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 […]

  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 […]

  In August of 2010, Write on New Jersey reported the previously untold story of a fourth B-29 in the skies over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and of the military photographer on board who captured the image of the first atomic bomb explosion.  Denied by official sources for more than half a century, the story […]

  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 […]

  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.  […]

  The origin of Memorial Day dates back to the period immediately following the Civil War when ladies of the South began decorating graves of deceased Confederate soldiers.  The day was termed Decoration Day.  This practice was adopted by the Union and later would be called Memorial Day, a day set aside to honor and […]

  Nestled in Northampton County in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania lies the tiny borough of Roseto.  Just six-tenths of a square mile in size, the town was named for the village of Roseto Valfortore in Italy and settled largely by Italians employed at the numerous local slate quarries.  It is here that a […]

Recently, I received an email from a dear friend and brother in arms, Ed Honn who served our country in the Vietnam War.  It was a request to pledge to a cause that would establish a national holiday to honor Vietnam veterans for their sacrifices and service annually on March 29th.   At first, the […]