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A Little too Ambitious!

February 1st, 2011 | Add a Comment

So, I am always getting hit with the blogging bug. I do enjoy to write so I want to start a new blog when I think I get a good idea for one. This particular blog is one that I truly thought I could keep up with on the posts. But, I was wrong as I have been with my other blogs. I just really didn’t think they were so much work. I have lots of other things going on in my life, like work and family and school, so I don’t get to put a lot of time into my blogging ideas. I thought I could just get an idea and sit down and write it out and then post; voila, I have a blog. Oh, how wrong I … Read entire article »

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Charles McCain: If You Survived: Campaign Shields of the German Army

Below is a link to a blog post that I found pretty interesting. It talks about the German Campaign shields and how and why they were issued. One thing that I found interesting is when Mr. McCain talks about all the fake German decorations out there. I live in Germany and go to some of the local flea markets (Flomarkt) and see all kinds of German medals and shields. I often wonder of the history of that particular medal or shield. Now, I will wonder if it is one of the ‘fake’ ones that Mr. McCain mentions in the post. Charles McCain: If You Survived: Campaign Shields of the German Army … Read entire article »

World History Blog: OMG WWII on FACEBOOK!

World History Blog: OMG WWII on FACEBOOK! One of the blogs that I try to read has this posted on it and I find it quite humorous and actually accurate. If this is what it takes to get our teenagers to learn history then I guess this is what we will have to start doing; adapting to their lifestyle.     … Read entire article »

Airborne Landings on D-Day

Another posting from my current class on D-Day and the Normandy Campaign. How did the landings go? (answer, badly scattered). How successful were the troops in fulfilling their mission? The landings were very badly scattered, at least for the Americans, throughout the Cotentin. I believe a big reason for this was the caliber of the pilots and their training. The AAF didn’t use their best pilots to fly the transport planes. The best pilots were flying the fighters and bombers. Also, these pilots were generally not flying over an active combat zone in their transport aircraft. And they definitely didn’t fly over a combat zone at 500 or so ft in thick flak. They weren’t trained … Read entire article »

Class on D-Day and the Normandy Campaign

Ok, I am taking a short on-line class on D-Day and the Normandy Campaign so I thought I would take some of my comments in the discussions from the class and post here also since they are relevant to what this blog is about. Some of the comments I post will be my direct answers to questions for discussion posed by the professor so I will include the question as I do in this first post. 2. Why were American Army planners, reflecting General Marshall’s strongly held views, insistent upon mobilizing all possible resources and manpower for an invasion of France in 1943? Why, indeed, did Marshall believe that an even earlier invasion attempt (SLEDGEHAMMER) might … Read entire article »

Perspective on the Attack on Pearl Harbor

I’m reading the book OVERLORD: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy by Max Hastings and on the very first page of chapter 1 he says something that really gave me a new perspective on the attack on Pearl Harbor. He said “Then, in the dying days of the year, came the miracle of Pearl Harbor.”  The attack on Pearl Harbor will never be forgotten by the United States, it was an inexcusable act by the Japanese that brought us into the war. As Americans, it is a very dark day in our history and I personally wish it did not happen as it did and I suspect most Americans feel the same. However, that is … Read entire article »

Review: “Tears in the Darkness” The Story of the Bataan Death March and its Aftermath.

The first thing that I can say about this book is WOW! This is a book that I will read again. It was a story, a visual experience, and a historical experience. My hats off to the authors Michael and Elizabeth Norman for a well researched, well documented, and well written narrative that had me smiling at times, angry at times, and teary eyed at times. But most of all this book opened my mind to the horrors that our POW soldiers endured in the Pacific Theater of Operations. I am the first to admit that I am not an expert on WWII, especially the Pacific Theater, but I am a enthusiast that wants to learn … Read entire article »

60th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge

We are in the midst of the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge and I would be ashamed of myself if I didn’t post some comments. The Battle of the Bulge is the more common name given to this offensive by us Americans but the official name of the operation was Wacht am Rhein (Watch on the Rhein) by the Germans. This was Hitler’s last chance of the war to “save some face.” I don’t believe anything the Germans could have done at this point would have won the war for them; they had been fighting too long on too many fronts to have the manpower and resources needed to beat the Allies. One … Read entire article »

Republishing Nazi Newspapers

A while back I read a short article in the Stars and Stripes newspaper about a publisher in Europe that was reprinting Nazi articles in a current magazine. In the article, the publisher said that they just want to educate the current society on the atrocities of yesteryear. The German government and censors apparently went ballistic about these reprints and ordered police to raid newspapers stands to take all unread copies off the street. Obviously, by the title of this blog you know that I have a vast interest in WWII. I also have a interest in History, in general. So I usually look at instances like I mentioned above from a historical perspective. I can … Read entire article »

Pfc Joseph Lucas 882nd FA 70 Infantry Division

(This is a short synopsis that I wrote about my grandpa.) Joseph Lucas was born 13 December 1907 in Northbridge, Massachusetts. His parents were Polish immigrants, Roman Luksys and Catherine Paskruba. Joe (as he was called by friends and family) was the second oldest of their six children. They resided in Massachusetts until they moved to Michigan about 1911. Roman and Catherine changed their last name from Luksys to Lucas sometime between 1913 and 1920, more than likely to make it more “American”. Roman died sometime between 1920 and 1924. Joe, along with his brothers, probably helped out on the family farm so they probably didn’t finish any schooling past the 6th grade.. Joe also worked as … Read entire article »

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