Veteran Stories

Veteran Stories Podcast #001 - Mr. Harold Ball, US Navy, WWII

The 1st Veteran Stories Podcast is with Mr. Harold Ball, and it covers his stories and experiences related to his service in the Merchant Marines (1942-1943) and the U.S. Navy (1943-1946) during War World II.  His first ship was a Liberty Ship the SS Zane Grey:

• February - June 1943: Shipped locomotion enignes to India via Australia; Port visits to Egypt and Israel as "Invasion of Crete" deception
• July 1943: Invasion of Sicily (8th Army support) near the loss of SS Timothy Pickering
• August 1943: Malta & Gibraltar; mine damage to the SS Harrison Gray Otis
• August - Sept 1943: Atlantic Ocean crossing with "Baby Carriers" providing protection

Harold was then at the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY from the Fall 1943 - Early 1944.  His second ship was the USS Pickaway Attack Transport:

• 1944: Pacific Theater
• 1945: Pacific Theater including the assault and occupation of Iwo Jima (14-20 March 1945)

 (Size 15.7 MBs, Running Time 34m20s, Originally Published 11-11-06)

President Obama Awards Medal Of Honor To Sergeant First Class Jared C. Monti, U.S. Army

President Obama has awarded posthumously Sergeant First Class Jared C. Monti, U.S. Army with the Medal of Honor.  His parents Janet and Paul Monti joined President Obama at the White House for the commemoration.

For more information please check out: official press release, DefenseLink, and Google News.

Two Stories: Veterans At SDSU and Iwo Jima Promise Kept

The San Diego Union-Tribune for Sunday, August 2, 2009 has two interesting veteran related news stories:

• SDSU student veterans at SDSU are moving into Fraternity Row housing
• An Iwo Jima WW-II veteran's son keeps a promise and delivers old photos to Japanese family

WWII WASP Veterans Get Congressional Gold Medal

USA TODAY has some coverage of a new signed measure by President Obama awarding the 300 surviving Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) from World War II the Congressional Gold Medal.

Pictures of the event have been posted to The WhiteHouse Picture Feed on Flickr.

Missing In Action (MIA) Updates From DPMO

The Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) has an updated list their 2009 press releases related to identification of missing soldiers and airmen from the Korean War, World War II, and Vietnam.

The DPMO also maintains a comprehensive list of POW/MIA links.

HonorFlight.org Brings Veterans To Washington DC

DefenseLink recent published a story of some World War II veterans visiting Washington DC via the Honor Flight project. 

Visitors are taken on a whirlwind tour of DC area Veteran related monuments including the National World War II Memorial, USMC War Memorial (Iwo Jima), and Arlington National Cemetery.

Documentary Examines Korean War Vets - 'Chosin Few'

The San Diego Union-Tribune recently published an article entitled "Honoring 'Chosin Few': Korean War battle vets share their stories for upcoming documentary" written by Rick Rogers.

The story is about filmmakers Brian Iglesias and Anton Sattler who were in San Diego interviewing veterans for their upcoming documentary called 'The Chosin Few.'

New Resources: Sniper Book, Video Footage, American Heroes Book

The August 2008 edition of the American Rifleman arrived today and there were a couple of resource items of potential interest for veterans and military folks:

"The History Of Sniping and Sharpshooting" by Major John L. Plaster, USAR (Ret) covers the history of snipers in six chronological parts, and reportedly includes not only American perspectives but also includes worldwide perspectives from France and Germany to name a few.

The National Combat History Archive offesr great historical combat footage in collections like: "Gun Camera 1944, Part1"; "Group Patton"; "Normandy Invasion", and "War In The Sky - World War II (WWI)" with prices starting at $10 plus S&H.

Oliver North has published a new book called  "American Heroes: In The Fight Against Radical Islam" that examines his perspective on the current war on global terrorism.

WWII Veteran Builds School For New Guinea Village

ABC.news and the AP Newswire has a great story about WWII veteran Fred Hargesheimer who was shot down over New Guinea on June 5, 1943.  He survived without being captured by the Japanese with the help of local villagers.  After the war he returned in the 1960s and eventually helped build a school that has helped the region flourish.

You can learn more about this topic from a book that Fred wrote about the experience called "The School That Fell From The Sky".

Fallen Saliors From British Destroyer "Hunter" Remembered

Google News has pretty completely coverage of the recent remembrances for the fallen sailors from WWII who were on board the British destroyer "Hunter" off Norway when it was sunk in April 1940.

Veteran Stories Podcast #002 - Mr. Pleasant Devin, US Navy, Korean War

The 2nd Veteran Stories Podcast has been posted.  This podcast is recorded by Kevin Devin and it is his personal interview with his father Pleasant Devin, who was a member of the U.S. Navy and served on the USS St. Paul (CA-73) during the the Korean War (1950s).

Some links mentioned in this podcast include:

• 7th Pacific Fleet
• USS St. Paul Pictures: #1, #2, #3
• Heavy Cruiser
• History of United States Naval Operations: Korea

 (Size 13.5 MBs, Running Time 29m23s, Originally Published 12-27-06)