In this database, personal memorial pages can be found for the large majority of the about 24,000 American soldiers who are buried or listed at the Walls of the Missing at the overseas American War Cemeteries Ardennes, Henri-Chapelle and Margraten.
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Thousands of white marble crosses and Stars of David, row after row. This is what one sees when overlooking the American War Cemetery in the town of Margraten, the Netherlands. The markers are testimony to the sacrifices made by many young American men and women for the freedom of Europe during World War II.. Through The Faces of Margraten project in May 2015 the Dutch will pay special tribute to these soldiers by decorating their more than 10,000 graves and names on the Walls of the Missing with personal photos of the soldiers. The project has started a quest to locate more soldiers’ photos. READ MORE

Honoring Sacrifice of our Nation’s Veterans

In conjunction with Memorial Day, the students and staff of Old Turnpike School in Tewksbury,  NJ have planned a day-long celebration to honor the men and women of the Armed Services.  The event will begin at 8am with an opening ceremony and conclude at 2:30pm with a closing ceremony. Throughout the day, students and staff will hear first-hand accounts of your experiences.

Plans are moving forward as the celebration date, May 22, 2015, quickly approaches.  In order to bring awareness to the sacrifices our service men and women make, Remembrance Day was created to bridge the gap of understanding while connecting in a patriotic manner.  While an eighth grade teacher, I created Remembrance Day and ran the program on three occasions: 1999, 2002, 2005.  At the height of the event, 75 Veterans attended with a myriad of activity during the day.  With that said, my students have expanded the program to include Operation Shoebox, The Wounded Warriors Project, and “Thank You For Your Service Campaign” where students hand a Veteran a band that they wear on their wrist.  The following narrative will lay out the program/event in order to bring clarity to the immense scope of the day; it will be broken down into three parts:

Opening Ceremonies: We will kick off the event in the Gym.  All attendees will have a seat of honor amidst the band, chorus, Remembrance Wall, and the student body (approx. 400). The band has been working hard too on a few selections, and the chorus has equally prepared a variety of patriot songs.  Also, students have prepared short speeches on the meaning of Memorial Day, Operation Shoebox, and Wounded Warriors Project to name a few.  Additionally, each grade, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth, will prepare a Remembrance Wall which will include patriotic symbols while incorporating a letter of thanks from every student in the school.  In the past, a color guard has attended; however, at this point, one has not been secured.

Classroom Visitation:  This is the most important part of the program.  In small groups (15), the students will have an opportunity to move from classroom to classroom to visit with a variety of Veterans.  There will be approximately six sessions, each session will last 30 minutes.  Note: If there are a large number of Veterans, the number of classes you present to will lessen.  Within these sessions, the Veterans can share their experiences.  In the past, groups of Veterans have presented together while others have done individual presentations.  Each Veteran will have a student chaperone to attend to their needs throughout the day, for example, introduce you to the students, be a guide, provide water and food to name a few. During the Classroom Visitation periods, the MTA (Military Transport Association) will have vehicles on site for the students to view.  At this point, I have confirmation of one vehicle with the hopes more will RSVP as we get closer to the event.  In addition, during past three programs, a helicopter from Picatinny Arsenal has landed on site.  My hope is we will be able to secure the helicopter again this year; however, it has been difficult.

Closing Ceremonies:  The program will conclude around the flagpole in front of the school.  The Veterans will, again, have a seat of honor.  After a few short speeches, the boy scouts will lower the Flag and fold it properly.  Then, they will hand it to the Veteran who will lay it to rest in a cauldron of fire with a Nine Gun Salute.  Taps will then be played.  If a helicopter is secured for the event, there will be a “fly over”.

My students have create various social media sites.  They are as follows:
Instagram:  @otsremembranceday
Snapchat:  @remembranceday1
Twitter:  @otsPBL2015
Pinterest:  @oremembranceday

INVITATION

If you are interested in attending, please contact Scott Sipos
telephone 908-872-1720
or via email: ssipos@tewksburyschools.org

THE FOLLOWING US ARMY UNITS RECEIVED THE ARDENNES CREDIT FOR FIGHTING IN THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE AND ARE RECOGNIZED AS LIBERATING UNITS BY THE UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM AND THE CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY


INFANTRY DIVISIONS:

1st Infantry Division
Liberated Falkenau an der Eger (Flossenbürg subcamp)

2nd Infantry Division
Liberated Leipzig-Schönefeld (Buchenwald subcamp)
Spergau (labor education camp)

4th Infantry Division
Liberated Dachau subcamp

26th Infantry Division
Liberated Gusen (Mauthausen subcamp)

30th Infantry Division
Liberated Weferlingen (Buchenwald subcamp)

80th Infantry Division
Liberated Buchenwald
Ebensee (Mauthausen subcamp)

83rd Infantry Division
Liberated Langenstein (Buchenwald subcamp)

84th Infantry Division
Liberated Ahlem (Neuengamme subcamp)
Salzwedel (Neuengamme subcamp)

90th Infantry Division
Liberated Flossenbürg

99th Infantry Division
Liberated Dachau subcamps

ARMORED DIVISIONS:

3rd Armored Division
Liberated Dora-Mittelbau

4th Armored Division
Liberated Ohrdruf (Buchenwald subcamp)

6th Armored Division
Liberated Buchenwald

8th Armored Division
Liberated Halberstadt-Zwieberge (Buchenwald subcamp)

9th Armored Division
Liberated Falkenau an der Eger (Flossenbürg subcamp)

10th Armored Division
Dachau subcamp

11th Armored Division
Liberated Gusen (Mauthausen subcamp)
Mauthausen

AIRBORNE DIVISIONS:

82nd Airborne Division
Liberated Wöbbelin (Neuengamme subcamp)

101st Airborne Division
Liberated Dachau subcamp
http://www.liberatorfoundation.org/welcome.html

US ARMY DIVISIONS RECOGNIZED AS LIBERATING UNITS BY THE UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM AND THE CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY .
 


INFANTRY DIVISIONS:

1st Infantry Division
Liberated Falkenau an der Eger (Flossenbürg subcamp)

2nd Infantry Division
Liberated Leipzig-Schönefeld (Buchenwald subcamp)
Spergau (labor education camp)

4th Infantry Division
Liberated Dachau subcamp

8th Infantry Division
Liberated Wöbbelin (Neuengamme subcamp)

26th Infantry Division
Liberated Gusen (Mauthausen subcamp)

29th Infantry Division
Liberated Dinslaken (civilian labor camp)

30th Infantry Division
Liberated Weferlingen (Buchenwald subcamp)

36th Infantry Division
Liberated Kaufering camps (Dachau subcamps)

42nd Infantry Division
Liberated Dachau

45th Infantry Division
Liberated Dachau

63rd Infantry Division
Liberated Kaufering camps (Dachau subcamps)

65th Infantry Division
Liberated Flossenbürg subcamp

69th Infantry Division
Liberated Leipzig-Thekla (Buchenwald subcamp)

71st Infantry Division
Liberated Gunskirchen (Mauthausen subcamp)

80th Infantry Division
Liberated Buchenwald
Ebensee (Mauthausen subcamp)

83rd Infantry Division
Liberated Langenstein (Buchenwald subcamp)

84th Infantry Division
Liberated Ahlem (Neuengamme subcamp)
Salzwedel (Neuengamme subcamp)

86th Infantry Division
Liberated Attendorn (civilian labor camp)

89th Infantry Division
Liberated Ohrdruf (Buchenwald subcamp)

90th Infantry Division
Liberated Flossenbürg

95th Infantry Division
Liberated Werl (prison and civilian labor camp)

99th Infantry Division
Liberated Dachau subcamps

103rd Infantry Division
Kaufering subcamp

104th Infantry Division
Liberated Dora-Mittelbau

ARMORED DIVISIONS:

3rd Armored Division
Liberated Dora-Mittelbau

4th Armored Division
Liberated Ohrdruf (Buchenwald subcamp)

6th Armored Division
Liberated Buchenwald

8th Armored Division
Liberated Halberstadt-Zwieberge (Buchenwald subcamp)

9th Armored Division
Liberated Falkenau an der Eger (Flossenbürg subcamp)

10th Armored Division
Dachau subcamp

11th Armored Division
Liberated Gusen (Mauthausen subcamp)
Mauthausen

12th Armored Division
Liberated Dachau subcamp

14th Armored Division
Liberated Dachau subcamps

20th Armored Division
Liberated Dachau

AIRBORNE DIVISIONS:

82nd Airborne Division
Liberated Wöbbelin (Neuengamme subcamp)

101st Airborne Division
Liberated Dachau subcamp

submitted by Gene Sweeney, Liberator Foundation

http://www.liberatorfoundation.org/welcome.html

The American Radio Works, a national radio documentary unit is planning to create a documentary on the history of the GI Bill, from its original conception after WWII up to today with the Post 9/11 GI Bill. We are looking to chat with veterans of WWII who used the GI Bill in interesting ways.

American Radio Works web site www.americanradioworks.org.

Please contact me if you are interested in telling your story

Ryan Katz
American Public Media
American Radio Works
480 Cedar Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
rkatz@americanpublicmedia.org
651-228-4876

In December of 2014 the Belgium Military Vehicle Trust staged a WWII Army vehicle convoy centered around Bastogne, but including many smaller towns, to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.

Alain Henry de Frahan of Gembloux, Belgium is the author of the article that appears in the Army Motors, The Quarterly Journal of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association, www.mvpa.org

I am an oral historian who interviews World War II veterans.  My latest projects/trips were to Normandy for the week of June 6th; Dallas, TX for the 82nd Airborne Annual Reunion and to Madison, WI for the Oral History Association annual conference.

I sit down with Veterans and preserve their stories through video interviews.  Those stories are shared with the Veteran, the Veteran’s family, and the archives of the U.S. Library of Congress and the National World War II Museum.  More information about this process and my experience is attached in the brochure that I provide to Veterans.

Veterans, who would like to give an oral history, please contact me and I will be happy to interview you.

Patrick Russell
Making History Project
Tel. (305) 608-2977
Email: patrick@making-history-project.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/makinghistoryproject
Twitter: @MakingHistoryPR

http://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/16726/free-tax-return-preparation-for-veterans-military-members-and-their-families/

To find the closest location near you, simply click here

70th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge

http://2ida.org/2014/12/15/70th-anniversary-of-the-battle-of-the-bulge/

You are invited to participate in a World War II ceremony presented by the living history group MTI-Military Timeline Impressions.

Where: The 82d Airborne Division Monument located on Highway US1 between Elgin and Camden, SC (adjacent to US1 on the Invista Company Property)

When: March 29, 2015

Time: 2:00pm

Purpose: Commemorate those who participated in the “Jump”, which occurred on March 29, 1943 and all WWII Veterans and Veterans of all Wars/Conflicts

Groups planning to participate include but are not limited to American Legion, SC Historic Aviation Foundation (SCHAF), Veterans of Foreign Wars, Marine Corps League, WWII C-47 Club, and others. We are planning a “flyover” of WWII Vintage and late model aircraft.

It would be great to see you there!

Questions call 803-356-0611

 Click here to learn how to request a bugler

The 2nd Indianhead Division commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge with a return visit to where they fought during the “Bulge”.

click here to read the story

At precisely 11:11 a.m. each Veterans Day (Nov. 11), the sun’s rays pass through the ellipses of the five Armed Services pillars to form a perfect solar spotlight over a mosaic of The Great Seal of the United States.

Photos by Mike Spinelli