There are more 52 in the "BERLINER MORGENPOST"
Tuesday 28 September 2010
UK ambassador raises plight of Palestinian WWII veterans
By Simona Sikimic
Daily Star staff
BEIRUT: The British Ambassador to Lebanon, Francis Guy, on Wednesday advocated to raise the plight of some 60 Palestinian World War II veterans who reside in Lebanon in abject poverty despite years of loyal service.
“The tragic irony of their situation is heart-wringing,” Guy said in a blog post for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). “After loyally serving the Union Jack, in 1948 they were forced to flee their homes when the state of Israel was created.
“Some of them have been in refugee camps in Lebanon ever since,” she wrote.
About 6,000 Palestinians voluntarily chose to serve in the British army, serving in the Middle East and North Africa. Many did this so opposition to Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who sided with the Axis powers in a bid to block suspected British intentions of establishing a Jewish state within Palestine as outlined in the 1917 Balfour Declaration.
Read mor e at the "Daily Star"
Daily Star staff
BEIRUT: The British Ambassador to Lebanon, Francis Guy, on Wednesday advocated to raise the plight of some 60 Palestinian World War II veterans who reside in Lebanon in abject poverty despite years of loyal service.
“The tragic irony of their situation is heart-wringing,” Guy said in a blog post for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). “After loyally serving the Union Jack, in 1948 they were forced to flee their homes when the state of Israel was created.
“Some of them have been in refugee camps in Lebanon ever since,” she wrote.
About 6,000 Palestinians voluntarily chose to serve in the British army, serving in the Middle East and North Africa. Many did this so opposition to Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who sided with the Axis powers in a bid to block suspected British intentions of establishing a Jewish state within Palestine as outlined in the 1917 Balfour Declaration.
Read mor e at the "Daily Star"
Missing WWII Naval Aviators Identified
The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two servicemen, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
Navy Lt. Francis B. McIntyre of Mitchell, S.D., will be buried on Sept. 29, and Aviation Radioman Second Class William L. Russell of Cherokee, Okla., will be buried on Oct. 1. Both men will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
On Nov. 10, 1943, the two men took off on a bombing and strafing mission in their SBD-5 Dauntless dive bomber from Munda Field, New Georgia, in the Solomon Islands. Witnesses last saw the aircraft flying at low altitude through a large explosion on an enemy airfield on Buka Island, Papua New Guinea. None reported seeing the crash of the aircraft itself.
The American Graves Registration Service searched numerous South Pacific Islands in 1949 in an effort to gather data about aircraft crashes or missing Americans. The team was unable to find any useful information, and failed to recover any American remains in the area. A board of review declared both men unrecoverable.
In 2007, a Papuan national found a World War II crash site near the Buka airport, which was reported to U.S. officials. In May 2008, specialists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), working with the country’s national museum, investigated the crash site but were unable to excavate it because of inclement weather. Local officials turned over human remains, McIntyre’s identification tag and other military-related items which had been recovered earlier. After examining the remains in 2008 and 2009, JPAC determined that no excavation would be required since the two sets of remains were nearly complete.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC used dental comparisons for both men and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA which matched a sample from Russell’s relatives and DNA extracted from a hat belonging to McIntyre.
At the end of World War II, the U.S. government was unable to recover, identify and bury approximately 79,000 individuals. Today, more than 72,000 Americans remain unaccounted-for from the conflict.
Source "Departement of Defense"
Navy Lt. Francis B. McIntyre of Mitchell, S.D., will be buried on Sept. 29, and Aviation Radioman Second Class William L. Russell of Cherokee, Okla., will be buried on Oct. 1. Both men will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
On Nov. 10, 1943, the two men took off on a bombing and strafing mission in their SBD-5 Dauntless dive bomber from Munda Field, New Georgia, in the Solomon Islands. Witnesses last saw the aircraft flying at low altitude through a large explosion on an enemy airfield on Buka Island, Papua New Guinea. None reported seeing the crash of the aircraft itself.
The American Graves Registration Service searched numerous South Pacific Islands in 1949 in an effort to gather data about aircraft crashes or missing Americans. The team was unable to find any useful information, and failed to recover any American remains in the area. A board of review declared both men unrecoverable.
In 2007, a Papuan national found a World War II crash site near the Buka airport, which was reported to U.S. officials. In May 2008, specialists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), working with the country’s national museum, investigated the crash site but were unable to excavate it because of inclement weather. Local officials turned over human remains, McIntyre’s identification tag and other military-related items which had been recovered earlier. After examining the remains in 2008 and 2009, JPAC determined that no excavation would be required since the two sets of remains were nearly complete.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC used dental comparisons for both men and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA which matched a sample from Russell’s relatives and DNA extracted from a hat belonging to McIntyre.
At the end of World War II, the U.S. government was unable to recover, identify and bury approximately 79,000 individuals. Today, more than 72,000 Americans remain unaccounted-for from the conflict.
Source "Departement of Defense"
WWII gunboat museum proposed for Petaluma
By LORI A. CARTER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Much like the men who served aboard them during World War II, the Mighty Midgets are a dying breed.
One hundred and thirty Landing Craft Support gunboats were built in 1944 and 1945.
The last one afloat is moored at the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, its 11 inactive guns and 10 rocket launchers pointing harmlessly skyward.
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Much like the men who served aboard them during World War II, the Mighty Midgets are a dying breed.
One hundred and thirty Landing Craft Support gunboats were built in 1944 and 1945.
The last one afloat is moored at the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, its 11 inactive guns and 10 rocket launchers pointing harmlessly skyward.
But if a group of aging WWII veterans can pull it off, LCS(L) 102 may someday be berthed in the Petaluma River as a museum to honor the powerful little ships' contributions to the Pacific Theater of operations.
Read more at the "The Press Democrat"
Life of WWII Indian flying ace celebrated in Gravesend
Family and friends of an Indian pilot who flew Hawker Hurricanes during World War II are celebrating his life at a gathering in Kent.
The ceremony in his memory is being held at Holy Trinity School near his home in Gravesend on Tuesday evening.
Sqn Ldr Pujji won the Distinguished Flying Cross for services in Burma.
He also flew combat missions in Britain, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East during the war and earlier this year published a book about his experiences entitled For King and Another Country.
To read more link to the BBC
Wednesday 15 September 2010
65 years later, World War II widow receives soldier's medals
By Michael Doyle | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — Roy John Spencer died when his bazooka blew up. He left behind a teenage bride and some unfinished business.Some 65 years after Spencer's death, Anna Heinrichs of Coarsegold, Calif., reclaimed a wartime debt Tuesday. With some congressional help, the retired educator secured the medals for which her first husband paid dearly.
Accompanied by family members — including her second husband, World War II Marine veteran Wes Heinrichs — Anna received her due Tuesday morning on the Speaker's Balcony of the U.S. Capitol. A combat-proven Army officer presented her with a Silver Star, a Purple Heart and other medals that Spencer earned long ago.
Read more at the MCCLATCHY NEWS
A fitting farewell at last for forgotten WWII heroine Eileen: Undertakers agree to foot bill for a proper church funeral after public outcry
By Graham Smith and Luke Salkeld
Last updated at 3:06 PM on 14th September 2010
The daring British Second World War spy who died alone in her flat earlier this month will receive an all-expenses-paid funeral following public outcry that she was to be cremated unmourned.
Eileen Nearne had hardly any visitors to her Torquay home over the past two decades before she was found dead after suffering a heart attack at the age of 89.
It is understood she has no surviving family and no-one was found to pay for her funeral.
Hundreds of well-wishers have today volunteered to donate money so that Miss Nearne could be given a send-off befitting her wartime service.
The members of the public, moved by her heroic tale, inundated the local council asking for details of where her funeral would be taking place and offering money to help pay for it.
Read more at the "MAIL ON-LINE"
Last updated at 3:06 PM on 14th September 2010
Eileen Nearne had hardly any visitors to her Torquay home over the past two decades before she was found dead after suffering a heart attack at the age of 89.
It is understood she has no surviving family and no-one was found to pay for her funeral.
Hundreds of well-wishers have today volunteered to donate money so that Miss Nearne could be given a send-off befitting her wartime service.
The members of the public, moved by her heroic tale, inundated the local council asking for details of where her funeral would be taking place and offering money to help pay for it.
Read more at the "MAIL ON-LINE"
Sunday 29 August 2010
Marcel Albert, decorated French WWII pilot died at 92
By Richard Goldstein
New York Times / August 28, 2010
NEW YORK — Marcel Albert, who became one of the leading French fighter pilots of World War II, flying Soviet-built planes in duels with German aircraft on the Eastern front, died Monday in Harlingen, Texas. He was 92.
His death was announced by France’s Order of the Liberation, founded by General Charles de Gaulle during the war. The cause was complications of cancer.
Mr. Albert was among four pilots of Free French’s Normandie-Niemen fighter unit to be decorated as a Hero of the Soviet Union, receiving the citation in 1944. (...)
Read the rest in the BOSTON GLOBE
New York Times / August 28, 2010
NEW YORK — Marcel Albert, who became one of the leading French fighter pilots of World War II, flying Soviet-built planes in duels with German aircraft on the Eastern front, died Monday in Harlingen, Texas. He was 92.
His death was announced by France’s Order of the Liberation, founded by General Charles de Gaulle during the war. The cause was complications of cancer.
Mr. Albert was among four pilots of Free French’s Normandie-Niemen fighter unit to be decorated as a Hero of the Soviet Union, receiving the citation in 1944. (...)
Read the rest in the BOSTON GLOBE
US searching for remains of WWII Marines on Tarawa
AUDREY McAVOY
The Associated Press
HONOLULU - The Battle of Tarawa was one of the first U.S. amphibious campaigns of World War II. It was also one of the most ferocious.
Thousands of Marines charged the beach, only to be mowed down by Japanese machine gun fire when their boats got stuck on the coral reef. Hundreds of Marines died, and thousands more were injured in just three days of fighting (...)
Read more at the PHILLY NEWS
The Associated Press
HONOLULU - The Battle of Tarawa was one of the first U.S. amphibious campaigns of World War II. It was also one of the most ferocious.
Thousands of Marines charged the beach, only to be mowed down by Japanese machine gun fire when their boats got stuck on the coral reef. Hundreds of Marines died, and thousands more were injured in just three days of fighting (...)
Read more at the PHILLY NEWS
Tuesday 20 July 2010
World War II Museum features animals of war
Sentry dog - In this photo released by the National Archives via National World War II Museum, Butch, a sentry dog, stands guard over Pfc. Rez P. Hester of the Marine Corps’ 7th War Dog Platoon on Iwo Jima in this undated photograph from the National Archives. AP/National Archives via National World War II Museum
NEW ORLEANS
By Janet McConnaughey
Associated Press
Smoky the Yorkshire terrier, Lady Astor the pigeon and a host of horses and mules whose individual stories are lost to history are among war heroes and heroines featured in the latest exhibit at the National World War II Museum.
"Loyal Forces: The Animals of WWII" will run July 22-Oct. 17, featuring the four kinds of animals most often brought into the war, as they were used in all five theaters.
"There was a great love and loyalty between the soldiers and the animals they worked with," said registrar Toni M. Kiser, who created the exhibit with archivist Lindsey Barnes.
AP Photo/National Archives via the National World War II Museum)
This undated photo provided by the National Archives via the National World War II Museum shows a Marine Corps dog handler as he comforts his German shepherd while the dog is X-rayed after being shot by a Japanese sniper on Bougainville, The dog died of its injuries. The photograph is part of an exhibit, titled "Loyal Force: Animals at War," to be displayed at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans from July 22-Oct. 17.
The exhibit opener may seem odd to people used to thinking of the Coast Guard as offshore duty in cutters, patrol boats, helicopters and airplanes.
To know more see
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Friday 16 July 2010
Paintings taken by serviceman in WWII return to Germany
NEW YORK - In a ceremony at the Goethe Institute in Manhattan, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) displayed some of the 11 oil paintings that were taken by a U.S. serviceman from a Pirmasens air raid shelter after the allied invasion of Germany in 1945. The paintings, several by a hometown artist, are on their way home to Pirmasens Museum in Germany.
ICE New York Special Agent in Charge James T. Hayes Jr. thanked the grand-niece of the U.S. serviceman, Beth Ann McFadden, who on inheriting the collection sought to find out how her great-uncle had acquired them. She and a friend discovered that the paintings were among 40 in the Pirmasen municipal museum's collection that were missing from a storage area under the local school building after World War II.
"We want to thank Beth McFadden for having the integrity to ask where these beautiful artworks she inherited came from and returning them to the museum that lost them in the chaos of war," said SAC Hayes. "There are still dozens of these paintings missing from Pirmasens. We hope that this example will prompt others who might have 'mystery' paintings in the family to bring them to ICE. If they are stolen art, let the United States return them to their rightful owners."
"Without the integrity and good will of Beth Ann McFadden, the repatriation of these paintings to the Pirmasens Museum could not have taken place," said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara. "Each work of art returned symbolizes an act of justice, bringing us one step closer to the goal of repatriating all of the surviving pieces taken from museums during World War II."
Three of the paintings are works by Heinrich Buerkel, a German painter who was born in Pirmasens. "Herd of Cattle," "From the Countryside" and an untitled third painting are estimated to each be worth $50,000. In addition, seven oil portraits by lesser-known artists depicting the children of Ludwig IX are valued at $4,000 each. An Alois Broch is estimated to be worth approximately $10,000.
Although the city of Pirmasens was heavily damaged in air attacks by allied forces on military manufacturing in the city, the schoolhouse, which doubled as an air raid shelter, was left standing. Unfortunately, according to museum officials, extensive looting had resulted in the loss of approximately 40 works, 18 by Buerkel.
McFadden, the grand-niece of former Army sergeant Harry Gursky, conducted extensive research on the paintings' provenance and discovered the connection to Pirmasens. Gursky, who died in 1988, was stationed in Pirmasens after the invasion. McFadden contacted German authorities who informed her that ICE had an open investigation.
On Feb. 2, 2010, McFadden surrendered the paintings to ICE Agent Bonnie Goldblatt who, with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, formally seized them.
Agent Goldblatt conducted extensive interviews of McFadden and others who knew Gursky. The stories were consistent with McFadden's belief that most of the paintings were hidden in her great-uncle's basement since he brought them back from Germany. She had also insisted that a neighbor of the Gurskys might have received some paintings. The ensuing ICE investigation confirmed that Gursky's wife, Florence, had given a family friend several paintings. It was discovered that the friend had attempted to sell her paintings at Sotheby's Auction House in New York and sold three through a Pennsylvania auction house. Investigation into the sale of those paintings is ongoing.
Three other paintings were seized through a stipulation order filed in the Southern District of New York on March 2, 2010, including the unsigned Buerkel painting, an additional portrait of a Ludwig IX family member and an oil painting depicting a young girl and an angel signed by Alois Broch.
In 2006 three paintings by Buerkel were brought to the attention of the FBI by German authorities and returned to the Pirmasens Museum.
ICE, the largest investigative agency of the Department of Homeland Security, handles investigations into cultural property and stolen art and antiquities that show up on the world market. ICE's Cultural Property Art and Antiquities Unit has returned more than 2,100 items to more than 15 countries since 2003.
Source
ICE NEWS
Tuesday 6 July 2010
Former WWII prisoner, soldier share abiding bond
By LONA O'CONNOR
The Associated Press
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Daniel Fischer was a 15-year-old, 56-pound, typhus-ridden prisoner in the Dachau concentration camp when he first saw the soldiers of the U.S. 42nd Infantry "Rainbow" Division.
The Rainbow Division's historic moment was knocking down the gates of Dachau on April 29, 1945, liberating the 32,000 surviving prisoners in the Nazi death camp.
This is a story of war and devotion, and an unbreakable bond between two men who almost never met.
One man is Fischer the survivor, who lives in Boca Raton.
The other is Morris Eisenstein of Delray Beach — the liberator.
"He was there when the chips were down for me," Fischer said of Eisenstein, embracing the older man.
Under hail of enemy fire
Eisenstein, a sergeant, and his comrades in the Rainbow Division had to fight for their lives, all the way from Strasbourg to Munich.
The citation for one of his two Silver Stars says it all: "... with utter disregard for the hail of enemy machine gun fire ..."
When the Germans had attacked Eisenstein's infantry group, he crawled out of the hole where he lay and fired a machine gun to cover the other soldiers, who were then able to outflank and capture 150 German soldiers.
About his World War II exploits, Eisenstein is simultaneously self-effacing and still clearly relishing the moment as if it were yesterday:
"The only reason I didn't get killed is that the Krauts were bad shots," he said. "I was so scared, but I said, 'Those ... Krauts are not gonna get this Jew boy.'"
THE REST OF THE STORY IN
THE PALM BEACH POST
The Associated Press
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Daniel Fischer was a 15-year-old, 56-pound, typhus-ridden prisoner in the Dachau concentration camp when he first saw the soldiers of the U.S. 42nd Infantry "Rainbow" Division.
The Rainbow Division's historic moment was knocking down the gates of Dachau on April 29, 1945, liberating the 32,000 surviving prisoners in the Nazi death camp.
This is a story of war and devotion, and an unbreakable bond between two men who almost never met.
One man is Fischer the survivor, who lives in Boca Raton.
The other is Morris Eisenstein of Delray Beach — the liberator.
"He was there when the chips were down for me," Fischer said of Eisenstein, embracing the older man.
Under hail of enemy fire
Eisenstein, a sergeant, and his comrades in the Rainbow Division had to fight for their lives, all the way from Strasbourg to Munich.
The citation for one of his two Silver Stars says it all: "... with utter disregard for the hail of enemy machine gun fire ..."
When the Germans had attacked Eisenstein's infantry group, he crawled out of the hole where he lay and fired a machine gun to cover the other soldiers, who were then able to outflank and capture 150 German soldiers.
About his World War II exploits, Eisenstein is simultaneously self-effacing and still clearly relishing the moment as if it were yesterday:
"The only reason I didn't get killed is that the Krauts were bad shots," he said. "I was so scared, but I said, 'Those ... Krauts are not gonna get this Jew boy.'"
THE REST OF THE STORY IN
THE PALM BEACH POST
WWII landing craft will dock here in September
Some LSTs built at Neville Island
Monday, July 05, 2010
By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A ship that delivered supplies to Normandy for the D-Day invasion will arrive in Pittsburgh in September and take on a different kind of cargo -- tourists.
LST 325 -- one of the Landing Ship, Tanks designed to float right onto enemy beaches and unload materiel through a pair of giant doors -- will dock near Heinz Field and be open for tours Sept. 2-6. Sept. 6 is Labor Day.
The ship still looks much as it did on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Even the anti-aircraft guns are intact, Bob Jornlin, the captain, said.
Mr. Jornlin, a Navy veteran who served on LSTs during the 1960s, was part of a nonprofit group that obtained the ship from Greece a decade ago and sailed it 6,500 miles to Mobile, Ala., a voyage that attracted international publicity.
"A lot of people said we couldn't do it," he said.
After extensive restoration, LST 325 is a "ship museum" in Evansville, Ind. Mr. Jornlin and a crew of about 40 -- including farmers, firefighters and veterans -- take the ship out twice a year.
This is the ship's first visit to Pittsburgh, a city with deep connections to LSTs.
More about this story at the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette LINK
Monday, July 05, 2010
By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A ship that delivered supplies to Normandy for the D-Day invasion will arrive in Pittsburgh in September and take on a different kind of cargo -- tourists.
LST 325 -- one of the Landing Ship, Tanks designed to float right onto enemy beaches and unload materiel through a pair of giant doors -- will dock near Heinz Field and be open for tours Sept. 2-6. Sept. 6 is Labor Day.
The ship still looks much as it did on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Even the anti-aircraft guns are intact, Bob Jornlin, the captain, said.
Mr. Jornlin, a Navy veteran who served on LSTs during the 1960s, was part of a nonprofit group that obtained the ship from Greece a decade ago and sailed it 6,500 miles to Mobile, Ala., a voyage that attracted international publicity.
"A lot of people said we couldn't do it," he said.
After extensive restoration, LST 325 is a "ship museum" in Evansville, Ind. Mr. Jornlin and a crew of about 40 -- including farmers, firefighters and veterans -- take the ship out twice a year.
This is the ship's first visit to Pittsburgh, a city with deep connections to LSTs.
More about this story at the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette LINK
Monday 5 July 2010
Seven Missing WWII Airmen Identified
The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of seven servicemen, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
Army Capt. Joseph M. Olbinski, Chicago; 1st Lt. Joseph J. Auld, Floral Park, N.Y.; 1st Lt. Robert M. Anderson, Millen, Ga.; Tech. Sgt. Clarence E. Frantz, Tyrone, Penn.; Pfc. Richard M. Dawson, Haynesville, Va.; Pvt. Robert L. Crane, Sacramento, Calif.; and Pvt. Fred G. Fagan, Piedmont, Ala., were identified and all are to be interred July 15 in Arlington National Cemetery.
On May 23, 1944, the men were aboard a C-47A Skytrain that departed Dinjan, India, on an airdrop mission to resupply Allied forces near Myitkyina, Burma. When the crew failed to return, air and ground searches found no evidence of the aircraft along the intended flight path.
In late 2002, a missionary provided U.S. officials a data plate from a C-47 crash site approximately 31 miles northwest of Myitkyina. In 2003, a Burmese citizen turned over human remains and identification tags for three of the crew members.
A Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team excavated the crash site in 2003 and 2004, recovering additional remains and crew-related equipment—including an identification tag for Dawson.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA – which matched that of some of the crewmembers’ families – as well as dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
You can find this story in
LINK TO THE DEPARTEMENT OD DEFENSE
Army Capt. Joseph M. Olbinski, Chicago; 1st Lt. Joseph J. Auld, Floral Park, N.Y.; 1st Lt. Robert M. Anderson, Millen, Ga.; Tech. Sgt. Clarence E. Frantz, Tyrone, Penn.; Pfc. Richard M. Dawson, Haynesville, Va.; Pvt. Robert L. Crane, Sacramento, Calif.; and Pvt. Fred G. Fagan, Piedmont, Ala., were identified and all are to be interred July 15 in Arlington National Cemetery.
On May 23, 1944, the men were aboard a C-47A Skytrain that departed Dinjan, India, on an airdrop mission to resupply Allied forces near Myitkyina, Burma. When the crew failed to return, air and ground searches found no evidence of the aircraft along the intended flight path.
In late 2002, a missionary provided U.S. officials a data plate from a C-47 crash site approximately 31 miles northwest of Myitkyina. In 2003, a Burmese citizen turned over human remains and identification tags for three of the crew members.
A Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team excavated the crash site in 2003 and 2004, recovering additional remains and crew-related equipment—including an identification tag for Dawson.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA – which matched that of some of the crewmembers’ families – as well as dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
You can find this story in
LINK TO THE DEPARTEMENT OD DEFENSE
Thursday 1 July 2010
Son Relates Father's Role in Rescue of 1.7 Million from Manchuria
Retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Paul K. Maruyama recalls his father's part in prevention of a human catastrophe of historic magnitude in Manchuria after WWII
MONUMENT, Colo., March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- In the closing days of WWII, the Soviet Union attacked and occupied Japanese-controlled northern China, then called Manchuria. Immediately, misery and death from cold, hunger, disease, and brutality descended upon the Japanese civilians at the hands of the Soviet Army and revenge-seeking mobs and bandits. Nearly 2,500 Japanese died daily.
Three courageous men embarked on a secret mission and escaped to Japan to eventually bring an end to the Manchurian nightmare. In Escape from Manchuria (published by iUniverse), Paul K. Maruyama, Lt. Col., USAF (Retired), the son of one of the three men, narrates for Western readers the compelling true story of the rescue and repatriation of nearly 1.7 million Japanese that began almost a year after the surrender of Japan.
"Escape from Manchuria is the story of my father, Kunio Maruyama -- then a 37-year-old Japanese citizen -- and his two courageous friends, Hachiro Shinpo (31) and Masamichi Musashi (24)," explains career USAF Officer (1966-1987) and first-time author Maruyama. "When WWII broke, my father took my mother and his four sons, which included me -- all of whom were U.S. Citizens -- to Anshan, Manchuria where he worked at Showa Seiko, a major steel making company. My father recruited two companions who together devised a plan to surreptitiously escape to Japan in 1946 from Soviet-occupied Manchuria. The three men personally appealed to General Douglas MacArthur -- who was then the Supreme Commander for Allied Power occupying the defeated nation of Japan. Escape from Manchuria is a story of true courage and perseverance of the three men who eventually brought about the repatriation of 1.7 million Japanese held captive under Soviet occupation in Manchuria."
More about this story in
LINK TO PR NEWSWIRE
MONUMENT, Colo., March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- In the closing days of WWII, the Soviet Union attacked and occupied Japanese-controlled northern China, then called Manchuria. Immediately, misery and death from cold, hunger, disease, and brutality descended upon the Japanese civilians at the hands of the Soviet Army and revenge-seeking mobs and bandits. Nearly 2,500 Japanese died daily.
Three courageous men embarked on a secret mission and escaped to Japan to eventually bring an end to the Manchurian nightmare. In Escape from Manchuria (published by iUniverse), Paul K. Maruyama, Lt. Col., USAF (Retired), the son of one of the three men, narrates for Western readers the compelling true story of the rescue and repatriation of nearly 1.7 million Japanese that began almost a year after the surrender of Japan.
"Escape from Manchuria is the story of my father, Kunio Maruyama -- then a 37-year-old Japanese citizen -- and his two courageous friends, Hachiro Shinpo (31) and Masamichi Musashi (24)," explains career USAF Officer (1966-1987) and first-time author Maruyama. "When WWII broke, my father took my mother and his four sons, which included me -- all of whom were U.S. Citizens -- to Anshan, Manchuria where he worked at Showa Seiko, a major steel making company. My father recruited two companions who together devised a plan to surreptitiously escape to Japan in 1946 from Soviet-occupied Manchuria. The three men personally appealed to General Douglas MacArthur -- who was then the Supreme Commander for Allied Power occupying the defeated nation of Japan. Escape from Manchuria is a story of true courage and perseverance of the three men who eventually brought about the repatriation of 1.7 million Japanese held captive under Soviet occupation in Manchuria."
More about this story in
LINK TO PR NEWSWIRE
Wednesday 30 June 2010
FRANCE TO EXPOSE NAZI COLLABORATORS FROM WW2
By Peter Allen in Paris
THOUSANDS of French men and women who collaborated with the Nazis during the Second World War are set to be unmasked as official reports from the era are finally made public.
All of the files, which include information passed on to the Gestapo during the occupation of France between 1940 and 1944, will be published online.
Since the Liberation of Paris all the papers have been kept hidden in cardboard boxes in the basement of the Police Museum in the French capital.
A museum spokesman said: “They include notes from interrogations, as well as information passed on to the authorities willingly. All of it will now be easily available.” As well as shedding new light on the work of the Gestapo in France, the files will illuminate the role of the Brigade Speciale, which hunted down resistance fighters and other “enemies” of the Nazi regime.
More about this story in
THE LINK TO THE DAILY EXPRESS
THOUSANDS of French men and women who collaborated with the Nazis during the Second World War are set to be unmasked as official reports from the era are finally made public.
All of the files, which include information passed on to the Gestapo during the occupation of France between 1940 and 1944, will be published online.
Since the Liberation of Paris all the papers have been kept hidden in cardboard boxes in the basement of the Police Museum in the French capital.
A museum spokesman said: “They include notes from interrogations, as well as information passed on to the authorities willingly. All of it will now be easily available.” As well as shedding new light on the work of the Gestapo in France, the files will illuminate the role of the Brigade Speciale, which hunted down resistance fighters and other “enemies” of the Nazi regime.
More about this story in
THE LINK TO THE DAILY EXPRESS
WWII American Civilian POWs 65th Anniversary of Liberation
Civilians imprisoned by Japan reunite to share memories
Liberated Prisoners from Bilibid
FREMONT, Calif., April 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This year marks the 65th anniversary of liberation for U.S. civilians imprisoned by Japan during WWII in the Philippines. For the national organization, Bay Area Civilian Ex-POWs (BACEPOW), the anniversary has special meaning and is being celebrated with reunions and other events, which provide a forum for survivors to tell their stories of imprisonment, survival and liberation. It's a time for continued healing and reconciliation.
Few know that 14,000 American civilians were held as prisoners by Japan during WWII, 11% of them dying or disappearing from inhumane camps. Half were in the Philippines, a US Commonwealth where large numbers of Americans lived and worked, some second and third generation families. Their lives changed forever when Japan invaded in 1941.
"Many of us were children", says Sascha Jansen, who now leads tours to the sites of the POW camps. "We didn't understand why we were imprisoned, had to live in unbearable conditions, were poorly fed, and watched as many parents and friends starved to death".
More from this story in
THE LINK TO PR NEWSWIRE
Liberated Prisoners from Bilibid
FREMONT, Calif., April 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This year marks the 65th anniversary of liberation for U.S. civilians imprisoned by Japan during WWII in the Philippines. For the national organization, Bay Area Civilian Ex-POWs (BACEPOW), the anniversary has special meaning and is being celebrated with reunions and other events, which provide a forum for survivors to tell their stories of imprisonment, survival and liberation. It's a time for continued healing and reconciliation.
Few know that 14,000 American civilians were held as prisoners by Japan during WWII, 11% of them dying or disappearing from inhumane camps. Half were in the Philippines, a US Commonwealth where large numbers of Americans lived and worked, some second and third generation families. Their lives changed forever when Japan invaded in 1941.
"Many of us were children", says Sascha Jansen, who now leads tours to the sites of the POW camps. "We didn't understand why we were imprisoned, had to live in unbearable conditions, were poorly fed, and watched as many parents and friends starved to death".
More from this story in
THE LINK TO PR NEWSWIRE
Tuesday 29 June 2010
Flight on B-17 gives appreciation of WWII heroes
By Bill Vidonic
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
It was a history lesson that David Rakestraw couldn't get from a DVD or video game.
During an hour-long flight Monday inside the B-17 bomber Liberty Belle, the 10-year-old boy from Columbus, Ohio, grasped the cold steel of a machine gun, smelled the scorched rubber as the tires squealed on the runway, and felt the wind rush past through an opening in the plane's roof.
"This is hands-on history," said Vince Rakestraw, David's father. "You really get the feel of what it must have been like to bomb Germany. It's certainly a nostalgic look back."
But it's a history lesson that comes at a steep price.
The Liberty Foundation, owner of the restored Flying Fortress, spends about $1 million a year flying the plane to nearly three dozen cities across the United States.
This weekend, the B-17 bomber will be available for flights and public ground tours at the Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin. Flights cost $430 for non-members of the nonprofit Liberty Foundation.
"We fly a lot of veterans who want to touch the past one more time, and family that want to get a better understanding about what Dad and Grandpa did during the war," said foundation spokesman Scott Maher. "The airplane is hands-on history, not in the pages of a dusty book."
More about this story in the
LINK TO PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
It was a history lesson that David Rakestraw couldn't get from a DVD or video game.
During an hour-long flight Monday inside the B-17 bomber Liberty Belle, the 10-year-old boy from Columbus, Ohio, grasped the cold steel of a machine gun, smelled the scorched rubber as the tires squealed on the runway, and felt the wind rush past through an opening in the plane's roof.
"This is hands-on history," said Vince Rakestraw, David's father. "You really get the feel of what it must have been like to bomb Germany. It's certainly a nostalgic look back."
But it's a history lesson that comes at a steep price.
The Liberty Foundation, owner of the restored Flying Fortress, spends about $1 million a year flying the plane to nearly three dozen cities across the United States.
This weekend, the B-17 bomber will be available for flights and public ground tours at the Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin. Flights cost $430 for non-members of the nonprofit Liberty Foundation.
"We fly a lot of veterans who want to touch the past one more time, and family that want to get a better understanding about what Dad and Grandpa did during the war," said foundation spokesman Scott Maher. "The airplane is hands-on history, not in the pages of a dusty book."
More about this story in the
LINK TO PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday 27 June 2010
Mir fehlen die Worte
This story came out in the German newspaper “Die Zeit”.
It is about the millions of Russians POW’s from the Germans during WWII that never got any compensation.
There are about four to five thousand men still alive from 5,7 million that where made prisoners after 1941.
The Russians themselves forgot them, as they were seen as traitors. The former DDR never talked about them and even the new Germany, after deciding to compensate the slave worker’s they used during the war – a decision taken in 2000 – did not included the POW’s, although the Russians were used as slave workers also.
The story from “Die Zeit” refers about all this aspects and reports about a small club in Berlin, named “Kontakte”, that is trying to help all the forgotten persons victims from Nazism.
They are sending money to those men in Russia… It is not much but as most of them are living in very poor conditions that is one important help…
................
Verfolgt und vergessen: 5,7 Millionen sowjetische Soldaten gerieten nach 1941 in deutsche Gefangenschaft. Ein Berliner Verein hilft den letzten Überlebenden
DIE ZEIT, Christian Staas
Den gefallenen Sowjetsoldaten wurden Monumente errichtet wie hier im Berliner Tiergarten, die ehemaligen Gefangenen aber ignoriert man bis heute
Im Lager, schreibt Iwan Dmitrijewitsch Solonowitsch, »begann für mich der Schrecken des Krieges«. Im November 1940 ist er, gerade 19 Jahre alt, eingezogen worden. Wenige Wochen nach dem deutschen Überfall auf die Sowjetunion am 22. Juni 1941 entrinnt er, schwer verletzt, nur knapp dem Tod. Neun Monate später schickt man den jungen Mann erneut an die Front, auf der Krim kesseln die Deutschen seine Einheit ein. Solonowitsch wird ins Reich verschleppt, in ein Kriegsgefangenenlager in Hagen.
See more about this story in
THE LINK TO "DIE ZEIT"
It is about the millions of Russians POW’s from the Germans during WWII that never got any compensation.
There are about four to five thousand men still alive from 5,7 million that where made prisoners after 1941.
The Russians themselves forgot them, as they were seen as traitors. The former DDR never talked about them and even the new Germany, after deciding to compensate the slave worker’s they used during the war – a decision taken in 2000 – did not included the POW’s, although the Russians were used as slave workers also.
The story from “Die Zeit” refers about all this aspects and reports about a small club in Berlin, named “Kontakte”, that is trying to help all the forgotten persons victims from Nazism.
They are sending money to those men in Russia… It is not much but as most of them are living in very poor conditions that is one important help…
................
Verfolgt und vergessen: 5,7 Millionen sowjetische Soldaten gerieten nach 1941 in deutsche Gefangenschaft. Ein Berliner Verein hilft den letzten Überlebenden
DIE ZEIT, Christian Staas
Den gefallenen Sowjetsoldaten wurden Monumente errichtet wie hier im Berliner Tiergarten, die ehemaligen Gefangenen aber ignoriert man bis heute
Im Lager, schreibt Iwan Dmitrijewitsch Solonowitsch, »begann für mich der Schrecken des Krieges«. Im November 1940 ist er, gerade 19 Jahre alt, eingezogen worden. Wenige Wochen nach dem deutschen Überfall auf die Sowjetunion am 22. Juni 1941 entrinnt er, schwer verletzt, nur knapp dem Tod. Neun Monate später schickt man den jungen Mann erneut an die Front, auf der Krim kesseln die Deutschen seine Einheit ein. Solonowitsch wird ins Reich verschleppt, in ein Kriegsgefangenenlager in Hagen.
See more about this story in
THE LINK TO "DIE ZEIT"
Thursday 24 June 2010
The Curse of the Sands
This is from Al Jazeera
Filmmakers: Cristina Bocchialini and Ayman El Gazwy
In an area 100 kilometer west of Alexandria in northern Egypt lies the famous region of el-Alamein – scene of a mighty battle between the UK and its allies fighting German and Italian forces for control of North Africa in 1942.
The battle marked a turning point in the war: Montgomery's Desert Rats and his allies broke through German lines, pushing Rommel's forces back to Tunisia, taking control of the Suez canal, and gaining access to the Middle Eastern oil fields.
With no natural barriers in the desert, Rommel ordered half a million mines to be laid around the coastal town, while the British reportedly put down even more.
Santo Pelliccia, an Italian WWII veteran says:"There was an engineers battalion under Major Dominioni. They knew where the mines were, and they came with us on patrol to cross the frontline. We walked in single file and stepped slowly, checking the ground. We had to identify the mines, especially the anti-personnel ones. If you step on an anti-tank mine nothing will happen, but not the other kind."
Gino Sermidi, another Italian veteran remembers: "I was on patrol with two men. We used a compass to avoid the enemy mines. Every now and then in the night we would occasionally hear a landmine explode and someone scream. On the way back to our camp, we used the same method to avoid the mines."
Abd el-Fattah lost his leg because a mine exploded while he was playing football
More than 65 years after the battle, the area remains riddled with debris from the hostilities – including an estimated 17 million landmines.
The area is home to Bedouin nomads and many local villagers and farmers – along with their children – are hurt and sometimes killed when they come across the bombs, tank shells and landmines abandoned in the shifting dunes. (...)
More about this story
LINK TO AL'JAZEERA
Wednesday 23 June 2010
WWII nurse in iconic Times Square kissing photo dies
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-06-23 11:02
LOS ANGELES - A nurse famously photographed being kissed by an American sailor in New York's Times Square in 1945 to celebrate the end of World War Two has died at the age of 91, her family said on Tuesday
A combined photo shows Alfred Eisenstaedt's 1945 "Life" Magazine photograph (left and right) of a sailor stamping a passionate kiss on a nurse named Edith Shain and she tries to imitate the photo's embrace with Nick Mayo, foreground left, a member of the cast of the musical South Pacific as they pose with other South Pacific cast members at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in New York, Sunday Nov. 9, 2000. [Agencies]
The V-J Day picture of the white-clad Edith Shain by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt captured an epic moment in US history and became an iconic image marking the end of the war after being published in Life magazine.
The identity of the nurse in the photograph was not known until the late 1970s when Shain wrote to the photographer saying that she was the woman in the picture taken on Aug. 14 at a time when she had been working at Doctor's Hospital in New York City.
The identity of the sailor remains disputed and unresolved.
From then on the photograph also made its mark on Shain's life as the fame she garnered led to invites to war related events such a wreath layings, parades and other memorial events.
See more about this story:
LINK TO "CHINA DAILY"
Updated: 2010-06-23 11:02
LOS ANGELES - A nurse famously photographed being kissed by an American sailor in New York's Times Square in 1945 to celebrate the end of World War Two has died at the age of 91, her family said on Tuesday
A combined photo shows Alfred Eisenstaedt's 1945 "Life" Magazine photograph (left and right) of a sailor stamping a passionate kiss on a nurse named Edith Shain and she tries to imitate the photo's embrace with Nick Mayo, foreground left, a member of the cast of the musical South Pacific as they pose with other South Pacific cast members at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in New York, Sunday Nov. 9, 2000. [Agencies]
The V-J Day picture of the white-clad Edith Shain by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt captured an epic moment in US history and became an iconic image marking the end of the war after being published in Life magazine.
The identity of the nurse in the photograph was not known until the late 1970s when Shain wrote to the photographer saying that she was the woman in the picture taken on Aug. 14 at a time when she had been working at Doctor's Hospital in New York City.
The identity of the sailor remains disputed and unresolved.
From then on the photograph also made its mark on Shain's life as the fame she garnered led to invites to war related events such a wreath layings, parades and other memorial events.
See more about this story:
LINK TO "CHINA DAILY"
Tuesday 22 June 2010
Remains of WWII aircrew lost in Burma to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery
By Edward Colimore
Inquirer Staff Writer
(Published in South Jersey News, 21-06-2010)
Gini Doolittle never knew her cousin, but her family talked so often of his mysterious disappearance that she felt a close bond.
Lt. Joseph Auld was their "lost hero," she said, a pilot who "flew the hump" over the Himalayas during World War II until he and his aircraft disappeared in 1944.
Doolittle spent hours paging through an album of photos showing Auld and her father, Charles Wilderman, a technical sergeant and radio operator who flew similar missions from India to Burma and China.
Later, Doolittle, a professor at Rowan University, came to know Auld better through a diary he left behind.
She never expected his remains to be recovered, much less that he and others in his crew would be celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery 66 years after their deaths.
The airmen will be remembered July 15 in funeral services at the Old Post Chapel, just outside the cemetery gate. A caisson will then take their remains to a grave site where they will honored in patriotic ceremonies and by a fighter-jet flyover.
"I opened a package at my house in September, and inside was a spiral-bound report that said [the Army had] identified him," said Doolittle, 64, of Sicklerville. "I was speechless."
Doolittle was likewise stunned to meet a brother of one of the six others on Auld's C-47. She and Robert Frantz of Lindenwold met at a survivors meeting held by the Defense Department.
"Imagine my surprise to be seated with a relative of another crew member," she said. "He lived just a few miles away."
Frantz, 72, last saw his big brother, Tech. Sgt. Clarence E. Frantz, just before the latter was deployed in 1942, and he has treasured his memories and photos.
To find his plane "means a lot to me," Frantz said. "It's still emotional."
See More about this story in:
LINK TO SOUTH JERSEY NEWS (more pictures inside)
Inquirer Staff Writer
(Published in South Jersey News, 21-06-2010)
Gini Doolittle never knew her cousin, but her family talked so often of his mysterious disappearance that she felt a close bond.
Lt. Joseph Auld was their "lost hero," she said, a pilot who "flew the hump" over the Himalayas during World War II until he and his aircraft disappeared in 1944.
Doolittle spent hours paging through an album of photos showing Auld and her father, Charles Wilderman, a technical sergeant and radio operator who flew similar missions from India to Burma and China.
Later, Doolittle, a professor at Rowan University, came to know Auld better through a diary he left behind.
She never expected his remains to be recovered, much less that he and others in his crew would be celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery 66 years after their deaths.
The airmen will be remembered July 15 in funeral services at the Old Post Chapel, just outside the cemetery gate. A caisson will then take their remains to a grave site where they will honored in patriotic ceremonies and by a fighter-jet flyover.
"I opened a package at my house in September, and inside was a spiral-bound report that said [the Army had] identified him," said Doolittle, 64, of Sicklerville. "I was speechless."
Doolittle was likewise stunned to meet a brother of one of the six others on Auld's C-47. She and Robert Frantz of Lindenwold met at a survivors meeting held by the Defense Department.
"Imagine my surprise to be seated with a relative of another crew member," she said. "He lived just a few miles away."
Frantz, 72, last saw his big brother, Tech. Sgt. Clarence E. Frantz, just before the latter was deployed in 1942, and he has treasured his memories and photos.
To find his plane "means a lot to me," Frantz said. "It's still emotional."
See More about this story in:
LINK TO SOUTH JERSEY NEWS (more pictures inside)
Monday 21 June 2010
Hills reveal WWII secret
Arunachal teacher braves fear to find plane remains
ATONU CHOUDHURRI
(From "The Telegraph", Calcutta - India)
The metal plate from the aircraft. (Telegraph pictures)
Itanagar, June 20: A village schoolteacher’s personal challenge to his clan’s fear of the unknown has led him to the wreckage of a World War II aircraft on a perilous wooded hill in Arunachal Pradesh.
Tani Bagang, 28, had heard legendary tales of how sightings of arre — “mystery object” in the Nyishi language — on the hill would scare off his ancestors. Ten days ago, he decided to see it for himself.
Braving snakes and poor weather, he trekked alone for seven days, losing his way once in the remote hill forests, before stumbling on mangled pieces of metal. A little further down, where the hill sloped towards a gorge, he lifted a veil of foliage to find a metal plate. A skeleton and four-inch bullets lay nearby.
The inscription on the plate said: ST 95T6 BLACK HAWK 7.26.1943SPMCO. The schoolteacher realised he may have discovered the wreckage of a WWII aircraft that probably crash-landed at the spot.
See more about this story in:
THE TELEGRAPH LINK
ATONU CHOUDHURRI
(From "The Telegraph", Calcutta - India)
The metal plate from the aircraft. (Telegraph pictures)
Itanagar, June 20: A village schoolteacher’s personal challenge to his clan’s fear of the unknown has led him to the wreckage of a World War II aircraft on a perilous wooded hill in Arunachal Pradesh.
Tani Bagang, 28, had heard legendary tales of how sightings of arre — “mystery object” in the Nyishi language — on the hill would scare off his ancestors. Ten days ago, he decided to see it for himself.
Braving snakes and poor weather, he trekked alone for seven days, losing his way once in the remote hill forests, before stumbling on mangled pieces of metal. A little further down, where the hill sloped towards a gorge, he lifted a veil of foliage to find a metal plate. A skeleton and four-inch bullets lay nearby.
The inscription on the plate said: ST 95T6 BLACK HAWK 7.26.1943SPMCO. The schoolteacher realised he may have discovered the wreckage of a WWII aircraft that probably crash-landed at the spot.
See more about this story in:
THE TELEGRAPH LINK
Mass. researcher says he has ID'd 7 MIAs from WWII
By DAVID DISHNEAU
Associated Press Writer
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
SUITLAND, Md. (AP) -- A private researcher who has labored for years to identify the remains of U.S. service members declared missing in action during World War II says he has matched seven MIAs with the remains of unknowns and he expects to match as many as 19 more within a week.
In this photo taken Tuesday, June 8, 2010, Ted Darcy, of Fall River, Mass., is surrounded by documents on his research into the identity of soldiers missing in action from WWII, while at the National Records Center in Suitland, Md. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Ted Darcy's list of five Marines and two sailors missing since the 1944 Battle of Saipan may not sound long. But his announcement Tuesday - the 66th anniversary of the battle's opening day - was remarkable, considering the military's average of confirming 72 such matches annually from all U.S. wars.
Darcy, a retired Marine Corps gunnery sergeant from Fall River, Mass., has helped bring home three WWII MIAs since 1991 from burial sites in the Philippines, Hawaii and Newport, R.I. Now he is accelerating his work using computerized databases filled with information he painstakingly entered from two sets of government documents: those containing physical descriptions of MIAs and those containing autopsies of slain service members buried as unknowns.
He hands over his findings to the military, which then tries to verify his work.
It sounds simple, but the identifications are the fruit of 20 years' labor by Darcy, who says he's determined to bring home thousands of missing WWII fighters.
"If I can bring home 4,500 American MIAs, I'll be a happy camper," he said in a recent interview at the Washington National Records Center, a federal repository in Suitland, just east of the nation's capital.
Soft-spoken, with a thatch of curly, salt-and-pepper hair, Darcy, 59, runs a business, WFI Research Group, that digs up details of decades-old battles for other WWII researchers at $50 an hour. But he doesn't charge MIAs' families to find their loved ones, usually buried anonymously in distant cemeteries under white marble crosses inscribed, "Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God."
The Associated Press isn't naming those identified by Darcy unless they have been officially confirmed.
There are nearly 88,000 American MIAs, including 78,000 from WWII, according to the Pentagon's Defense Prisoner of War-Missing Personnel Office. Darcy says he has located the remains of nearly 9,000 unidentified WWII fighters, and he hopes to put names to at least half of them.
See the rest of the story in:
AP NEWS LINK
---
Associated Press Writer
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
SUITLAND, Md. (AP) -- A private researcher who has labored for years to identify the remains of U.S. service members declared missing in action during World War II says he has matched seven MIAs with the remains of unknowns and he expects to match as many as 19 more within a week.
In this photo taken Tuesday, June 8, 2010, Ted Darcy, of Fall River, Mass., is surrounded by documents on his research into the identity of soldiers missing in action from WWII, while at the National Records Center in Suitland, Md. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Ted Darcy's list of five Marines and two sailors missing since the 1944 Battle of Saipan may not sound long. But his announcement Tuesday - the 66th anniversary of the battle's opening day - was remarkable, considering the military's average of confirming 72 such matches annually from all U.S. wars.
Darcy, a retired Marine Corps gunnery sergeant from Fall River, Mass., has helped bring home three WWII MIAs since 1991 from burial sites in the Philippines, Hawaii and Newport, R.I. Now he is accelerating his work using computerized databases filled with information he painstakingly entered from two sets of government documents: those containing physical descriptions of MIAs and those containing autopsies of slain service members buried as unknowns.
He hands over his findings to the military, which then tries to verify his work.
It sounds simple, but the identifications are the fruit of 20 years' labor by Darcy, who says he's determined to bring home thousands of missing WWII fighters.
"If I can bring home 4,500 American MIAs, I'll be a happy camper," he said in a recent interview at the Washington National Records Center, a federal repository in Suitland, just east of the nation's capital.
Soft-spoken, with a thatch of curly, salt-and-pepper hair, Darcy, 59, runs a business, WFI Research Group, that digs up details of decades-old battles for other WWII researchers at $50 an hour. But he doesn't charge MIAs' families to find their loved ones, usually buried anonymously in distant cemeteries under white marble crosses inscribed, "Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God."
The Associated Press isn't naming those identified by Darcy unless they have been officially confirmed.
There are nearly 88,000 American MIAs, including 78,000 from WWII, according to the Pentagon's Defense Prisoner of War-Missing Personnel Office. Darcy says he has located the remains of nearly 9,000 unidentified WWII fighters, and he hopes to put names to at least half of them.
See the rest of the story in:
AP NEWS LINK
---
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