In This Issue of
Saving Military History One Soldier at a Time
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Welcome to the Memorial Day Issue 2021 Newsletter.
We honor and remember those that gave the ultimate sacrifice for their friends and for their country.
View items of those Killed in Action. Read about the Normandy hedgerows a story of 'Evasion'' and remember that the anniversary of D-Day is in a week where many fell but are never forgotten.
We hope you enjoy this issue.
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
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A Solemn Day of Remembrance
A Duty to Honor the Sacrifice
A Day to Recommit to Carry On
A personal message:
As we observe Memorial Day 2021 I recall a discussion a few years ago with a particular veteran. We had sat down to discuss his life and service as a pilot during World War II. As we delved into his missions in Europe we reached a particularly difficult one. This man was the most gregarious of gentlemen; everybody's favorite uncle or grandpa. But on this fateful day he lost men and he felt responsible.
One would never had guessed that he carried the survivor's guilt his whole life. If not for a few inches, he thought they all would have died that day.
I asked, was it quite possible that this man gave his life that you and the rest of the crew survived? He was a Christian so I asked him if it was all part of God's plan that this man gave his life so that the rest would live? Witness all the children and dozens of grandchildren that had lives because of your and the remaining crew's survival.
The believer of a supreme being might consider that the universal plan is unknown to the mortal and there is purpose in everything that happens. We sat there in silence for what seemed like hours and the tension of the tough mission's discussion relieved, we continued the discussion with a new calm.
The seeming randomness of who lives and who dies is beyond our comprehension and you gain a greater appreciation for an unknown master plan and this becomes more evident as you talk to 'survivors'. Some have a difficult time with surviving, others use it as motivation, a guidepost and a new mission. If you have not been in this position you cannot truly understand, but you can see that the sacrificed lives on through the survivor.
My friend's story is not unlike thousands of others. So on this Memorial Day remember the fallen and those who carry those memories and lives in theirs.
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Memorial Day
Honoring the Sacrifice of Those that Gave All
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Edward (Eddy) Piergies
KIA
9 August 1944
B-24 Navigator
466th Bombardment Group
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Carey Mullins Buie Jr.
KIA
15/16 June 1944
Saipan
I-3-25 4th Marine Division
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Harold Agerholm
KIA
7 July 1944
Saipan
4th Bn, 10th Marines,
Medal of Honor Recipient.
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Robert Paul Adams
KIA
4 July 1944
97th Bomb Squadron
47th Bombardment Group
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We were honored to setup a small display and participate in the festivities 5/31 at the VFW Post 9299 in Alvarado, Texas. |
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Entertainment and a few songs by World War II veteran of the 2nd Infantry Division, a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, Buck Sloan and his lovely wife. |
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Board Member Robert ("Brother Bob") Weigler, on the left flank, with Ole' Blood and Guts himself, Gen. George Patton, aka Charles Varner, on the right flank with guest speaker Helen Patton, granddaughter of Gen. Patton. |
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Missing in Action & Buried Unknowns |
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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.
Leroy E. Leist, Staff Sergeant
William S. Green, 1st Lieutenant
Jack P. Jensen, 2nd Lieutenant
Robert P. Valentin, Staff Sergeant
Roman R. Beran, Technical Sergeant
Sanford F. Tisdale, Staff Sergeant
US Army Air Forces
418th Bomber Squadron
100th Bomb Group
On the morning of 4 February 1944, the crew of B-17G #42-37975 was preparing for a bombing mission on targets in and near Frankfurt, Germany. They would not have needed a meteorologist to tell them the weather was going to be a challenge. With temperatures just above freezing, wind at twenty-five knots or more and cloud cover from the deck up to several thousand feet, the crew knew what they were going to face not only from the enemy but from nature. They briefed, breakfasted, and took off with the rest of the crews of the 100th for Frankfurt. The bomb run was made with minimal opposition from flak, and nearly all of the crews turned for home without being struck by enemy fire. Just minutes before the crew of 975 was to go “feet wet” over the channel, another crew noted that they had begun to drop out of the formation over Walcheren Island on the Dutch coast. One engine seemed to be smoking, but there was no radio contact, and the airplane seemed under control. They did not land with the returning group. On 6 February, the bodies of two of the crew washed ashore on the beach at Ouddorp. Another came ashore in mid April and a fourth at an unknown place and time. Of the remaining crew, nothing was found. The family of Sergeant Leist began a personal investigation in the late 1990’s. In that process many items of information were discovered.
As 975 began to fall out of the formation, German defenses were aware of their plight. German radar noted the presence of a single airplane in a slight descent and falling away from the group. At the same time, a Luftwaffe fighter squadron was patrolling the exit area, looking for bombers that might have been hit and separating from the group. A German pilot, Erich Scheyda, claimed the shoot-down of a B-17 aircraft at the approximate time and place that 975 had dropped out of the group and entered the cloud banks below the formation. Minutes later, the flak battery on Vlissingen Island opened fire on a single bomber, and noted that the plane descended rapidly and then took a sharp turn to the right. This occurred at the same time the plane would have been starting to cross the channel. The fighter pilot did not follow the plane down, and the flak battery records did not provide more information. This claim was the only one for the formation and time of attack that occurred in the area. There were no other possibilities. The fire chief of the town of Ouddorp provided interesting clues. He had noted the crash of every airplane in the area on a map, and had plotted the location of each piece of ordnance that had fallen in the region. Among this information was the tantalizing clue that a B-17 bomber had fallen about 700 meters offshore Ouddorp. Fishermen in the area had noted that in shallow water, they had snagged nets on the exposed tail of an airplane some years before, but that the airplane no longer seemed to be there. The Dutch Ministry of Public Works offered information on dredging and a major storm that occurred in the area in the 1950’s. A British hydrologist plotted the locations of the three bodies recovered in specific locations and hypothesized that the bomber should be in an area generally close to where the fire chief plotted the crash of 1944, and included the belief that it could be no further than 12 miles off the Ouddorp beach. Dutch civilians organized diving searches, document research and archival investigations. The Dutch Navy provided a diving barge and divers to comb the bottom in the area and US officials accompanied them on this effort.
What happened to the bodies of the remaining crew of 975? There are many possibilities. One possibility is that the rest of the crew were all killed before the plane descended and their bodies are still trapped inside the wreckage. Perhaps some parachuted and were lost in the channel. Storms in the North Sea can be particularly violent. It is possible that the wreckage has been covered by silt and sand and now lies beneath a beach.
Water recoveries are the most difficult to resolve. Locations of loss are rarely known with precision. Depth often proves an impossible obstacle even if location is known.
Excerpted from:
"Known But to God; America’s 20th Century Wars and the Search to Recover the Missing" by Kenneth Breaux.
Due out in mid-2021.
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In November 2020 we launched our own virtual cinema. Another way to describe it is it's our own Netflix.
We have started out with 130 combat films represented by 209 clips and 1436 minutes of footage.
We will continue to add to the cinema as we have a lot of material and we will be generating much more for you to see.
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 !
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Sons of Liberty Museum
The Sons of Liberty has hundreds of uniforms and thousands of other artifacts in our collection from the U.S. Civil 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
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Sgt. Harvey Gottfried
51st Armored Infantry Battalion
4th Armored Division
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Wounded in Action
24 December 1944
25 February 1945
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Petty Officer 1st Class. Seabees, Storekeeper, World War II. |
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US Navy, World War II. Pilot. Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal. |
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Sgt. Wellington Hollingsworth
200th Coastal Artillery Regiment, Philippines.
Survivor of the Bataan Death March.
Perished in a Japanese POW Camp.
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Captain David Murphee
Hawaiian Department,
25th Infantry Division
World War II
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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.
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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
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.
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John Melcher
KIA
9 September 1944
17th Bombardment Group
12th Air Force
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William Tepe
Pilot. Served overseas with groups of the 7th and 15th Air Forces.
9 Overseas Bars denote 4 and 1/2 years overseas service in World War II.
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Items have a story, what tale do yours tell?
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Hedgerow Hell:
American Rhino Tanks in Normandy
By Thomas Laemlein
Although US and British designers had created many unique adaptations of combat vehicles, particularly tanks, to help secure the beachhead in Normandy, very little had been done to prepare for the difficult bocage country that waited just inland from the invasion beaches. A US infantry assessment showed that a one-and-a-half mile advance through the bocage would mean that US troops would encounter, on average, 34 hedgerows. It was bloody slow-going, and the tanks and troops were quickly wearing down.
The Norman hedgerows provided the German defenders with many advantages, maybe most importantly the hedges were an effective barrier against Allied tanks. American AFVs could climb over most of the hedgerows, but this would play directly into the German defenders' strengths. As the US tanks reached the top of the hedgerow, their noses would be pointing skyward, and their thin belly armor would be exposed for far too long. Hedges could also partially collapse under the weight of a Sherman tank, and the small trees and shrubs could easily snag the tracks, leaving the tank immobilized and exposed to Nazi anti-tank guns. As the hedgerow fighting intensified by late June 1944, entry points to French farm fields, along with crossroads in the narrow Norman farm roads, became effective tank traps for the German Panzerjagers. By far the best remedy for the problem were the Sherman "tank-dozers", but these specialized vehicles were always in short supply.
Early attempts to breach the hedgerows leveraged combat engineers, but German machine guns and snipers took a heavy toll on the men as they worked to blow a path through the earthen barriers. Prior to the attack on St. Lo, the men of the 747th Tank Battalion worked with the engineers to create a faster, more effective system to breach the hedgerows. This resulted in the development of the "Salad Fork", consisting of two large log spears, protruding from the lower bow of a Sherman tank. The tank would accelerate and ram the logs into the hedge, and then withdraw the fork, leaving two small tunnels for the engineers to quickly fill with TNT and then blast open the berm. The Salad Forks worked reasonably well at first, but the overall process still took too long. Trial and error showed that on some occasions the force of the giant wooden prongs was enough to push through the hedge. Duly noted, other experiments began using salvaged railroad tracks as well as German tank obstacles (the "Rommel Asparagus") left on the beachheads.
Sergeant Curtis G. Culin of the 102nd Cavalry Recon Squadron (attached to the 2nd Armored Division) devised a simple iron plow that could be easily attached to the bow of a tank (these would be seen fitted onto Stuart light tanks, Sherman medium tanks, and a few M10 tank destroyers). The "Culin Hedgerow Cutter" has become the stuff of legend, particularly after General Bradley saw a demonstration of the device and ordered as many of the new "Rhino" tank hedge cutters into production as quickly as possible.
Other ingenious Americans were also working on the same problem at the same time. As the 3rd Armored Division was preparing for "Operation Cobra" at St. Jean de Daye, a slightly different style of Rhino horn was developed and added to the Sherman tanks of that unit. These became known as "Douglas cutters" for the Warrant Officer who devised them. By the time of the Normandy breakout, 57 of the 3rd Armored Division's tank were known to be fitted with these hedge cutters.
Were these examples of American combat ingenuity effective? They certainly could do the job, given the right circumstances. However, more recent research into US tank operations in Normandy tends to show that the right circumstances did not occur that often. The biggest problem for the tanks mounting a hedge cutter was having enough room to accelerate into the hedgerow to be able to smash through. The tightly confined French fields greatly restricted this. Also, after the massive preparatory bombing that immediately preceded the breakout, enough roadblocks were overcome for US tanks to use the limited Normandy road net. Regardless, German anti-tank guns, tanks, and infantry AT teams claimed many US vehicles. Interestingly, several photos can be seen of US tanks maintaining their hedge cutters long after the Normandy fighting was over. They certainly didn't interfere with the normal operations of the vehicle and seem to fall into the common sense of the old adage: "Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it."
Photo Captions
1) GIs move through an opening gouged out of a Normandy hedgerow.
2) The problem: A Sherman grinding up and over a hedge in the Bocage country.
3) The best solution: A Sherman bulldozer. These specialized vehicles were always in short supply.
4) The first solution: A Sherman of the 747th Tank Battalion, fitted with a twin timber prong, called a "salad fork". The fork drove holes into the hedge, and engineers filled the openings with 15-pound TNT charges to blow open a passageway. These were used in the July 11th attack on St Lo.
5) The next solution: The Cullin Hedgerow Cutter. Sgt Curtis G. Cullin of the 2nd Armored Division used the steel girders from German anti-tank barriers to build his hedgerow plow.
6) The Cullin Hedgerow Cutter mounted on a M5 Stuart light tank. Note also the heavy use of sandbags to help compensate for the Stuart's thin armor protection.
7) A different breed of Rhino: Creation and application of the "Douglas Cutter", developed by the 3rd Armored Division at Saint Jean de Daye.
8) "The "Douglas Cutter" was applied to 57 of the 3rd Armored Division's tanks in preparation for Operation Cobra, which began on July 25th.
9) Detail view of the "Douglas Cutter"
10) Detail view of the "Douglas Cutter"
11) Hedge cutters were also applied to some M10 Tank Destroyers. These vehicles are seen during a victory parade in Paris in the late summer of 1944.
12) A Signal Corps cameraman filming a Sherman "Rhino" during an exercise in Normandy.
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We have rescued this website. It was available for many years. The creator passed in 2016 and the website disappeared. Fortunately, we had a copy of the site and have recreated it in his and all the other 32nd Squadron members memory. re-launched November 2020.
Read one story below and others on the website.
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52 Days -- If You're Lucky
Sgt. Robert E. Richards Had Delayed Return to Base
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
March 3, 1945
15th AAF IN ITALY-- Blechhammer, Germany is only about four hours away from southern Italy by heavy-bomber, but S/Sgt Robert E. Richards, R.R. 1, Grabill, Ind., tail gunner on a 15th Flying Fortress, found out the hard way that it can take 52 days to get back --if you're lucky!
ON THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS during an attack against the oil refineries at Blechhammer, Richard's Fort was ringed with flak from the multitude of ack-ack guns protecting that vital target area. Several near misses stabbed the ship with flying steel, and disabled the oxygen system, the hydraulic system and all the instruments, including both compasses, which left the crew isolated in space.
THE NAVIGATOR'S COMPUTER was shot from his hand, and the radio operator lost his transmitter key in the same abrupt fashion; the emergency rations were peppered, most of the parachutes were shredded beyond utility and the gas tanks were riddled. One burst put the bomb racks out of commission and for the next few hours, while Richards was splicing severed control cables, the bombardier balanced on the narrow catwalk kicking out bombs to lighten the load.
Land Behind Russian Lines
BECAUSE ONE ENGINE and the wing behind it had caught fire, the pilot pulled away from the formation to minimize the danger to his squadron when the explosion the anxious crew all expected should occur. But after a fifteen minute reign of terror the fire died and after several attempts the gutted engine feathered. On the three remaining power plants, all of which were wheezing and coughing in agony the pilot and co-pilot together managed to limp the tattered Fort over 150 miles of hostile territory and land just two and a half miles behind the Russian lines at a fighter field.
AFTER A PERIOD of welcome recuperation at this stop, Richards and his crew were taken to an evacuation headquarters for Allied airmen. Here they were picked up and flown back to their base in Southern Italy.
"It was the rough way home all right" commented Richards, "but we were lucky to land in Russian hands. They made sure we had the best of everything they could give us!"
Veteran of 25 Sorties
THE 21 YEAR OLD graduate of Huntertown High School at Huntertown, Ind., who wears the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters is a veteran of 25 sorties over priority targets in Germany and the Balkans. He was employed as a stock accumulator in building 4-2 of the General Electric Co. plant in Fort Wayne from September 1941, until he left to enter the AAF on January 22, 1943.
HE COMPLETED telegraph and telephone school at Camp Crowder, Mo., on July 17, 1943 and won his wings at Las Vegas, Nev., on May 6, 1944. After leaving the United States on August 8, 1944 he flew his first mission, an attack against Barovincia, Yugoslavia on August 26.
And read more stories
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Preserve This History, Honor the Service, Provide Education For Future Generations |
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Thank You For Your Support ! |
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Thank You For Your Support ! |
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---- 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. For 244 years the men and women who have worn the cloth of our nation's military are the 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.
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Need a Good Book?
Check out these titles.
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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
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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
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A Novel of MACVSOG in Vietnam. By Gene Pugh a Special Forces Recon Team Member.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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:
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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:
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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!
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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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