WWII
Valor Friday
The earthly remains of US Army Captain Willibald Bianchi have been identified more than 80 years after he died. Bianchi is notable for having received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Bataan in 1942. Bianchi died three years later, after surviving unimaginable horrors before he was able to receive the […]
Valor Friday
The above is an artist’s rendering of what a lone survivor looks like. The plane is “Squawkin’ Chicken”, a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress, and on one April day in 1944 it was the only plane from its squadron to return. They set out on a mission with hundreds of other bombers. The mission was especially […]
Last original member of the “Bloody Hundredth” dies
John Luckadoo, the last surviving member of the 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force in WWII died September 1 at the age of 103. Luckadoo (inevitably nicknamed ‘Lucky’) lived up to his moniker – he survived 25 missions and was returned to the States. The man eventually known as “Lucky” was born March 16, […]
Valor Friday
I talked a while back about one of Norway’s greatest heroes, Captain Gunnar Sønsteby. During World War II, as a member of the Norwegian Resistance, he thrice earned that nation’s highest honor of the War Cross with Swords, among many other awards. The War Cross with Swords is analogous to an American Medal of Honor […]
Last WWII ace, 103, dead August 14
Our last WWII ace pilot has left us. Donald McPherson served as a Navy fighter pilot aboard the aircraft carrier USS Essex in the Pacific theater, where he engaged Japanese forces during the final years of the war. He earned the Congressional Gold Medal and three Distinguished Flying Crosses for his service. McPherson was listed […]
Fun in the Air
Jeff LPH dropped this on on me – being a sloppy sentimentalist I just had to go with it. Joe Peterburs was a P-51 pilot in WWII who had a unique 100th birthday celebration last weekend. Lt. Joseph Peterburs of the U.S. Army Air Corps was barely 20 when he flew “Josephine” — named […]
VJ Day with a twist
Gonna talk today about Ray and Ellie Williams. Coupla kids who were both in the Navy, met, fell in love, and four month later decided to tie the noose knot and enter in the state of holy deadlock wedlock. So they set the date, August 15th. The very day they made their nuptials, Japan […]
A-bomb attacks
80 years ago this week the United States ended the war with Japan with two atomic fission bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The majority of victims were civilians, as was the norm in bombing cities at the time, as destroying morale and the civilian will to fight was considered a key battle in war […]
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