Summer is, for many, a period of relaxation and reminiscence on the times and events that have impacted our lives.  A time that had a profound impact on my life was the summer of 1945.  On January 18, 1945, I had been inducted into the U.S. Army at Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania.   My […]

  Battered trumpet from sunken warship provides link to World War II tragedy   Navy conservator Shanna Daniel carefully cleans a smashed trumpet that was retrieved by a diver from the wreck of the USS Houston, which was sunk in battle by the Japanese in 1942. Navy experts believe the owner’s DNA might be preserved […]

  When we declared independence from England, our Founders established our country as a Republic, a nation “of the people, by the people, and for the people” and a beacon of hope for those around the world oppressed by governments run by royalty and oligarchies.  Our forefathers wrote a Constitution and a Bill of Rights […]

  If you have been following the Republican debates and primary election process from the beginning, you can’t help but notice that Donald Trump has been leading virtually every poll and resonating with the American people. He has revolutionized the political process with his home style of rhetoric and unorthodox approach to political discourse. He […]

  To set the record straight before I give my commentary, I am a “Trumpeter,” not of the musical instrument but of the candidate for President of the United States of America. And so, I am certain that there will be those who disagree with my thoughts. If you do, you are welcome to leave […]

  Born August 3, 1900, he entered the world as Ernest Taylor Pyle to William Clyde Pyle and Mary Taylor Pyle near Dana, Indiana.  He attended local schools and at age 17 enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve during World War I where he served three months active duty before the war ended.  After […]

  Recently, I received a phone call from a friend and comrade-in-arms, Len Nowak, asking me if I would be interested in visiting our nation’s capital on June 7, 2014.  He told me the trip was sponsored by an organization named Honor Flight that would be transporting approximately 90 World War ll veterans from Southern […]

  August 14th, 2014, marks the 69th anniversary of V-J Day.  The date follows by eight days the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima and by five days that of the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, bringing World War II to an abrupt end.  With the second “war to end all wars” successfully […]

  About two weeks ago, I received an interesting email from a friend.  It indicated that something was to occur this August that happens only once every 823 years: the phenomena of having five Fridays, five Saturdays, and five Sundays in one month.  Allegedly based on the ancient Chinese art and science known as Feng […]

  June 6, 2014 marks the 70th anniversary of the planned invasion of the Normandy coast during World War II.  The assembly of American and Allied forces in preparation for the invasion had England bulging at the seams, and a long stretch of bad weather with little hope for improvement had stalled the invasion plans.  […]