Issue #115 | March 2024

In This Issue of

Saving Military History One Soldier at a Time

March 2024 Edition

As spring rapidly approaches, we are busy with museum projects; scanning photos, documents, taking pictures of artifacts and participating in a number of exhibits. We have launched a new section of the website specifically for teachers. Visit the Educators Portal. Our volunteers are churning out great material that will be making its way on to our websites of which we will be starting a number of re-designs to accommodate and present all of this new data. In this issue we present images of an event for the North Texas chapter of US Military Academy graduates.



Want to help Support Our Mission?


Sons of Liberty Museum - Secure Donation


Army Air Corps Museum - Secure 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, Executive Director

Jason Weigler, Executive Director

Major Robert Weigler, Jr. US Army Ret. - Director


 

"Saving Military History One Soldier At A Time".SM 

"Saving History One Soldier At A Time"SM

Visit Sons of Liberty Museum Website
Visit Army Air Corps Library and Museum Website

Artifacts / Collection

3/2/2024 Exhibit

On Saturday 2 March 2024, the Sons of Liberty Museum setup an exhibit for the North Texas Chapter of USMA Alumni. Held at the Perot/Hillwood headquarters in Dallas, Texas the semi-formal event played host to over 100 West Point graduates and their guests.  The exhibit featured militaria artifacts from the 1830s through the present day.  In addition to the exhibit in the hall, the Sons of Liberty Museum brought their Mobile Museum, the USH-Constitution, (MM-1776) that currently contains an exhibit of over 60 Admirals and Generals.


Highlights of the exhibit.


3rd year cadet uniforms from the US Military Academy, West Point.


1840 Mexican Army Colonel uniform and sword.


Spanish American War uniform and sword.


Indian Wars fighting knife.


1916 oversized Mexican Border Service pennant medals.


World War I: uniform, helmets, Aero squadron yard-long photo.


Buffalo soldiers scarf. Mexican border patrols at the onset of WWII.


World War II: battlefield souvenirs - German helmets. Japanese helmet. Japanese helmet from the last bonsai charge on Iwo Jima.  Bomb tags (makeshift diaries) of 2 crew members of the same B-17 bomber based in North Africa.


Theater-made painted cowhide/water buffalo vest by a member of the 23rd Fighter Group, 14th Air Force (Flying Tigers).


Post WWII uniform of the first person seaborne launched to step foot on Utah Beach on D-Day in WWIi.


WWII Tankers combat clothing.


Dress uniform of George Petrie, Army Special Forces Vietnam, Son-Tay Raider, JCRC.


Clark Gable artifacts; wings, patch.


Uniform of Audie Murphy, Medal of Honor recipient, World War II.


Uniform of Roger Donlon, Medal of Honor recipient, Vietnam.


Army Chaplains at Fort Bragg, WWII.


Crewmates of a B-24 in Africa in 1942. Medals and a piece of flak.


Photos and artifacts of Ray McKinley, drummer, Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Band. WWII.


Painted jacket of US soldier with occupation duty, Japan.


Vietnam: Uniform Colonel Howell, helmet, LT General Forrest, uniform Col. Ralph Garver.


Medals and badges of Wm. Lockward. Golden Knights and Captain of the first US Parachute Team to win the world parachute competition.


Souvenirs of the middle east conflicts of the past 30 years.


Followed by tour in Mobile Museum (MM-1776) and the flag officer exhibit. Over 60 admirals and generals represented in this traveling exhibit.


Watch a 6 minute video of the exhibit on your favorite social media website:


Linkedin: Watch on Linkedin


Facebook: Watch on Facebook


Youtube: Watch on YouTube

How it all begins. The place where we will park the Mobile Museum. Patrons will begin their tour through this exhibit throughout the evening.

The hall prepared for the inside exhibit.of 1830-present day artifacts.

All Setup and ready to go!

1830s, Spanish American War, Indian Wars.

Greeting the alumni and their guests are two third-year cadet uniforms.

Pausing to look at L to R. Donlon, Murphy, Petrie.

World War II, Army Air Forces including 14th Air Force.

Roger Donlon, Medal Of Honor recipient.

Audie Murphy, Medal of Honor recipient, World War II.

George Petrie, Army Special Forces, Vietnam and wings of Clark Gable

Patrons enjoying the exhibit.

Vietnam uniforms, artifacts.

US Army of Occupation. Japan. World War II.

The sponsor board for tonights event.

1916 Mexican Border Service pennant, World War I uniform, helmets, poster, photos.

Happy Hour before dinner.

Meet the executive team. Jason Weigler, co-founder.

Meet the executive team. Major Robert Weigler, Jr. USA retired.

Memorial Markers

Want to create a permanent memorial for your veteran or family member? Instead of a brick that wears away from foot traffic, memorialize that special veteran on the side of the USH-Constitution.

Bronze

This is a 2 1/2" x 22" name placard. This is a 2 row display with the first line containing the name and the second a unit, conflict and branch. The top row is approx. 1" tall and the 2nd line 3/4".

2 1/2" x 22" - $750


2 1/2" x 22"$750

Silver

This is a 2" x 36" name placard. This is a 1 row display with the line containing the name, unit, conflict and branch. The lettering is approximately 1 1/2" tall.

 

2" x 36" - $1375


2" x 36"$1375

Gold

This is a 5" x 36" name placard. This is a 2 row display with the first line containing the name and the second a unit, conflict and branch. The top row is approx. 2" tall and the 2nd line 1 1/2".

5" x 36" - $2000


5" x 36"$2000

USH-Constitution, (MM-1776)

MM-1776 Launches


Our grand opening last weekend (Oct 21, 2023) of our new mobile museum, MM-1776.. Thank you to American Legion Post 453 for hosting this event and dinner.



Veteran Memorials

With the launch of our new mobile-museum trailer we have a place for a visual honorarium and memorial for your veteran. Honor your veteran family member with a permanent marker on our new mobile-museum.


Like bricks or pavers, this permanent memorial will be seen by many at schools, veteran and civic events. Get your Veteran Memorial Today!


Read more about Sons of Liberty Memorials


Read More About Army Air Corps Memorials

First Exhibit


The opening exhibit of MM-1776 contained artifacts of admirals and generals.


There are over 60 represented in this display. The oldest uniform was from a LT General who as a young Lieutenant fought in the Spanish American War. There is an admiral who had become a Navy Double-Ace in World War II as fighter pilot on both the USS Lexington and USS Enterprise. There is a uniform from one of the commanding generals of the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam and other commanders during that time. Modern day generals are well represented including the digitals of General David Petraeus, commander of all coalition forces in Iraq/Afghanistan. There are helmets, wings and other artifacts in addition to the uniforms in this snapshot of military leaders of multiple generations.


2024


We look forward to a number of exhibits and programs by the MM-1776.


Volunteering

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.


Transcription of monthly unit histories and other documents are projects to help us recover and preserve history and are fantastic accounts written close to the actual events rather than decades later as memories may fade.

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.


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.


#neverforget #bringthemallhome

Get Donation Information: Artifacts Monetary

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 500,000 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; killed in action (KIA). All MOS are welcome from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marines.


Monetary donations help us preserve and display these pieces of American History. Thank you for your support.


We are Saving Military History One Soldier At A Time. We are honoring the service of the Citizen Soldier.



#sonsofliberty

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


Researching History: https://www.sonsoflibertymuseum.org/military-history-records.cfm

Honor Roll: https://www.sonsoflibertymuseum.org/honor.cfm


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.


Get Donation Information: Artifacts Monetary

Army Air Corps Museum


The Air Corps Museum online presence encompasses over 500,000 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

Honor Roll: https://www.armyaircorpsmuseum.org/honor_roll.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


Monetary donations help us preserve and display these pieces of American History. Thank you for your support. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit your qualifying donations are tax deductible.


Items have a story, what tale do yours tell?


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. They are great to help reserve items as well.


Each year we purchased 500 of these items. We will fill them all with great artifacts 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. Our hosting requirement of storage will only increase over the coming years as we continue to add to our online material.


The annual total for just these three components is $13,000. Naturally, we have other expenditures, but 100% of monetary donations go to operations. All staff and directors are volunteers. 


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


Please consider a DONATION today. Thank You.



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, special place in our hearts for the KIAs. 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.

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 !


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

Make a $ Donation to the Army Air Corps Library and Museum
Thank You For Your Support !
Make a $ Donation To the Sons of Liberty Museum
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 their liberty and 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 15 years 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 Good Book, DVD?

Check out these titles.

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

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

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.

A Novel. By Gene Pugh a Special Forces Recon Team Member during the Vietnam War..



Hardback: $35.99


Paperback: $19.99

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.


  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1662848889
  • Price: $35.99


  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1662848870
  • Price: $19.99



Gene is a member of our advisory board.

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.

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


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 called “Known But to God: America’s Twentieth Century Wars and the Search for the Missing”.

Read More and Order

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




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.

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.

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

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.

.

We would like to send a shout out to our website design partner, InterNet Partners, who has helped us with a variety of database programming and web design over the years.

Contact
Sons of Liberty Museum
 
Army Air Corps Library and Museum  
 

Directors' Line: 214.957.1393

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