Memorial Day 2019

A great article about a WWII veteran who passed away, Charlie Nease.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/24/opinions/world-war-two-veteran-said-he-didnt-do-anything-kirby/index.html

Please take a moment to reflect on the lives of those who died for us.

Uncle Amos - Silver Star Recipient WWII

My mom, Olga, grew up on a 240 acre farm near Stover, Missouri. She had 3 sisters and 5 brothers. She was the next to the youngest, born in 1920. I felt closest to my two uncles Amos and Norman. Because my mom was not married, these two men were my father role models. Both were kind and loving. Norman was born in 1922 and passed away on November 17, 2010 at 88. Amos was born October 15, 1918 and passed away on July 27, 2011, at 92, the last of his brothers and sisters.

When my son, Nate, was in college, we drove down to Kansas City to watch a couple of weekend Royals games. We visited Uncle Amos the afternoon before the Saturday night game (Red sox, I believe).

As we got caught up with each other's lives, Uncle Amos suddenly started telling us some stories about his time in WWII. Caught by surprise, we managed to both listen intently. First he mentioned boot camp and training (in tank destroyers) in the south. He and his company were to board a ship in New Orleans in 1944 and travel to Europe. For some unknown reason they weren't able to board the ship and it sailed with out them. They later learned that the transport they were supposed to be on was sunk by a German submarine!

Arriving in Europe, his company ended up near Bastogne in December. They were assigned a hill location overlooking Bastogne and the area around it. He remarked on the bitter cold and how his feet always felt cold in the winter in later years.

He then told the following story:

He and his men were gathered around the vehicles for breakfast early one morning. He wasn't clear, but I thought this took place after the Battle of the Bulge. They were on a hill and he, being a fidgety sort, was up and walking around. Suddenly he spotted explosions and plumes of smoke out in the valley below them. The explosions were "walking" across the valley right toward them!

Reacting fast, he yelled for the men to get to cover and pushed and pulled a couple of men to safety just as a German round exploded right where they had all been sitting. One man was killed, but the others, including Amos, survived. Amos suffered a minor wound to the elbow from shrapnel as he was diving behind the vehicle. This story is related in book 5, Capture, in Chapter 7 with Clarence Waters portraying the hero.

We were, of course, amazed by the story. Fast forward a few years.

When Uncle Norman passed away, we drove to Stover for his funeral. Afterwards, Nate and I were talking to Norman's 3 grandsons, my second cousins. They had a box of Norman's army stuff (post WWII, and also Amos's). They showed us the citation for Uncle Amos's Silver Star. It was for the story he'd told us! Of course, when he told us the story, he left out the fact that he'd earned the Silver Star. This, I believe, is a common occurrence by men who have performed bravely; the need to remain humble and not "brag" about their wartime experiences.

I tried to get the citation online, but it's not available, so I'll have to contact my cousin.

Here's the link to the site showing some information about the award:

https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/131116

Here's a screen grab:

Here's a couple of M-10 Tank Destroyers

Thanks for stopping by today.

Looking for a good WWII movie?

We recently watched Castles in the Sky on Amazon Prime. 5-stars for us. Story of Robert Watson-Watt and his team in the mid to late 1930s who developed RADAR for Britain's air defense. Funny, maddening, brilliant.

IMDB info

Leaving your dog alone with a new dog pillow . . .

Last summer, we bought our dog, Lila, 



a new doggy pillow. 

Lila loved the pillow.

We went outside to do yard work.

Lila played with her new pillow.

We came back in the house. 

Lila's dog pillow gave birth to a million Tribbles (Star Trek).



Lila lays on the couch now.



We love you, Lila.

Note: Lila is the namesake of little Marie's dog in Brutal Enemy.

New Sgt. Dunn Photo Gallery finished

The new Sgt. Dunn Photo Gallery for books 7 - 11 is complete. Have some fun and check out the photos of people, places, and things, as well as a few maps from the books. You can find a gallery for books 1 - 6 on Pinterest.

The Sgt. Dunn Photo Gallery

You may have visited my Sgt. Dunn Pinterest photo gallery, which for the moment is still there for books 1 - 6. I have been adding photos to a new Gallery on my website. Books 7 - 9 are on the website. I will eventually move all photos there so they're all is in one spot.

You'll find pictures of people, places, and things that appear in the books.

Gardens and flowers - Part 2

Here are a few more pictures taken at the beautiful Quad Cities Botanical Gardens located in Rock Island, Illinois. Today's group of pictures is of some gorgeous "glass art" and a few living creatures we found on the Gardens' grounds.

Click a picture to enlarge it.

Bumblebee

Fish

Little Bunny Foo-foo

Possibly a Monarch Butterfly - got lucky on a true "snap-shot"

"What are we doing sitting here, dude?"

---

Glass art