Veteran Stories

War War II Museum In New Orleans Opens Freedom Pavilion

The new Freedom Pavilion was recently opened at the World War II Museum in New Orleans.  This video from DVIDS has more information.

The Freedom Pavilion has WWII aircraft and other "large item" displays.

News Updates - SEALs, Calendar, Veterans, Interviews, POW-MIA, Podcasts, Etc

Here are some updates from our email inbox:

• News coverage of the one year anniversary of 17 SEALs killed in helicopter attack in Afghanistan in 2011. [Huffington Post, Scripts, Time]
• HALO Counter-Terrorism Summit 2012 is Oct 29 - Nov 2 in San Diego, CA
• Wounded Warrior Project continues to provide services and support to veterans who are injured and in the need of aid.
• The Frontlines site has stories and videos in the news about veterans.
• Purple Stars Veterans and Families supports veterans' transition from active service to homecoming.
• PinUpsForVets is working on their 2013 calendar (news, store).
• Recently Accounted For: Lt. Col. Charles M. Walling; Maj. Aado Kommendant; Sgt. 1^st Class William T. Brown; Sgt. 1^st Class Donald M. Shue; Sgt. 1^stClass Gunther H. Wald; Staff Sgt. John E. Hogan; [DPMO]
• Pritzker Military Library Podcasts recommendations: "Bryan Anderson: No Turning Back", "Rachel Cox: Into Dust and Fire", and "Anthony Swofford: Hotels, Hospitals and Jails".

New Website Honors Service Members' Valor

American Forces Press Service reports that the U.S. Department of Defense has created a new website - valor.defense.gov - dedicated to "raising awareness of service members' heroism and to help deter those who falsely claim military honors"

San Diego WWII Veterans Travel To Washington DC

John Wilkens at the Union-Tribune has an in-depth article with some great pictures of WWII Veterans visiting Washington DC including the WWII memorial.

A total of "105 veterans" took an "all-expenses-paid Honor Flight trip this weekend from San Diego were treated like heroes wherever they went. Strangers came up and thanked them for their service."

The group that puts this all together is the San Diego Honor Flight team.

Supporting Naval Special Warfare Members & Families

Karla Peterson has a great interview in the San Diego Union-Tribune with Craig Irving who started a local San Diego organization to support members of the Naval Special Warfare communities and their families.  

The group is called the SEAL - NSW Family Foundation and they have a big fundraiser coming up on May 19, 2012.

There is another similar group based on the East Coast - Navy SEAL Warrior Fund - that is going to be merging with this group according to the PilotOnline.com to form the Navy SEAL Foundation.

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)

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 Ford's Naval Career

Military.com has an in-depth review of President Gerald Ford's Naval career including his service during WWII and in the reserves.