Issue #94 Issue #106 | Memorial Day 2023| June 2022 | |
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In This Issue of
Saving Military History One Soldier at a Time
Memorial Day Edition
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Memorial Day Edition 2023 Newsletter
While you enjoy your three day weekend hopefully with family and friends take a few moments of silence to reflect, give thanks and honor those killed in action throughout history. We may know a few of their names and faces, but there are thousands for which we owe much.
So let us introduce you to some of those heroes who you may not have heard of; their artifacts are part of our world-class collection. We owe more than just a 21-gun salute to the 21 men who we have highlighted today. Please share this newsletter with family and friends so they can learn about these 'that gave all'.
We are proud and very humbled to be preserving the family heritages of many who gave the ultimate sacrifice in service to the country. Please take a few moments with each in this issue.
Thank You.
Want to help Support Our Mission?
Sons of Liberty Museum - Website Donation
Army Air Corps Museum - Website Donation
Thank you for all of the great artifact donations!
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
Donate Now!
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 #spaceforce #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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If you are looking to volunteer with a non-profit 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!
We are also looking for General Orders of World War II, digital copies are welcome; volunteers to transcribe this data.
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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.
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. These are known as X-Files.
The recovery of MIAs pose a number of challenges. For example, Navy or Merchant Marine ships that were sunk are unrecoverable and thus ship manifests are the primary and often only source of names for those that have perished but are still accounted.
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, 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 along with two permanent cemeteries in the Philippines and Hawaii.
Monetary donations are needed and very welcomed to support these efforts to create case files.
Please consider a DONATION today. Thank You.
Sgt. Charles J. Sciara
USMC VMSB 236
14 January 1944
Sgt. Sciara was a member of the two-man crew of a USMC bomber. On 14 January, Sgt. Sciara and his pilot were lost on a mission to Rabaul, New Guinea. Japanese records indicated that Sgt. Sciara died in captivity on 24 February 1944. In 1946 a set of remains was tentatively identified as Sciara. In September 1948 the American Graves Registration service recommended that the remains listed as unknown X-112, located in the Army Graves Registration Service located in Manila and formerly classified as X-203 and recovered from USAAF Cemetery # 5 in Finschafen, New Guinea, were to be identified as those of Sgt. Sciara based on place of death, dental and height data. The Marine Corps did not concur with the Army Graves Registration data and concluded that there was not enough information to claim a positive identification without additional substantiating evidence. After a series of heart-wrenching bureaucratic problems, the identification was rescinded, and the justification was insufficient evidence. A brother survived at the time of this writing. He has sent blood samples to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in hopes of effecting a comparison of his DNA with that of X-112 and either proving or eliminating X112 as his brother. He has heard nothing in return. The brother has investigated the possibility of examining the records of the Australian war cemetery at Bita Paka, in which there are an estimated 500 unknown Australian and Commonwealth soldiers, to ascertain whether or not Sgt. Sciara’s remains might be found there. Excerpted from: "Known But to God; America’s 20th Century Wars and the Search to Recover the Missing" by Kenneth Breaux.
#neverforget #bringthemallhome
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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. Revolutionary War to Present day. Our web presence now numbers in excess of 365,000 pages. We continue to accept new material for education and research programs.
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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1st Lt. Dana Randolph Barker
KIA 13 February 1969
Headquarters Headquarters Company Aviation Section
198th Light Infantry Brigade
Americal Division (23rd Infantry Division)
US Army
He was Killed In Action (KIA), on 13 Feb 1969 in Kontum Province, II Corps, South Vietnam and his wall location is Panel 32W - Line 24.
Dana Randolph Barker, Helicopter Pilot, Flight Class #68-18, started his Vietnam tour on 30 Dec 1968 and was assigned to Headquarters Headquarters Company Aviation Section, 198th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division (23rd Infantry Division).
1st Lt. Barker was born in Ritchie County, West Virginia. He enlisted in the Army, attended and graduated from the Armor Officer Candidate Course #29-67 G2. He was commissioned on 27 Oct 1968 and married Brenda J. Walker on 5 Nov 1967 and was then assigned to flight school. His Flight School Class was #68-18. After graduating from flight school, he was assigned to Vietnam. On 30 Dec 1968, he was assigned to the 198th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division (23rd Infantry Division). Just two and one half months after arrival in country, 1st Lt. Barker was flying Co-Pilot in a UH-1H Brigade Command and Control Helicopter delivering personnel and resupply to D Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Infantry, 198th Light Infantry Brigade when he was hit in the chest by automatic weapons fire and was killed. 1st Lt. Barker is buried or memorialized at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California. Special Thanks to the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association (VHPA), Vietnam Veterans Memorial and HonorStates for information regarding the sacrifice of 1st Lt. Barker. #killedinaction #ultimatesacrifice
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PFC, Robert Douglas Robinson
KIA 25 March 1969
Private First Class
D Company
1st Battalion
8th Cavalry
1st Cavalry Division, US Army
Vietnam
Killed in action on March 25, 1969 in the Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam.
He is listed on the Vietnam Wall, Panel 46E, Line 022.
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Robert Douglas Robinson
Houston, Texas
January 25, 1948 - March 25, 1968
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Robert Robinson's medals; engraved Purple Heart, Air Medal and Bronze Star w/Oak Leaf Cluster and V Device presented to his mother following his death. | |
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WO1 John Ernest Anderson
KIA July 21, 1969
Troop C
1st Squadron
9th Cavalry Regiment
1st Cavalry Division
Vietnam
He was Killed In Action (KIA), on 21 Jul 1969 in Phuoc Long Province, III Corps, South Vietnam and his wall location is Panel 20W - Line 27.
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S/Sgt James Ray
Today on this Memorial Day please take the time to remember Jimmy Ray! I can't tell you what James means to me. It runs far deeper than just a name. In 1972-73 time frame we were stationed at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo. during the Vietnam War. Our family was especially in tuned with the times as my father had come home from Vietnam in 1968. Our family would help raise money for POW/MIAs. We sold bumper stickers and bracelets on base to help support those families affected by their loss.
The POW/MIA bracelet I received as a young child was to a US Army soldier name James M. Ray. I have worn his bracelet since that time. Not knowing much about him or his story until the internet. I wear his bracelet with honor and pride, praying someday he will be found and returned home to his family. Since FB started I have had the great opportunity to become FB friends with his brother C.J.Ray who also served in the USMC in Vietnam!
This is the reason we take this time to remember their sacrifice on Memorial Day ! Never to be forgotten and always in our hearts! Please say a prayer for all our military who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country... especially for James!
May the Lord bless them all !
Jason Weigler, Director
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Arnold Lovins
KIA August 9, 1971
B Co, 1st BN
6th Infantry
198th Infantry Brigade
23rd Division, US Army
Vietnam
KIA August 9, 1971. Quand Tin Province, South Vietnam.
Panel W3, Line 126.
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Brigadier General William "Billy" Bond
KIA April 1, 1970
Commanding
199th Infantry Brigade
Vietnam
General Bond also served in World War II with the "Darby's" Army Rangers in Italy, was captured and became a prisoner of war.
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S/Sgt Mikey Rickard
KIA June 17, 1944
Killed on Saipan
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Lieutenant Paul Schenk
KIA May 27, 1945
Patrol Bombing Squadron 133 (PVB-133)
US Navy
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Carey Mullins Buie, Jr.
KIA 16 June 1944
Company I
3rd Battalion
25th Marines
4th Marine Division
Killed on Saipan. (I-3-25)
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Harold Agerholm
KIA 7 July 1944
Private First Class
H&S Company
4th Battalion
10th Marines
2nd Marine Division
Killed on Saipan after rescuing over 40 wounded Marines from the battlefield. Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
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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 monies for operational costs. Artifact donations are sought in the form of papers, books, photos, gear, uniforms, jackets, medals, ribbons, weapons, equipment, scrapbooks, biographies, diaries and more. Please Contact Us
Revolutionary War, War if 1812, 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 the public. 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 355,000 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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SSgt Robert Duvall
KIA April 28, 1944
42nd Bombardment Group
B-25 Crew
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Harold Braun
KIA July 27, 1944
"Sister"
Pillow case from Marana AF Base Marana AZ
Photo of Sgt Harold R. Braun and Sister Mildred M Braun.
Sgt. Harold R. Braun
353rd Bomb Squadron
301st Bombardment Group
KIA / MIA 07/27/1944
Ball Turret Gunner, B-17G, 42-31652,
MACR 7136, Graz, Austria
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Sgt Robert Adams
KIA July 4, 1944
97th Bomb Squadron,
47th Bombardment Group
12th Air Force
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Lt. Edward Piergies
KIA August 9, 1944
466th Bombardment Group
8th Air Force
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Lt. Colonel Walter Kingsley Selenger
KIA May 16, 1951
HQ Squadron
49th FighterBomber Group
Korea
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Andrew Sziich
KIA May 22 1944
P-38 Pilot
37th Fighter Squadron
14th Fighter Group
15th Air Force
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Lt. John Ryan
KIA August 1, 1943
376th Bombardment Group
World War II
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2nd Lt. John Melcher
KIA September 9, 1944
B-26 Pilot
432nd Bomb Squadron
17th Bombardment Group
12th Air Force
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Brigadier General Kenneth Walker
KIA 5 January 1943
5th Bomber Command
5th Air Force
Pacific Theater
World War II
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B-17 San Antonio Rose. Lost on a mission to Rabaul. | |
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Emil Wasnuk
KIA 24 May 1944
483rd Bombardment Group
15th Air Force
World War II
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William John Durisek
KIA 25 August 1942
345th Bomb Squadron
98th Bombardment Group
9th Air Force, Egypt
World War II
(Note: Documents record the year erroneously. Year of death was 1942.)
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Items have a story, what tale do yours tell?
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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.
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Memorial Day 1919
By Thomas Lamlein
By Memorial Day of 1919, most American combat troops had returned from their service in World War I and were able to enjoy the holiday in the comfort of their homes, in the company of the family and friends. Unfortunately, this was not the case for the American troops committed to the North Russia intervention, fighting for their lives in the frozen north, while tasked with an uncertain mission in a nation plunged into the madness of civil war.
The American troops stationed in and around Archangel knew had little idea of why they
were positioned in between the Bolshevik Red Army and the former Czarist White forces. Truth be told, their field commanders knew little more and their leaders in Washington DC even less. One thing was readily apparent, the Russian civil war was a bloody mess, and the American forces, along with their British, French, and Canadian allies, had already suffered plenty of casualties in their firefights with communist forces. The Americans had recently fought their last major battle with the Bolsheviks in early April.
On Memorial Day, the 339th Infantry uncased their regimental colors for the first time since deploying to North Russia, and together with Old Glory they marched from Archangel town to the outskirts of that community, gathering with an honor guard at the Allied cemetery established there. The Americans honored their nearly 170 dead, and immediately after the first US troops boarded a transport ship for the long journey home. Within a month, most of the rest of the 339th had left for France, and then the USA. By the end of September, the Allied intervention in North Russia was over, and despite the many brave sacrifices, it became little more than footnote in military history. Still, the Stars and Stripes flew there, Americans fought and died there, and Memorial Day was celebrated in Russia during 1919. The little Allied cemetery still exists near Archangel, and a few brave Americans remain buried there. A century has passed, but our hearts still remember on Memorial Day.
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1) Memorial Day 1919, Archangel, Russia: The colors of the 339th
Infantry Regiment are uncased for the first time since the unit's deployment to North Russia. The Memorial Day parade proceeded through Archangel to reach the Allied cemetery outside of town. Color Sergeants (left to right) are Richard Winters and Anthony Choike.
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2) The US Honor Guard firing a salute at the Allied cemetery at
Archangel-Memorial Day 1919. The men are equipped with American-made Russian 3-Line rifles (chambered in 7.62x54mmR), originally manufactured for the Czarist Russian government by New England Westinghouse and Remington.
When the Russians defaulted on the payment for the rifles, the US Government inherited several hundred thousand of them-most were used for training within the USA. The 339th Infantry Regiment was equipped with the 3-Line rifle for their deployment to North Russia in 1918 and used them in combat against communist Bolshevik forces.
The Allied cemetery in Archangel contained the graves of nearly 170
Americans lost during the mission to North Russia.
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3) Heading home on Memorial Day, 1919: Men of Company L of the 339th
Infantry board the transport "Czar" to begin their long journey home. These
were among the first men of the North Russia expedition to go home. The bulk of American troops left Archangel by the end of June 1919, with the final US forces leaving by September.
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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.
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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 !
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301st Bombardment Group, B-17 Flying Fortress. England, North Africa, Italy during World War II.
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USS Hilbert. Destroyer Escort, DE-742. Pacific Theater of Operations, World War II.
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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.
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Need a Good Book, DVD?
Check out these titles.
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Somewhere In Italy
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
Buy It $24.99
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Rigor Mortis:
The Machine and His Men
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
Buy It $33.95
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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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A Novel. By Gene Pugh a Special Forces Recon Team Member during the Vietnam War..
Hardback: $35.99
Paperback: $19.99
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The Reunion Mission
A chance meeting at a military reunion brings Sam Waters together with his former Viet Nam War teammates. But that is not the only surprise. A promise made a long time ago is now called to be cashed in. Will his teammates put their lives on the line for him and his family? Is that bond still there? Because of a rash act on his part the whole mission could be jeopardized. A new future and his past must come to terms for him to move forward.
From Fort Bragg to Dallas and Panama follow the continuing story of Sam Walters and Allen Purvis.
Gene is a member of our advisory board.
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USAAF
Aircraft Weapons of WWII
By Tom Laemlein
Read More & Order Your Copy
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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8th Air Force 1943 to D-Day
Enjoy this history of the 8th Air Force from 1943 to D-Day in World War II with this discovered archival film footage. The first footage is in early 1943 on a heavy bombardment mission over Europe. View the heavies as they hit German targets. Watch gun camera footage as fighters of tangle with the enemy in the air. Follow fighters as they attack airdromes and trains.
Watch the men on the ground and in the air with mostly black and white, silent footage.
There is a lot of unidentified aircraft/groups but quite a bit of identified.
Identified: 44th, 91st, 93rd, 94th, 95th, 100th, 303rd, 305th, 385tth and 445th Bombardment Groups.
4th, 55th, 56th, 78th, 352nd, 353rd, 355th, 356th, 357th, 359th and 361st Fighter Groups.
Watch bombers in formation and as they fly through flak (ack-ack). Some have feathered props. Ground crews await the group returns and aid wounded airmen. View some of the nose art that were a source of pride. View B-17s and B-24s in a number of scenes.
Feel like you are in the cockpit of a P-47 or P-51 fighter as they attack Me-109s, FW-190, ME-110, JU-52, JU-88, HE-111 and other German Aircraft. Fly with aces Beeson, Gabreski, Anderson, Blakeslee and many more. Find out which pilots would later become prisoners of war (POWs) and some would be killed in action (KIA). Strafing footage shows fighter pilots attacking aircraft on the ground, airdrome facilities and other strategic and tactical targets including trains and marshalling yards.
Missions include Wilhelmshaven, Berlin, Warnemunde, Solingen, Leverkusen, Emden, Bremen, Munster, Schweinfurt and others.
229 minutes of black and white footage and visual record of the 8th Air Force: 1943 to D-Day in action in World War II from early 1943 to D-Day.
Price Each: $34.99
Read More and Order
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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.
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"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 called “Known But to God: America’s Twentieth Century Wars and the Search for the Missing”.
Read More and Order
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James Joseph Farrell
An American Story
By James & Barbara Farrell
Read More & Order Your Copy
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.
Paperback $34.95
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Known But to God
America's Twentieth Century Wars and the Search for the Missing
Available December 2022 at Amazon: Paperback $20.00.
There are many books written about epic battles, heroic soldiers and the remarkable events that occur during a war. This book contains little of that history. This book is about the more than 70.000 men who remain missing after America's wars. Their names appear in our cemeteries, on gravestones marked "unknown," on commemorative walls listing the missing or simply in after-action reports inadequate to the task of declaring a life at an end. Americans are sensitive to the injustice and incompleteness of such records. So, the United States is the only country publicly committed to searching for missing warriors' remains and to identifying and finally honoring them. This commitment has been inconsistently fulfilled, however, and results have been mixed. This book shows how modern warfare loses its dead in ways that make them harder than ever to find after battle. It tells the story of families who never give up hope and of the volunteers and officials who try to help them. But it's also the story of how our government too often has failed to make finding the missing possible -- and what we can do about it.
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. He is the Director of the MIA Recovery Network and is a member of the Sons of Liberty Museum Advisory Board.
Available December 2022 at Amazon: Paperback $20.00.
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The Flying Grunt
by Alan Mesches
Inspiring story of a young man from a humble background to decorated veteran of Korea and Vietnam who was almost selected as an astronaut.
Richard Edward Carey enlisted in the Corps in 1946, he later earned a commission, fighting at Inchon and Chosin in Korea before becoming a pilot—flying every aircraft in the Marine arsenal during his 38-year military career.
Carey would provide critical intelligence decisions enabling the successful defense of the Chinese attack on Hagaru-ri at the Chosin Reservoir, Korea. In 189 days of combat, he escaped death seven times, and was awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star Medals.
In Vietnam, he flew 204 combat sorties, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and 16 Air Medals. In 1975, from Saigon, Carey led history’s largest helicopter evacuation of refugees.
This biography is based upon hours of interviews with the general, his papers, speeches, and Marine Corps documents that captured an exceptional and inspiring life.
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Lt. General Richard Carey, signs the Museum copy of his biography March 2, 2023.
What's inside 'The Flying Grunt'
Chapter 1 The Early Years
Chapter 2 On to Korea
Chapter 3 A New Role—Chosin Reservoir Campaign
Chapter 4 Reflections on Chosin Reservoir
Chapter 5 After Chosin Reservoir
Chapter 6 Aviation Career Begins
Chapter 7 Mid 1950s to 1960s
Chapter 8 Fighter Pilot in Vietnam
Chapter 9 Vietnam Media Coverage
Chapter 10 Post-Vietnam War
Chapter 11 Evacuation from Vietnam
Chapter 12 General Carey’s Supplement to the Command Chronology on Frequent Wind
Chapter 13 Mayaguez Rescue
Chapter 14 Back to Headquarters Marine Corps (HMC)
Chapter 15 Atlantic Command
Chapter 16 Final Assignment Quantico
Chapter 17 A Brief Entry into Politics
Chapter 18 Aiding the Dallas District Courts
Chapter 19 General Carey Continues to Serve in Retirement
Chapter 20 The Chosin Few Monument Project
Chapter 21 Family
Read More & Get Your Copy
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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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