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.

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 engines 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)

The Royal Oak Memorial Society is planning a re-dedication ceremony of Veteran's War Memorial that will include 26 new names based on some additional research by John Wendland. [detroit free press]

AP Wire is reporting that WWII US Navy veteran Roy Camero is finally getting his medals that he earned.  These include: "World War II Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Honorable Service lapel pin, and an Honorable Discharge button."

Afghanistan veteran Craig Fitzgerald shares his stories of rehabilitation with WCAX. He is currently on a fund-raising tour for the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes to help raise funds those who return to the United States after service in Iraq or Afghanistan with serious injuries. [newsday]

The Bedford Bulletin has a very interesting and historical interview piece with retired Air Force Brigadier General Roger Smith.  During his service he was: launch officer for a Titan II missile; stationed with leadership positions at Whiteman Air Force Base; assigned to the North American Aerospace Defense Command center at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado, and part of the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) treaty negotiations with the Soviets during the 1980s.

Lastly, some notices on Veterans passing crossed the newswire:

• KCEN is reporting a sad story of a Vietnam Vet that was robbed and killed.  Amazingly Barney Goodman was able to crawl "8 to 9 hours" to a position that could be seen from the highway and he was able to describe his attackers before he died. [KLTV, Veterans For America]
• WWII and Korean War US Navy veteran Peter Bolcis died on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2006.  He was extremely active in his community and in veteran organizations most of his life.  He served as motor machinist's mate on the submarine USS Bang in WWII, and the USS Yancey during the Korean War. [the morning journal]
• James Joseph Hill died on Aug. 28, 2006. He was a WWII USMC veteran that was attached to the 1st Amphibian Tractor Battalion, and after WWII he became a U.S. Merchant Marine. [times community newspaper]