Issue #91 | March 2022
In This Issue of
Saving Military History One Soldier at a Time
Welcome to the March 2022 Newsletter.

Another history packed issue: A number of artifacts from the collection (of course).

Check out some recent donations: 91st Division of World War I, a Golden Knight, a P-51 pilot on Iwo Jima and a B-25 crewman killed in action in the Pacific.

We have been using some new photo editing software, please let us know what you think of the pictures?

Volunteer opportunities for 2022

What condition do your artifacts have to be for a donation?

So read on .... .



Thank you for all of the artifact donations we have received last year; a remarkable quantity and quality of history has been entrusted to our care.

We want to send out a special thank you to all of our volunteers who have been helping us on many projects. We could not have accomplished so much without your assistance!


Thank you for your support!

Artifacts help tell the stories, money makes the engine run, please

We tell history! Saving Military History One Soldier at a Time.

Remember those that made the #ultimatesacrifice #mia #pow #kia #sonsofliberty. #patriots #army #navy #marines #aircorps #airforce #coastguard #merchantmarine; all those that have worn the cloth.

Join us on this journey.

In Their Memory,
Robert Coalter, Jason Weigler
Executive Directors

 
"Saving Military History One Soldier At A Time".SM 
"Saving History One Soldier At A Time"SM
Rescued History & Museum Quality
We rescue a lot of military artifacts; items destined for the trash heap. From torn papers and faded ribbons to moth damaged uniforms decades pass and the condition of items deteriorate. These artifacts still have a story to tell.

Many museums only want items in pristine condition, we say differently. Some so called museums only want materials from a well known commander written up in history books or the fighter ace or a man who would fly to the moon or a Medal of Honor recipient.

While we have artifacts such as these we also have the items of the draftee who answered their nation's call and served their tour and then went home. Some were not so fortunate. in our mission of "Saving Military History One Soldier at a Time" it is about all who have worn the cloth of our nation's military. Artifacts help us bring stories to life no matter their condition.

We accept donations of artifacts in ALL CONDITIONS.
Volunteering in 2022
If you are looking to volunteer with a non profit in 2022 we would welcome your assistance. We have a need to transcribe over 150,000 of these index cards. Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Soldiers Medal, Bronze Stars and Purple Heart. Getting this information into our database will allow us to make this data searchable. Contact us to get started!
Museum Expenditures-Donations
As a non-profit it's important to let our patrons know where some of their money is going.

This riker-mount display box is one of the most important pieces that we use. They contain ribbons, medals, patches, pictures and other small memorabilia items.

Last year we purchased 534 of these items. We will fill them all in less than 12 months.
$5000.

Constant Contact charges us $1200 annually to create, store and send this newsletter.

Our web servers, domains and hosting cost $7100 / year.

The annual total for just these three components is $13,3000. Naturally, we have other expenditures, but 100% of monetary donations go to operations. All staff and directors are volunteer.

Monetary donations are needed and very welcomed to support these efforts.

Please consider a DONATION today. Thank You.

Missing in Action & Buried Unknowns
There are still thousands classified as Missing in Action or as Buried Unknowns. In our partnership with the MIA Recovery Network we have established data on our websites regarding MIAs. We are in the process of cataloging research materials instrumental to the researcher and families in this search. The quest to account for those of our nation's Missing in Action is one of the most noble of endeavors. There are also a large number of recovered remains that are buried in ABMC cemeteries where the identity is unknown.
 
The recovery of MIAs pose a number of challenges. For example, Navy or Merchant Marine ships that were sunk in are unrecoverable and thus ship manifests are the primary and often only source of names for those that have perished but are still accounted for as Missing In Action.
 
Each conflict has had its own challenges. At the end of World War II the military had established more than 360 temporary cemeteries, but the dead were being found continually, in farm fields, forests, small church cemeteries, and isolated graves and the shores of combat zones. These dead were collected and the remains consolidated into the fourteen permanent European, Mediterranean, and North African Cemeteries maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission, and two permanent cemeteries in the Philippines and Hawaii.

Throughout 2022 we will be providing stories of MIAs, and research efforts.

Monetary donations are needed and very welcomed to support these efforts.
Please consider a DONATION today. Thank You.


The Missing in Action of the Pacific, WWII
 
There is a stark difference between those missing in action cases of those found in the Pacific and those lost in Europe. The most obvious difference concerns distance and water. Many of the Pacific MIA’s will never be recovered. The depth of water and enormous expanse of distance conspire against recovery. Locations of aviation losses over water are often not known, and submarines went missing on patrols where only a general area of loss is known. The fighting on land was often conducted in areas where there was no significant infrastructure whereby a reference could be made to a known location, and the jungle growth in areas often covered losses after only a few weeks.

The remains of X-2816 rest in the Manila Cemetery at Fort McKinley. We know only that he was one of thirty lost in the crash of a C-47 over water. He was 5’ 11”, with grey eyes and dark brown hair. No other information is found. This is not unusual for Pacific losses. The percentage of buried unknowns in the cemeteries honoring our Pacific war dead are the WWII cemeteries with the highest percentage of buried unknowns. The cultural differences between the German and Japanese are highly variable. Germans often buried our dead with a modicum of reverence and attempted to mark graves and where possible identify the man. Japanese had no similar practice.

Seventy seven years after the last shots were fired, the search for the recovery and identification of World War II remains continues. We are the only nation in which this effort is still carried out in battle sites all over the world where World War II experienced casualties. It is a most honorable effort.

 
#neverforget #bringthemallhome
The Cinema
The Cinema, another way to describe it is it's our own Netflix.

130 combat films represented by 209 clips and 1436 minutes of footage will keep you watching for hours.

Army, Army Air Forces, Navy, Marines. WW2 and Vietnam. There's something for everyone.


This is a subscription service of $14.95/month.

Take a few minutes and go see what's "Now Showing" and decide if you want to signup and start watching. Go now !


Sons of Liberty Museum

The Sons of Liberty has hundreds of uniforms and thousands of other artifacts in our collection from the U.S. Revolutionary War to Present day. Our web presence now numbers in excess of 325,000 pages. We continue to accept new material for education and research programs; a number of these items will make their way on to the website. Our collection includes memorabilia from the front line soldier to the rear echelon clerk. Drivers, infantrymen, pilots, tankers, seaman, medical, artillery, armorers, engineers, quartermasters and much more. Those that were drafted or volunteered; those that did a single tour or made it a career. Those that returned with all types of injuries and those that gave their full measure being killed in action (KIA). All MOS are welcome from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marines. We are Saving Military History One Soldier At A Time. We are honoring the service of the Citizen Soldier.

#sonsofliberty
Evan Wynne Owen
Company K
363rd Infantry
91st Division
World War I
William (Bill) Lockward
US Army
Golden Knights
US Parachute Team

Captained by S/Sgt Lockward, the US Parachute Team captured their first ever World Title in 1968
New photographic editing software helped us create the following photos; let us know what you think about them !
Andrew Jackson Goodpaster
(February 12, 1915 – May 16, 2005)

Goodpaster entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1935. He was commissioned and entered the Corps of Engineers in 1939 after graduating second in his class of 456.  During World War II, Goodpaster commanded the 48th Combat Engineer Battalion in North Africa and Italy where he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star and two Purple Hearts. In January 1944, his severe wounds caused him to be sent back to the United States to recover. After his wounds had healed, he was assigned to the War Planning Office under General Marshall, where he served the duration of the war.

Following World War II he continued his distinguished career.

Highlights.
•          Staff Secretary and Defense Liaison Officer to President Eisenhower (1954–1961)
•          Advisor to the Administrations of Presidents Johnson (1963–1969), Nixon (1969–1974), and Carter (1977–1981)
•          Commander of the San Francisco District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
•          Commander of the 8th Infantry Division in Germany (1961–1962)
•          Director of the Joint Staff, Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1966–1967)
•          Commandant of the National War College (1967–1968)
•          Deputy Commander of the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) (1968–1969)
•          Commander-in-Chief of USEUCOM and Supreme Allied Commander of NATO Forces (1969–1974)
•          Superintendent, US Military Academy, USMA (1977–1981)
Volunteers

We need volunteers to transcribe award and roster documents. You will place the material into a spreadsheet where it will be added to our database and website. We welcome new dedicated volunteers to work from home and help us with this project!

Interesting Links & Resources


Donations

We welcome donations of papers, books, photos, gear, uniforms, jackets, medals, ribbons, weapons, equipment, scrapbooks, biographies, diaries and more. Please Contact Us

Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Cold War, Gulf War and current conflict donations accepted. From small to large multi-item donations, they all tell a story.

We need you ! We need your help to further our mission of preserving and bringing this history to you and your families. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit your qualifying donations are tax deductible.

Army Air Corps Museum

The Air Corps Museum online presence encompasses over 225,000 web pages with thousands of photos and other materials. Our artifact collection contains hundreds of uniforms, albums, logs, medals and more from the Army Air Service, Army Air Forces and U.S. Air Force.

World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Cold War, Gulf War and current conflict donations welcome!

Volunteers

We need volunteers to transcribe documents, placing the material into a spreadsheet. We welcome new dedicated volunteers to help us with this project! Work from home.

Interesting Links & Resources

Trace a Family Members Military Service: https://www.armyaircorpsmuseum.org/veteran-research.cfm

Donations

We welcome donations of papers, books, photos, gear, uniforms, jackets, medals, ribbons, weapons, equipment, scrapbooks, biographies, diaries, letters and more. Please Contact Us

You can make monetary donations. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit your qualifying donations are tax deductible.
Robert Melvin DuVall
42nd Bombardment Group
B-25 Crew

Killed in Action
April 28, 1944
Alfred Victor Stuart
72nd Fighter Squadron
21st Fighter Group
P-51 Pilot

Based on Iwo Jima, 1945
World War II
The following pictures of items in the collection were prepared for the web and this newsletter using some new photo editing software. How do they look? Feedback appreciated.


Items have a story, what tale do yours tell?

The War Of Words
The War Of Words in the New Guinea Campaign
By Thomas Lamlein

Psychological warfare in the Pacific during World War II was relatively rare. But during the lengthy campaign in New Guinea (from late January 1942 until August 1945), the Japanese began to use propaganda leaflets to weaken the resolve of Allied troops, and to also try to drive a wedge between Australian and American forces. Most Japanese leaflets were delivered by aircraft drops, with some launched via artillery "leaflet shells".
 
If these messages seem ridiculous to you, poorly composed, and hardly motivating you to abandon your comrades and betray your country--you are not alone. It is unlikely that the Japanese leaflet campaign caused any Allied troops to surrender. In fact there is little evidence that these examples of Japanese propaganda did anything more than provide Allied troops with much needed toilet paper. In the final equation, and in keeping with best practices in creating useful propaganda, it is always a good idea to use a native-speaker with a full command of the written language you are communicating with, including a strong grasp of the culture of the target audience.
 
Above: The Japanese attempt to drive a wedge between US and Australian troops. There is a shred of truth in this piece, as American troops were better paid and quite ready to fund good times for a short time with Australian ladies. After some early discord (in Australia), authorities established order behind the lines, while trouble never surfaced between the allies in the field.
Strangely composed and ultimately obtuse, it is unlikely the soldiers in the field would bother to figure out the message here--whatever it is.
This "ticket to armistice" offers no guarantee of safe passage, so the bearer is just as likely to be stabbed with a bayonet than patted on the back.
This entry plays on many of the soldiers' most common gripes, but the notion of "reasonable surrender" to the Japanese was destroyed by the widely publicized Bataan Death March in early 1942.
An entirely vague message that could easily be pasted on the Japanese troops fighting on those same jungle islands.
She doesn't seem like the kind of gal that you would be overly anxious to get home to, and it doesn't help that she doesn't know what to do for you if you get seriously hurt. Also, how does she know what it's like to be dead?
More of Our Projects
www.32ndbombsquadron.org
301st Bombardment Group, B-17 Flying Fortress. England, North Africa, Italy during World War II.

www.usshilbert.org
USS Hilbert. Destroyer Escort, DE-742. Pacific Theater of Operations, World War II.

Preserve This History, Honor the Service, Provide Education For Future Generations
Thank You For Your Support !
Thank You For Your Support !
---- What is Liberty ? ----

"definition. the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views." 

Merriam-Webster defines it as " the power to do as one pleases, the freedom from physical restraint and freedom from arbitrary or despotic control.

---- So what is a Son of Liberty? ----

In our context and beginning these were the men and women in America who wanted the freedom from the King of England. They desired a right of self-determination for their lives.  They fought for this liberty and codified it in the Constitution of a new country.  To keep this liberty they created a military to ward off the any would-be belligerent. Since the War of Independence until and including the present day the men and women who have worn the cloth of our nation's military are its Sons of Liberty.  They have fought enemies in other nations, they have fought each other and they have stood as sentinels of the watch.
 
We celebrate the service of these individuals, we tell the historical story of these selfless patriots.

---- The Sons of Liberty Museum ----

Over a decade ago we chose a name for this organization and our sister the Army Air Corps Library and Museum. We believe these names accurately describe these men and women who serve. We will not change any name to satisfy a radical viewpoint or computer algorithm. We don't allow for any revisionist history, we tell the factual stories.

We are Saving Military History One Soldier at a Time.
Shop the Store
Need a calendar for 2022?
Get one of these beauties featuring photographs from our collections.
B-24 Noseart Fron Cover
Back Cover B-24 Noseart Calendar
Front Cover World War II Airplanes
Back Cover World War II Airplanes
Front Cover B-17 Noseart
Back Cover B-17 Noseart
Front Cover B-29 Noseart Volume 1
Back Cover B-29 Noseart Volume 1
Front Cover WW2 Airplanes
Back Cover WW2 Airplanes
Front Cover B-29 Noseart Volume2
Back Cover B-29 Noseart Volume2
Need a Good Book?
Check out these titles.
I was a navigator in the 459 Bomb Group 758 Bomb Squadron flying B-24's from Torre Giulia Field, tower named 'Coffee Tower', a gravel airfield near Cerignola, on the Foggia Plains of Southeastern Italy during the period August 4, 1944 to May 16, 1945. I flew 50 combat missions over targets in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia and Northern Italy.

Project Option: 6×9 in, 15×23 cm
# of Pages: 386
IsbnSoftcover: 9781714032860
Publish Date: Dec 12, 2019

Most aircraft of World War II had pictures of sexy girls, tributes to sweethearts, songs and home. The planes were fondly referred to in a feminine manor. That was not the case with this B-17 tail number 42-25233. He was Rigor Mortis.

This is the story of Rigor Mortis and his men who flew over 120 missions from North Africa and Italy in 1943 and 1944.

Project Option: 8×10 in, 20×25 cm
# of Pages: 382
IsbnSoftcover: 9781714727803
Publish Date: Apr 20, 2020

A Novel of MACVSOG in Vietnam. By Gene Pugh a Special Forces Recon Team Member.

Surrender Not an Option

Survivors guilt is not the only thing that is bothering Allen Purvis. He has to relive in his mind the battles in a denied area when he was assigned to MACVSOG the ultimate secret organization during the Viet Nam war. He is put to the test when he commands his friends to sacrifice themselves to save the others of the unit. Wendy Salas, nurse at the 95th Evacuation Hospital sees the horrors of the war everyday. Her pain is personal. A chance meeting on R&R in Hong Kong brings these two people together as soul mates in a hope that one of them can save the other. Purvis like the others wondered why they were saved and the answer was there all the time.

  • Paperback : 312 pages
  • ISBN-10 : 1539108333
  • ISBN-13 : 978-1539108337
  • Dimensions : 6 x 0.71 x 9 inches

Gene is a member of our advisory board.
By Tom Laemlein


Tom is a member of our advisory board.

Many of the photos and illustrations in this book, some of them in color, are strong enough to be displayed in full page format. The images deliver the gritty details of USAAF armaments’ use down to their nuts and rivets, and the high-velocity rounds they fired. This is a unique photo-study, with many of the photos never-before published.


U.S.A.A.F. Aircraft Weapons of WWII

This book focuses on the war-winning weaponry of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. With 144 pages containing more than 250 photos it offers stunning visual details of the machine guns, cannons, bombs, and rockets carried into battle by USAAF bombers, fighters, and attack aircraft.Many of the photos and illustrations in this book, some of them in color, are strong enough to be displayed in full page format. The images deliver the gritty details of USAAF armaments’ use down to their nuts and rivets, and the high-velocity rounds they fired. This is the first photo-history of its kind, with many of the photos never-before published.

Combat conditions dictated that many aircraft were adapted into roles for which they were not designed. As necessity is the mother of invention, aircraft were modified in both their roles and their armament. B-25s became ground attackers, A-20s became night fighters, and every wartime USAAF fighter was adapted to carry bombs.



















301st Bombardment Group DVD

Enjoy this history of the 301st Bombardment Group in World War II with this discovered archival film footage. The first footage is in North Africa where the 301st moved after a short beginning in England. From Maison Blanche to Biskra, Algeria in 1942-1943 then Lucera, Italy in 1944 and many missions in between. Watch the men on the ground and in the air with both black and white and color footage. There are also some scenes with sound. Listen to the commanders recap the North African Campaign and a crew interview.

Watch the mission to bring back repatriated POWs. View the destruction of war on the enemy at the various targets of the 12th and 15th AF heavy bomber units.

View some great color footage of General Spaatz and General Eaker in the desert of North Africa. Listen to Generals Eisenhower, Spaatz and Doolittle talk about the Tunisian Campaign. Watch the bombs drop on missions including the oil fields and production facilities at Ploesti, Romania. View destruction on the ground. Watch as liberated POWs of the 15th AF are brought back to Italy.

This DVD contains a mixture of black and white and color film footage.
There are a number of minutes that contain sound. Runtime: 218 Minutes (3 hours, 38 minutes). Price: $39.99


By Kenneth Breaux


The author takes the reader on a compelling odyssey, beginning with a wartime mystery which endured for nearly sixty years. A compelling and often gripping story of loss and discovery.

About the Author:

Kenneth Breaux served as a Naval Officer during the Vietnam era, where he first became acquainted with the plight of MIA's and their families. He spent over twenty years on active and reserve service and retired from the Navy with the rank of Commander.



"Courtesies of the Heart"

In the early morning hours of September 11, 1944, US Army Air Forces P-51 pilot Lt. William Lewis climbed into an overcast sky with the 55th Fighter Group on a mission escorting bombers. He had already flown more than 100 hours of combat over Europe. Over the channel he joined a vast fleet of more than 1,000 airplanes including the B-17’s of the 100th Bomb Group bound for Germany. This day’s combat would be one of the largest aerial engagements of the war, conducted at the very edge of operational range. By the next day, all of the aircraft were accounted for or known to be lost. Among the missing was Bill Lewis, who would remain an MIA for almost sixty years.

A chance discussion in a Texas home on New Years Eve 2001 regarding the movie “Saving Private Ryan”, a renovated Czech schoolhouse in the village of Kovarska, experts from the US Army in Hawaii, and Czech volunteers extended and fulfilled the Courtesy of the Heart begun by a gracious German citizen in September 1944 in the Thuringer Wald of Germany.

This is the fascinating story of how a Tulsa World War II pilot came home on Memorial Day 2004, only a few months short of sixty years from the time he flew his last mission. The book began a new role for the author, whose retirement has since become centered around the families of the missing in action of World War II and the search for their remains, and the origin of a not for profit company called MIA Recovery Network and a second book slated to be released by years-end 2021, called “Known But to God: America’s Twentieth Century Wars and the Search for the Missing”.
By James & Barbara Farrell




"James Joseph Farrell"

James Joseph Farrell was born October 27, 1921 and grew up during the Great Depression. He joined the Army Air Corps in 1939.

He served with distinction in North Africa in 1942-1943 with the 301st Bombardment Group, 32nd Bomb Squadron flying 51 missions as an aerial engineer, top turret gunner.

He earned his pilot wings in 1945. This is his story.
Museum Projects
MIAs - Missing in Action

We have information on over 90,000 MIAs. This includes most all the World War II MIAs and some from World War I, Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War.

With our strategic partners, the MIA Recovery Network, we want to tell the last chapter in the life of these Citizen Soldiers.

We would also like your help in telling the first chapters of the lives of those still Missing in Action. Do you have service photos of a family member that is or was MIA? News articles? Service related material?

Material on Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines MIAs:

Air Corps:
X-Files - Buried Unknowns

There are many citizen soldiers whose body was recovered, but they are unidentified. There are thousands of these unknowns buried in American Battle Monument Cemeteries around the world. They are also known as X-Files.

Material on Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines X-Files can be found:


Get Donation Information: Artifacts Monetary
Awards, Rosters
Unit Documents

We need you ! A continued big thanks to our fantastic army of volunteers. We have much more so if you can type and have a couple hours each week we can use you !

Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force

We have received material on many units and are hoping to compile much more.

Unit Citations, Awards, Transfers, Rosters

Many groups received unit citations during their particular conflict. The paperwork, in triplicate, would include a roster of all assigned and attached personnel. We are seeking and requesting copies of those roster documents. Please search your papers, talk to your association and help us out with this information and get them to us pronto!
Attention Website Owners &
Veteran Associations

Many WWII veterans organizations have shut. Many these organizations had developed some type of website, some with enormous amounts of data and history. Sadly, many had/have not made provisions for their website to be continued and thus when the bill stops being paid, the website disappears and all the work and information is lost. We want to help and we need you to help us. If you know of a disbanding group, please have them get in contact with us; we would like to bring their website and information under our wing. If they want to continue to maintain it we can give them access to continue that as well. One of our top goals for this and every year is to preserve this history not lose it!

Not a WW2 unit? That's ok. We are also interested in your history and want to help preserve it. Korea, Vietnam and all other conflicts.

If your organization has physical materials such as uniforms, patches, photos and other memorabilia do you have plans for them when you cease operations? We would be honored to be the custodian of your group's history.
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Contact
Sons of Liberty Museum
 
Army Air Corps Library and Museum  
 

Directors' Line: 214.957.1393

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