lead Aircraft: CW2 Joseph Priester (Annihilator 23, call sign used with ground troops) as the Pilot in Command (PIC) in the right seat. CW2 Brian Peterson as the pilot (PI) in the left seat Weapons Configuration: rocket/rocket (2.75inch Folding Fin Aerial Rockets, 2 x 7 shot rocket pods) Trail Aircraft: CW3 Scott Cotriss (Annihilator 21)…
RICHARD AND JACK O’BRIEN SUBMITTED BY JACK’S DAUGHTER, BARBARA O’BRIEN SOMMONS Richard John O’Brien was born on May 19, 1924, in Philadelphia, PA. He and my Dad, Jack O’Brien Jr. were first cousins. They spent a lot of time together, as they were born in the same year and lived in neighborhoods close to one another. They enjoyed doing things young boys did growing up in Philly in the…
Anthony E. Jannace My father, Anthony E. Jannace, enlisted in the U.S. Army after Pearl Harbor and served in the Second Engineer Combat Battalion of the Second Infantry Division, in the European Theater of Operations during WWII. He participated in five campaigns: The Battle of Normandy, Northern France (Brest), Ardennes-Alsace, the Rhineland, and Central Europe. The battalion he served in received…
RECOLLECTIONS OF A DAY IN BATTLE IA DRANG VALLEY PLEIKU PROVINCE, VIETNAM NOVEMBER 17, 1965 By George Wasenko Jr. PRELUDE TO BATTLE We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother. Shakespeare, Henry V, Act IV, Scene 3 November 17, 1965 has special meaning for me as I feel I was handed a new lease on…
Upper Iowa University alumnus/World War II veteran celebrates 103rd birthday Fayette, IA (02/09/2022) — One of Upper Iowa University’s (UIU) revered alumni celebrated his 103rd birthday Sunday, February 6. A World War II…
Albert Howard Smith, Marine Corps Captain, WWII By Ken Stanford Albert Smith was born in Arizona in 1918, and after a short experiment with college, joined the U.S. Immigration Border Patrol in 1941, where he served as an agent near El Centro, California. During his time as a Border Patrol agent, he was involved in…
A VETERAN’S MEMORY Yesterday was 11-11-11, Veterans Day. Priscilla and I enjoyed a free meal for vets at Applebees Restaurant. There was table room for two more, and a long line waiting, so we asked for two more, and a vet and his wife responded. As two vets compared their history, memories came to both. I’ll share one of my many memories of Vietnam era experiences. Whenever…
Harold C. Skipton Submitted by his niece, Shannon Skipton Pendergraff My uncle is Harold C. Skipton, PFC, 101st AB, 502nd PIR, 3Bn, HQ Co. He was most likely called Skip. We did not know any details of his WW2 service until recently. He died of wounds sustained in the Bulge on January 21st, 1945. While Harold was in Europe, my grandfather was in the Pacific. (Both of my grandfathers were in…
Genesis of the Japanese American Viet Nam Memorial by Judge Vincent Okamoto (reprinted from the Japanese American Historical Society Journal, 2001) The Japanese American National War Memorial Court is the only location in the country that honors by name the almost 1200 Americans of Japanese Ancestry who gave their lives in service to America. The four walls honor WWII, The Korean War, the Vietnam War…
