WWII

RANDY GREENE

RANDY GREENE

Jan 1, 2003 | ,

Aug 2003 Inductee, Wall of Honor, Texas Commission For The Blind Randolph H. Greene was born in Blue Grove, Texas in 1923. When he was 14, his family moved to Lubbock where he graduated from High School and then worked for two years as a carpenter. He entered Army active duty in Lubbock on May 21, 1943 and, after completing basic training, was assigned to Company B, 106th Combat Engineer Battalion, 31st Infantry Division. The 31st Infantry Division shipped out on February 10, 1944, and arrived in the Southwest Pacific, at Oro Bay, New Guinea, on March 17, 1944. The division next conducted a landing at Maffin Bay in Northern New Guinea and engaged in continuing combat...

MARCUS COHEN

MARCUS COHEN

May 1, 2001 | ,

Marcus was one of the “Screaming Eagles” of the 101st Airborne Division. He was with them when they were rushed to Bastogne to block the German offensive in the Battle of the Bulge, and he was wounded there on Christmas morning, 1944. His real life experience closely resembles what was shown in the movie “Battle Ground”. Marcus Cohen was born in 1912 in Cordele, Georgia, where he grew up and finished high school as valedictorian of his graduating class. He attended Georgia Tech and after that, lived in Atlanta for 5 or 6 years. Marcus then moved to Louisville, Kentucky and went into business. He was half-owner in “Bon Art" photo studio with the partner taking the pictures...

RAYMOND L. McKEE, SR

Oct 1, 2000 | ,

Ray McKee is an Army Air Forces veteran and an Ex-­POW who, for an extended period, endured tremendous torture and mental cruelty in addition to his painful FLAK and bomb wounds that went untreated for many days between his capture and the time he reached the relative safety of a German STALAG, POW camp. At one of our chapter monthly breakfasts he related a small part of that experience which we share with you here, told in his own words. “On March 18, 1944, I was the bombardier for Lt Magneson's B­17 in the 429th Bomb Squadron, 2nd Bomb Group, 5th Bomb Wing, of the 15th Air Force at Foggia, Italy. The bombing mission that day was to hit military installations at Villarba in...

HARRY G. DAVES, JR.

HARRY G. DAVES, JR.

Jul 1, 2000 | ,

Harry Daves, Jr. was born in 1923 in San Bernardino, California. His family moved to Pelly, Texas (now known as Baytown) when he was a child. He attended school at Robert E. Lee High School in Baytown and tried to enlist when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He was underage at the time and his father refused to give his consent. When the Cruiser, Houston, was sunk off the Java coast in early 1942, Harry’s father relented and he immediately signed up and went into the Navy. . After basic training, diesel engine school and gunners training, Harry Daves, Jr. reported to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he was assigned to LCI 48 upon its commissioning in February 1943. The LCI’s...

James S. “Jim” Hufnall

James S. “Jim” Hufnall

Jan 1, 2000 | ,

A TALE OF THREE CAVALRY TROOPERS James S. "Jim" Hufnall, La Grange, TX Weldon S. Hoyle, Olathe, KS (passed away 12-24-2014) Stanley M. "Stan" Jankiewicz, St Petersburg, FL Patriots, Chapter 1919 (ARMY, WWII, Pacific) Article January 2000 After many years in which two of these veterans had unsuccessfully tried to assist in getting a Purple Heart award for their combat-wounded WWII buddy, they turned to our Chapter Commander, Frank Cortez, for help. That was in 1997. After Frank also had several follow-up submissions denied; finally, on November 23, 1999, the Army Board of Corrections announced the award of the Purple Heart to Stanley M. Jankiewicz for wounds received February...

FLOYD E. BENNETT

FLOYD E. BENNETT

Nov 1, 1999 | ,

Floyd was wounded in the European Theatre during WWII, but his favorite recollection is that of his personal postwar encounter with General Douglas MacArthur. Floyd E. Bennett was born in 1924 in Livingston Parish, Louisiana where he spent his growing-up years and attended school. At age 18 he was inducted into the Army at New Orleans in 1943. He was sent off to training courses at several installations, ending up with training at Camp Callan, California. Following that, Floyd was shipped out to Europe in June 1944. He was assigned to a gun crew in Battery A, 574th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion With that unit, he participated in the Campaigns of Northern France, The...

JAMES M. INKS

JAMES M. INKS

Jun 1, 1999 | ,

This B-24 Navigator, shot down over German occupied Yugoslavia when returning from a bombing raid to Ploesti, Romania joined up with General Mihailovich’s “Chetniks” and kept detailed notes on the experience. When he published his book in 1954, EIGHT BAILED OUT, it made the “best seller list”, the “book of the month club”, and sent Jim all over the nation on book signings and guest appearances on the talk shows, including an interview on the Dave Garroway show. James M. Inks was born in Llano, Texas in 1921. His father, Roy Banford Inks was the Ford Dealer and the Mayor of Llano. As the Mayor he devoted much time in helping to create the Lower Colorado River Authority. His...

JOHN STAVAST

May 1, 1999 | ,

John is a veteran of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. His experiences could fill a book, but, this article will only detail one very moving experience that he had in France with the infantry in WWII, and a few facts about his nearly 6 years as a POW during the war in Vietnam. Much additional information can be found about him on the internet and from numerous books about Vietnam POW’s. Our immediate Past Chapter Commander, John E. Stavast passed away Sunday, July 4, 2004. John Stavast was born in Denver in 1926. His family had moved to Pueblo, Colorado and he was attending high school when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program, entering active duty March 20, 1944....

GEORGE MIGL – ARMY – WWII

Apr 1, 1999 | ,

George has been a life-long resident of Fayette County except for his WWII service. This veteran 84th Infantry Division, “Railsplitter”, went through the Battle of the Bulge and was later wounded in Germany. George I. Migl was born in Fayette County, Texas in 1919 and he grew up on a Czech im­migrant family farm near Praha. George's father was born in 1855, in Czechoslovakia near the German border. He took passage to America at age 17. After two weeks in New York he shipped to Galveston and immediately moved up to then sparsely settled Fayette County, Texas where he took up farming in 1872. That was one year before the city of Flatonia was even founded. This elder Migl...

JAMES W. FARMER, SR.  – Army – WWII

JAMES W. FARMER, SR.  – Army – WWII

Dec 1, 1998 | ,

Jim Farmer was a cavalry trooper in George Patton’s command before WWII and he had personal interactions with him almost daily for several years. They were together again from the close of the war in Europe up until the month before the General Patton’s death. Jim did not enjoy or benefit from their relationship. In the closing days of the war in Germany, Jim Farmer, acting alone, captured more enemy soldiers in a single action than did Sergeant York in WWI; and for this Jim was honored with America’s second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross. Here are a few glimpses from his many years of service. James Farmer enlisted in the Army in 1935 and was...

WILLIAM A. (BILL) BRANT – Army Air Corps – WWII

WILLIAM A. (BILL) BRANT – Army Air Corps – WWII

Sep 1, 1998 | ,

"A Lieutenant Meets General George S. Patton, Jr.", a story in Bill Brant’s own words. I had not met General George S. Patton, Jr., until one day in mid-July 1943. But, on that day I met all six feet of him, and more. Actually, as he peered down at me from a standing position in his jeep, I could have sworn he was ten feet tall. I had seen the general several times before in Mostaganem, Algeria, following the Tunisian Campaign, it’s just that hadn't personally met him. Each time I had seen him, it was at a distance. However, on this occasion we were up close, and under circumstances that were not conducive to a very amiable meeting. But, let me first explain the...

MELFRED FORSMAN – NAVY – WWII

MELFRED FORSMAN – NAVY – WWII

Jul 1, 1998 | ,

Few veterans of any service in any war have endured the extreme cruelty and brutality of the Japanese POW camps and yet survived to share their story. This was Melfred’s experience. On April 18, 1939, Melfred Forsman left his home in Iowa Falls and enlisted in the Navy at Des Moines, Iowa. After training as a Seaman at Great Lakes, Illinois, he was assigned to duty aboard the Cruiser, USS Houston; which at that time was flagship of the "Asiatic Fleet" in Manila. At the outbreak of WWII, the Houston was one of the few warships deployed to confront the Japanese advance and it fought in the “Battle of the Java Sea” in February 1942. Soon afterward, Houston, in company with the...