It is with great sadness; we learn the news that World War II “Superstar” and survivor of Pearl Harbor, Mr. Floyd Welch, has died. He was 99.

Welch, who was born in February 1921 in Burlington, Conn., was serving aboard the USS Maryland on Dec. 7, 1941, when the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor came under attack by Japan.

Welch has said he was coming out of the shower on that Sunday morning when he heard the first alarm and later the loud explosions of bombs and torpedoes. When he came on deck, he saw the raging fire and the overturned USS Oklahoma next to the Maryland.

He helped pull survivors from the Oklahoma out of the water. He and others then climbed onto the Oklahoma, where they heard tapping coming from inside the ship.

"By using blueprints of the Oklahoma, so as not to burn into a fuel void, we began the long and extremely difficult process of cutting holes through the bottom steel plates of the Oklahoma," he wrote in a remembrance of the battle.

"When we could see the planes coming, we would try to find cover. We would cut near where we heard the trapped crewmen tapping. In all, I believe 33 men from the Oklahoma were rescued through these holes."

The attack killed more than 2,400 people, including 17 from Connecticut, according to the Pearl Harbor Memorial.
Floyd served on the Maryland for the entire war, earning numerous honors, including American Defense Medal, the WWII Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with three stars, the Good Conduct Medal and the United States Navy Constitution Medal.

"His was just a remarkable story of bravery, discipline and dedication," said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal. "He lived the word 'hero' in his actions, not just words and gave it real meaning. He was a hero, not just in his dedication and bravery, but also in the result of his actions, which was to save lives."

After leaving the Navy in January 1946, Welch worked as an alarm installer, a farmer and a milkman, before opening a construction company, Welch & Son, which built road infrastructures, foundations, and drainage systems throughout the Northeast.

Welch, who served for a time as an officer in the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, was a guest of honor in 2016 at the 75th Pearl Harbor Survivors Memorial Ceremony in Hawaii.

He is survived by his wife, Marjorie, six children, 13 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.

It is with great sadness; we learn the news that World War II “Superstar,” Mr. Lester Bernard Cook, one of the last Darby's Rangers has died. He was 97.

Mr. Lester Bernard Cook was known to be one of the last veterans of the original 1st Battalion US Rangers, which was formed at Carrickfergus in 1942.

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, on September 25, 1922, he enlisted in the Iowa National Guard while still in high school.

His unit, the 168th Infantry Regt. 34th Division "The Red Bulls", was activated on February 10, 1941.

The US Rangers Museum in Carrickfergus was established in 1994 following a visit by a number of veterans - original "Darby's Rangers" who donated their photographs, uniforms, medals and much more.

"We are honored to be the birthplace of the US Rangers and we are as committed to telling their stories and keeping their memory alive just as much today as we were then. We thank you for your service."

Stationed in Northern Ireland following the United States' entry into World War II in December 1941, Mr Cook came to Sunnylands Camp to try out for a new, elite special operations force being raised as the spearhead of all Allied offences against the enemy in the war in Europe.

He was one of up to 2,000 men who were put through a vigorous selection process - only 500 made the cut. The new unit was officially activated on June 19, 1942.

During an interview Mr Cook said: "I had no idea what I was getting into when I saw a notice on the bulletin board about the Rangers. I was stationed in Belfast, Ireland, with the 168th Infantry."

He went on to serve the full tour with Darby's Rangers.
The original 1st Ranger Battalion comprised six-line companies. Eventually these would come to number 2,000 men. The Rangers were instrumental in the Allied assaults on North Africa, Sicily and Italy.

Some 198 Rangers were brought home in May 1944, most of these were from the original Darby's Rangers. This elite commando-style force remains the only US military unit to be formed on foreign soil.

During the invasion of Anzio, though wounded and in the hospital, Les went AWOL to join the fight with the 4th Ranger Battalion as they attempted to breakout the 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions (who were encircled by two German Divisions).

Ranger Cook earned the Silver Star Medal for actions during the battle for Venefro, Italy on 10 November 1943 reads in part, "... during a German counterattack, Sergeant Cook and six American soldiers became cutoff from the main body.

Moving forward to an adjacent knoll, Sergeant Cook and two other men and four artillery observers encountered a group of eight German soldiers. While his companions withdrew, Sergeant Cook calmly opened fire, killing all eight. Sergeant Cook then reorganized the small group of men, led them back to the hill, and directed them in fighting to hold the position."

Mr Cook's military career spanned three wars and 26 years. He earned two Silver Stars, Purple Hearts and Presidential Unit Citations among many other accolades. This summer Mr Cook was inducted into The Ranger Hall of Fame at Fort Benning, Georgia.

His loss is felt by the wider WWII Rangers community of veterans and descendants, where he was an active member of their Facebook page on which he participated up until a few months ago.

Recently the US Senate unanimously passed the United States Army Rangers Veterans of WWII Congressional Gold Medal Act. Pending approval by the House of Representatives, it is hoped a medal presentation will take place next year to honor and give recognition to the WWII Rangers.

It is with great sadness; we learn the passing of World War II veterans and “SUPERHERO” Mr. George Smilanich. He was 98.

Smilanich was the youngest of seven children born to Serbian immigrants Yelena and Mane Smilanich on June 21, 1922, just outside of Buhl. His father worked underground at the Wanless Mine.

After helping Buhl win the Minnesota boys state basketball tournament in 1941 and 1942 as a starting guard, he was drafted. He spent three years as a tank driver in the 2nd Armored Division.

He served in North Africa and Sicily before landing in Normandy three days after D-Day. His unit fought in Northern France and the Battle of the Bulge.

Smilanich survived having three of the tanks he drove destroyed by enemy fire. He earned a Bronze Star for heroism for pulling his wounded commander from their burning tank. He later was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries he suffered in the Battle of the Bulge.

Mr. Smilanich was awarded the following: Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with six bronze battle stars, World War II Victory Medal, and Belgian Fourragere. He was honorably discharged on November 17, 1945.

In 2014, Smilanich opened up about his service after he was contacted by Jack Slattery of the 2nd Armored Division Association. Slattery asked Smilanich if he wanted to serve as a consultant to a Hollywood-produced movie titled “Fury.” The movie, directed by David Ayer, starred Brad Pitt.

“Jack knew my dad,” Susan Smilanich said. “My dad told him he didn’t want to do it. He said, ‘Who the hell is Brad Pitt?’ My dad’s whole life had been sports. He had no interest in movies. We told him to consider it because it would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

Smilanich relented and spent three days in Hollywood telling the movie’s producers about his experiences. He and his wife, Mary, and daughter attended the movie’s premiere in Washington, D.C.

“The movie is fiction. It’s David Ayer’s story,” said Susan Smilanich. “But it aligned with the stories that my father shared with them, down to small details.”

After his discharge in 1945, Smilanich enrolled at St. Cloud State Teachers College. He played basketball and was on the track team while earning his degree.

It is with a heavy heart; we learn the news that World War II Normandy (D-DAY Ranger) Mr. Ivan Warren Cady has passed away in his favorite chair in Rochester, MN. He was 96.

Ivan Cady was born on January 17, 1924, in Spring Valley, Minnesota, the son of Benton and Alma (Rudlong) Cady. He grew up in rural Preston, where he attended country school. Shortly after his father's death, he would leave country school and work on the family farm. After leaving the farm, he married Carolyn Hecker on November 21, 1942, in Rochester, Minnesota, where they made their home.

Shortly after being married, Mr. Cady enlisted into the United States Army and served in the 2nd Ranger Battalion. His tour of duty included: Pointe du Hoc on D-Day, Hill 400, Battle of the Bulge, and Buchenwald Liberation. He was honorably discharged in 1944.

After the war, Mr. Cady began his work career with Nickels, Dean, and Greg Auto Parts in Rochester, Minnesota, which later became General Trading Company. His 50-year career started as a counter employee, and then he would become the owner of four stores located in Rochester, Albert Lea, Red Wing, and Caledonia.

Mr. Cady was an avid fisherman and hunter. He was a member of the Eagles, VFW, and American Legion. He was also an Honor Flight recipient and a life member of The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation. In his earlier years, he was treasurer and timekeeper for the Golden Gloves, and he also boxed in the service.

ON behalf of The Greatest Generations Foundation and its members, we salute Mr. Ivan Cady for his dedication and service to our nation.

Thank you for posting the remembrance of these great veterans.
They truly saved the world.
Rest in Peace.

World War II combat infantry soldier and patriot Lt. Col. Harry V. Shoop has passed away. He was 99.

Shoop was born and raised in Mount Holly, N.J., with his father hailing from Washington Court House and his mother from Sabina. Shoop’s mother passed away when he was 7, and his father disapproved of his son’s desire to join the military. As a teenager, Shoop hitchhiked to Washington Court House to live with family and join the Ohio National Guard.

Shoop entered active service in October 1940, serving in Ohio’s 37th and 38th Infantry Divisions. He was a platoon sergeant in Company B and Company H of the 149th Infantry Regiment in the Philippines during World War II, later serving in the 38th Infantry Division.

Harry served valiantly in Army combat heavy weapons rifle platoons in the fierce jungles of Luzon (ZigZag Pass), Bataan, Corregidor and Manila in the Philippine Islands,” according to his family.

At the rank of platoon sergeant, Harry was assigned to serve in an officer-level position of platoon leader, a role that defined his life ever after.

Following World War II, Shoop served in the Ohio National Guard and graduated from the US Army Command and General Staff in Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Shoop eventually earned the rank of lieutenant colonel and was commanding officer of the Ohio Guard 137th Military Police Battalion. He retired from the military after 31 years of active service.

Able Seaman Moss Berryman, last surviving member of a daring mission off Singapore – obituary

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituar...an-last-surviving-member-daring-mission/

A bit about the Singapore raid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Jaywick

It is with great sadness that we learn the news that World War II veterans and “SUPERSTAR,” Mr. Conrad Lohoefer has died. He was 96.
Conrad Lohoefer was a flight engineer and top turret gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress. After completing training in Texas, Nevada, Nebraska, and Tennessee, Conrad traveled to England on the Queen Mary and was stationed at Bassingbourn outside Cambridge. Over the next six months, he would complete 35 missions with the 401st Bomb Squadron.
As a flight engineer on a B-17 Flying Fortress, he was the top enlisted non-commissioned officer in charge of the other enlisted men on the crew. He was also responsible for as much maintenance as possible while in flight and during bombing missions over enemy territory due to flak from enemy fighters. As an engineer, he also did everything from crank down shot out landing gear and bomb bay doors to patch up wounded crew members.
During his 35 missions, he bombed targets such as Berlin three times, Dresden, Regensburg, Nurnberg, Kassel, Cologne, Frankfort, Bremerhaven, and many others. On one of his missions to Germany, some critical equipment was shot up, and they had to make a forced landing in Liege, Belgium. Conrad finished all his missions and was on his way home before his 21st birthday. Through the GI Bill, he attended the University of Missouri and graduated in 1949 with a BJ degree in journalism.
He married his wife Stephanie, and the couple had five children, two daughters, and three sons.
When four of his five children were out of the house, Conrad was offered an opportunity to move to California, working for a company that sold supplies to cotton gins.
Conrad, Stephanie, their youngest son Lee, and Conrad’s father headed west to the Golden State. Conrad retired in 1997, and he and Stephanie returned to Texas in 2005, purchasing a home in Plano, Texas, where Stephanie passed away in 2012.
In 2012, Conrad returned to Bassingbourn, England, for his first time, with The Greatest Generations Foundation. It was the first of three visits to Europe to commemorate those who never made it home.

It is with great sadness; we have received the news that the beloved Elizabeth Barker Johnson, Veteran of World War II has died. She was 100.
Johnson was a Private First Class in the U.S. Army during World War II as a member of the 6888th Regiment. It was the only all-female, all-African American regiment that was stationed overseas during the war. During her time in the armed forces, she was stationed in Kentucky, England and France driving trucks. She also worked at a military post office overseas.

World War II “SUPERSTAR” Mark Sertich, of Duluth, MN died peacefully surrounded by friends and family. He was 99.
Mark was born on July 18th, 1921 in Ashland, WI. A quiet, humble, first generation American, Mark was the son of hard-working Eastern European immigrants, growing up in a family that valued the freedoms that their new home afforded them; most notably, protection from tyranny and oppression. Mark often reminded his children of those human rights, as he would recount his experiences and memories of serving our country in World War II.
Mark led an amazing life. As a young lad, he learned the values of hard work and self-sufficiency, traits that formed his personality, and were interwoven into everything he accomplished throughout his 99 years on this planet.
As a child, Mark grew up under the watchful eyes of his mother, Josephine, and his father, Marko. He was a 1939 graduate of Denfeld High School, and later attended The Duluth Business School. He struck gold when he met the love of his life, Virginia, and later married her on April 11, 1942. In late 1942, Mark was called to serve his country in the US Army. Mark trained with the 3rd Army, 11th Armored Division at Fort Benning in Georgia, and served under General George Patton’s European command. Mark was a high-speed radio operator in the Armored Division, and saw intense combat, especially during the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes region of Belgium, the last German offensive campaign on the Western Front.
Mark was a highly decorated combat veteran, earning many medals and commendations. During the 3 years he spent in World War II, Mark’s unit liberated the Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria. A normally quiet man, Mark passionately spoke of the horrors and injustice of what he saw when a tyrannical dictator attempted to take over the world during those very dark years in world history. He would later remind his children, through photos and his personal eye-witness accounts, that freedom is not free.
Mark and Virginia raised seven children in their home in West Duluth. Mark barely had a moment to himself, as he put in his hours at the Board of Trade Building, working as a manager with the Peavey Company, then returning home to seven lively children who craved his playful and energetic spirit, and a beautiful wife who needed to rest a little. His “free time” was spent teaching his children how to skate, play hockey, throw a ball, ride a bike, swim, run, and do homework. He had high expectations and ran a tight ship. Later, he volunteered in youth sports, and his coaching skills enabled many up and coming young hockey and baseball players to realize their potential.
As the kids grew up, and child rearing waned, Mark found more free time, and was able to focus on his own needs. An energetic, athletic man, Mark embarked upon many new fitness endeavors. After 42 years with Peavey Company (which later became Con-Agra), Mark retired at age 62, and this would mark the beginning of many years of remarkable, new accomplishments. He didn’t walk, but ran to confront personal challenges. He competed in, and finished 7 Grandma’s Marathons, The Senior Olympics, and 11 in-line marathons. Mark partook in anything that could enable him to move and stay healthy.
With his competitive spirit fully engaged, Mark became serious about perfecting his own hockey playing skills, and his notoriety is now a part of history. For over 40 years, Mark traveled every summer to Santa Rosa, CA to participate in the Snoopy Senior World Hockey Tournament. One of his most notable teammates was Charles Schultz. It was at those hockey tournaments that
Mark gained his most recent notoriety. As he quietly aged into his 90’s, many people began to notice. Mark achieved local, national, and international recognition, as news outlets clamored for interviews that could possibly explain how this remarkable man could continue to play competitive ice hockey well into his nineties. Always, Mark was a good sport, as he willingly shared his insights and anecdotal stories of ice hockey and general fitness. Frequently, he wondered aloud what all the fuss was about.
In 2017, at the age of 96, Mark was certified as the Oldest Living Competitive Ice Hockey Player in The World by the Guinness Book of World Records. The following year, he broke his own record, and was again certified at age 97.
Throughout his hockey playing years, Mark enjoyed competing at the Duluth Heritage Ice Arena 3 times/week, where he cultivated lifelong friendships with his teammates in the morning hockey league. One of his favorite post-hockey activities was “coffee in Mark’s kitchen”, where he would gather with his hockey buddies around his table, and in his words, “solve all the world’s problems”.
The coffee clutch, comprised of Bob, Butch, Will, Swanny, Mike, Rick, Donny, Craig, Joe, Rick, Doug, Lynn, and Dane, were all instrumental in fueling Mark’s keen debate skills, and keeping him competitive on the ice. Along with Jeannie Schultz in CA, they would later report and verify those observations, submitting proper documentation required to the Guinness Book of World Record certifiers. Mark now has 2 Guinness Book of World Records awards.
In May 2019 Mark added to his impressive list of awards when he joined many illustrative, accomplished athletes, as he was inducted into the Duluth Entertainment Center Athletic Hall of Fame.

It's with great sadness; Eugene Joseph Dwyer, believed to have been South Dakota's last living Pearl Harbor survivor, passed away surrounded by his family at his home in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He was 100.
Gene was born to Robert and Cecelia Dixon Dwyer on February 15, 1920. He attended Wakonda Public School and Northwest Commerce College in Sioux City, Iowa.
On December 7, 1941, Gene, a Sergeant in the US Army Air Corps, was "In Charge of Quarters" at Hickam Airfield, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
During a June 1941 furlough, Sergeant Dwyer and Lucille Peterson were married. After his 1945 discharge, Gene, Lucille, and their daughter Barbara, born in 1942, moved to Sioux Falls.
Two more children were added to the family, Tom in 1946 and Cindy in 1952.
Gene worked as a trucking executive at Wilsons, American Freight Systems, and Midwest Coast Transport from 1946-1988, then as constituent service and veteran's liaison for Senator Tom Daschle from 1988-2005.
He was a gentle soul, loved for his quiet strength by all who knew him and will be sorely missed by his family and all whose lives he touched.

World War II Paratrooper John Jeffries has died. He was 98.
Parachute veteran was shot and captured in the 1944 battle then escaped prison camp, discovered secret German weapons test and survived to jump again three years ago.
Paratrooper John Jeffries served his country in North Africa, Syria, Palestine, Italy and the Netherlands.
Mr Jeffries was born in Warrington, Lancashire in 1922, but grew up in an orphanage after both of his parents died.
In 1941, he joined the Royal Signals, but signed up for the parachute regiment after hearing about its formation.
He trained in Cairo and in 1944 was dropped into the Netherlands at the Battle of Arnhem, part of Operation Market Garden.
He was captured just a short while after trying to land, as a German sniper shot home in the buttocks during descent.
It was then his remarkable time in the military began, managing to escape, discover a top-secret German experiment, only to be captured again and nearly killed by Russian women.
Before he died, he managed to carry out one final jump - three years ago at the age of 95.
He also had the chance to meet Prince Charles. They shared a conversation about which was the scariest way to jump and decided it was from a hot air balloon because the atmosphere was so still.
Mr Jeffries' military service began in the Royal Signals, serving in Italy, North Africa, Syria and Palestine.
He later joined the parachute regiment, trained in Cairo and was dropped behind enemy lines at the Battle of Arnhem on September 18, 1944.
It was the second day of Operation Market Garden - which saw 35,000 parachutists and glider pilots drop into the Netherlands with plans to capture bridges and create a new route into Nazi Germany.
While descending into battle, he was shot in the buttock and landed on Ginkel Heath.
His heavy wireless set landed on his ankle, leaving him unable to move. As thick smoke burned around him, it looked as though his war was over.
Speaking last year, Mr Jeffries told the Daily Record: 'I couldn't get up. I had to lay there almost three quarters of an hour before medics came to pick me up.
'I got shot coming down as I came out the plane.
'I was bleeding quite profusely.'
However, the veteran's life was reportedly saved by three Dutch girls who ran over to him and asked for his parachute to make dresses.
To his horror he then realized that he still had the secret codebook, printed on magnesium paper, that had been issued to wireless operators.
Behind the backs of his captors, he persuaded a smoking soldier to put his lit cigarette to the magnesium paper, which went up with a bang.
After four days on the floor of a filthy cattle truck without food or water, and with injured men dying around him, he went by train to Stalag XI-B in Lower Saxony.
To his relief, he was given medical attention and prison clothing - he was still wearing the blood-encrusted uniform he'd been shot down in.
The prison doctor ripped out the pad which had been placed in his wound ten days earlier, causing immense pain.
He was reduced to eating grass and weeds to supplement the meagre diet of cabbage or potato soup and slowly regained his strength.
When out on a route march, a pre-arranged fight broke out among the British prisoners to distract the guards, allowing Mr. Jeffries and his friend, Sandy Powell, to make a break for it.
After four days on the run, they stumbled into a clearing in the forest.
It appeared to be a deserted German airfield, with planes stacked on top of each other.
Desperately tired, they fell asleep inside a plane, only to be awoken by members of the Luftwaffe pointing guns at them.
It was only after the war that they revealed they had stumbled upon the Germans' secret Mistel experiment - a small, piloted plane above a large plane packed with explosives that the pilot would release and then guide, like a drone, to its target.
Back in prison, Mr Jeffries was set to work in a sugar factory, where he narrowly survived an attempted assault by female Russian prisoners of war who tried to push him into a vat of molasses.
He was liberated back to Lancashire, where he became an art teacher and met his wife, Mona.
He was in Arnhem only last September for the anniversary where he unveiled the monument to the battle on Ginkle Heath.

It is with great sadness; we learn the news that Normandy World War II veteran Mr. Garfield J. Jordan has died. He was 102,
Mr. Jordan was born in Dawson County, Ga., in July 1918, the eldest of seven children born to Rebecca and Elder Jordan.
At 17, he left Georgia because of segregation and racism in the South to join his father in Philadelphia.
He was drafted into the Army, where he served in the European theater as a Truck Driver. A City of Philadelphia citation in honor of his 100th birthday in 2018 noted he had served at Normandy and received an honorable discharge as a staff sergeant.
In 1943, he married Leona Brooks, and the couple had two daughters.
“He was generous, kind, and soft-spoken,” said Minister Dienay Williams, a granddaughter.
“He was a gentleman, a Southern gentleman.”
Williams said her grandfather was a storyteller who loved to talk about his life in the South.
After the Army, Mr. Jordan worked as a truck driver for the World Press Printing company in Philadelphia for 40 years. While working as a truck driver, he also operated his own business, Jordan Cleaning Services, for about 20 years.
He had lived independently in his West Philadelphia home until failing health caused him to move to a nursing home in January.
Mr. Jordan was a longtime member of Allen AME Church in West Philadelphia. In his spare time, he collected books and loved reading about the history of African Americans.

Retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer James “Dixie” Harris. He was 98.
Born on Aug. 7, 1922, Harris learned how to work hard on his family’s farm in Pleasant Hill, Georgia, during the Great Depression. He was 18 when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, starting a 22-year military career that included serving in the Pacific during World War II.
After retiring from the Navy, Harris sold life insurance and cars, then served the nation again working 16 years for the U.S. Postal Service. He tested the first automated zip code detection equipment stationed in Columbus, Johnson said.
Harris became chairman of the Georgia Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. He shared his Pearl Harbor experience as a guest speaker at schools and other organizations.

With great sadness, we learn the passing of World War II SUPERHERO Mr. Frank J. GRECO. He was 96.
Frank was born on July 22, 1924, son of the late Sebastian and Rose (Spota) Greco of Middletown. He is survived by three brothers, Joseph Greco of Middletown, Emilio Greco of Middletown, and John Greco of Middletown and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by sisters Rose Simonson, Lillian Kriwokulski, Isabelle Scheidel, Marguerite Lancia, and brothers Victor Greco and Rosario Greco.
In 1942 at age 18, Frank was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in the 88th Division for more than three years. The 88th Infantry Division was one of the first all-draftee divisions of the United States Army to enter the warfighting on the Italian Front.
In 1950, Frank married Josephine Giuliano, and the two enjoyed years of motorcycling and trips to Vermont. Frank worked for Russell Manufacturing Company, delivered parts for Jackson Chevrolet, and retired from the State of Connecticut Highway Department. Following his wife Josephine's passing in 2013, he volunteered at the Middletown Senior Center, where he lovingly served lunch to seniors in the community.
On July 22 of 2016, his birthday, Frank was named senior of the year by mayor Dan Drew, who proclaimed July 22 Frank Greco Day in Middletown. Frank was kind and generous and will be remembered for his stories about growing up on his family's farm, his time in Italy during the war, his love of motorcycles, and the friends he made at the senior center.

It is with great sadness; we learn the news that World War II veteran Mr. Charlie Miller OAM, known for his extraordinary bravery as a Spitfire pilot, has died. He was 96.
While Charlie Miller never referred to himself as a hero, he performed dozens of low-level missions strafing Japanese strongholds during risky and dangerous tasks. These missions were considered the most precarious feats by pilots. Many of his fellow pilots never returned.
Born in Melbourne and educated at Mount Gambier High School, Charlie Miller moved to Mount Gambier in his teenage years and always had a hankering to join the Air Force, enlisting when he turned 18.
Charlie Miller learned to fly in a Tiger Moth and described his first solo flight as a "thrill and the biggest achievement". After more training, he was transferred to a Spitfire squadron.
While initially, he became a flying instructor, Charlie Miller was posted to 457 squadrons in 1945. Its primary role was to provide support to the ground troops in New Guinea and Borneo. While Charlie was not involved in any particular battle, he was a fighter pilot, strafing Japanese strongholds with his machine guns and cannons, particularly ones uncovered by the army.
Simultaneously, as Charlie Miller humbly proclaims, he was not a hero many still believe he was, as strafing was one of the most dangerous forms of flying, and to get it wrong would have been fatal.
After the war, he got married to a local woman named Lillian Boardman, and they had three boys Tony, Martin, and Steven Miller. For many years Charlie undertook the role of president of the Mount Gambier RSL. Unfortunately, his wife passed away, leaving him to look after the house alone, but Charlie Miller describes this independence as the key to his long and thrilling life.

Gaynor Williams (1921-2020): Ottawa vet played key role in sinking of deadly German battleship

Publishing date:Sep 24, 2020


Gaynor Williams was a navigator aboard an RAF flying boat that found the German battleship Bismarck in the Second World War. Williams died in Ottawa on Sept. 3 at age 98.

In May 1941, the most powerful battleship in the German fleet was loose in the North Atlantic. The Bismarck had already blown to bits the HMS Hood, the pride of the Royal Navy, killing all but three of her 1,419 sailors.

Armed with huge 15-inch guns, the Bismarck was a deadly menace to the vital convoys carrying troops and material across the sea to Britain, which was now fighting for its life against Hitler’s war machine. With the Hood at the bottom of the sea, the Bismarck had shaken its Royal Navy pursuers and had disappeared into the thick fog of the North Atlantic.

And so it was that Gaynor Williams, the navigator and lone Canadian in the crew of a Royal Air Force Catalina flying boat, found himself playing a central role in one of history’s most famous naval battles. Williams, a veteran, civil engineer, husband and father, died Sept. 3 at the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre in Ottawa. He was 98.

Williams was born Sept. 22, 1921 in Daysland, Alta., about 100 kilometres southeast of Edmonton, and enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1939, shortly after the war broke out. He trained as a navigator and was posted to an RAF maritime patrol squadron in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland.

Williams’s aircraft, M/240, was one of two of the long-range flying boats sent aloft on May 26 to join the hunt for the Bismarck. It took the slow and lumbering Catalina six hours just to reach its patrol area, more than 1,000 kilometres southwest of Ireland.

It was the other aircraft that spotted the Bismarck first and its crew sent out a frantic radio message — “One Enemy Battleship” — and its position before it was badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire and had to withdraw.

Williams quickly calculated a course he thought would bring them to the Bismarck and the pilot descended to less than 500 metres over the sea, scudding along below storm clouds. The visibility dropped to barely 1.5 kilometres and rain pounded the aircraft.

After 20 minutes seeing nothing buy grey sea, the pilot had just told Williams to plot a new course when a crew member shouted from the rear of the plane: “The Bismarck! The Bismarck!”

“Pandemonium broke out. The second pilot slapped me on the back as if I had just scored the winning goal in a hockey game,” Williams recounted in a journal he kept of his war years.

“We both stumbled down the narrow gangway to the rear of the plane. There, just a short half mile away I saw the massive shape of a battleship with the unmistakable yacht-like bow of the Bismarck. As I looked, the ship came alive with red flashes, the air around us filled with dozens of black puffs of exploding shells.”

M/240 shadowed the Bismarck and its escorting cruiser for hours, drifting in and out of the cloud cover, while Williams continuously updated its position for the fleet of British battleships and aircraft carriers closing in on it.

Occasionally the aircraft would drift in range of the Bismarck’s guns and M/240 would shake from the fury of the German shells.

Damaged and low on fuel, M/240 eventually turned for home. But there would be no escape for the Bismarck. Four days later, after being pounded by British torpedoes and shellfire, the Bismarck sank beneath the waves, taking 2,100 crew members with it.

“It’s a sad story, because everything about war is sad,” Williams told Postmedia News in a 2004 interview. “I’ve got some sympathy for all of those young sailors, men I probably would have been just as happy to play tennis with if I’d known them in peacetime.”

But Gaynor Williams’s war was far from over. He would go on to serve as navigator for Lord Louis Mountbatten, uncle of Prince Philip and commander of British forces in Burma and India. On VIP duty, Williams’s aircrew flew admirals and generals around to high level conferences, dining alongside Indian princes, and staying in lavish palaces.

When he returned to Canada in December 1944, Williams wrote that his dream was “to become a forest engineer and plant trees in the wilderness regions of Canada.”

Instead, he became a civil engineer and in 1954 joined the division of building research at the National Research Council in Ottawa, the city where he lived the rest of his life with his wife, Jean, and raised their three children.

His expertise on the properties of snow, ice and permafrost was in much demand in northern countries like Canada, Scandinavia and Russia. And he continued to write, publishing his memoir, The Wartime Journals of a Prairie Kid, along with several volumes of poetry and prose, and a regular newsletter of his thoughts and observations that he sent to family and friends.

“Gaynor was a simple man by his own admission,” his children wrote in his obituary. He loved sports, dogs, walking in the woods, and reflecting.

Jean died in 2011 after a 65-year marriage. Williams leaves his children, Derek (Nicky), Gregory (Joan) and Jennifer, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/loca..._d5Dnv7a9SjicVjNEtr2c#Echobox=1601037873

It is with great sadness; we learn the news that Normandy (DDAY) veteran and SUPERSTAR Mr. Ray Pegram has died. He was 97.

Ray Pegram of Spindale was a native of Henderson County, and he was the son of the late Julius Faustus and Vista Merrell Pegram and husband to the late Madge Hardin Pegram.

Ray served as a radio operator on a Douglas C-47 military transport aircraft in the 9th Army Air Corps, 434 Trooper Carrier Group.

During World War II, Ray participated in the Normandy Landings, Operation Market Garden, and Operation Plunder.

Ray was a member of Spencer Baptist Church. He was a former member of the Spindale Rotary Club, the Rutherford County Club, and served as a deacon at Spencer Baptist Church.

In his twilight years, Ray spent his time traveling the World with The Greatest Generations Foundation, talking about his wartime experiences.

Our heart is with his daughter Jen Ballard, and the Program Family.

Murray Shapiro, a distinguished educator for 54 years in the Los Angeles area who served in World War II died in Simi Valley over the weekend. He was 97.
Murray Shapiro was awarded Teacher of the Year for both the city and county of Los Angeles in 1984, years after his achievements during his time battling in Europe. He died peacefully at home with his family present on Saturday, Sept. 26.
“He was a loving man, a tough man,” his son, Leland Shapiro, said in a Sunday afternoon interview. “He’s been my hero and the hero for my family.”
Over the years, Shapiro taught thousands of students in the Los Angeles Unified School District and at Cal State Los Angeles, Mount Saint Mary’s University and UCLA. He also taught at a secondary school in Nigeria and was a religious school principal for Westwood Temple, Temple Israel of Hollywood, University Synagogue and Temple Beth Emet of Burbank.
Shapiro grew up with little money in East Los Angeles, sharing a bed with his two brothers. He joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps in high school so that he could wear a uniform to school, instead of rags, Leland Shapiro said.
He went to college for two years before joining the Army in World War II. Shapiro’s general asked for someone with college experience to teach the other soldiers during downtime in the war, which is when he found his love for teaching, his son said.
“The general told him, ‘I want you to give them lessons every day, so they stay put,’” Leland Shapiro said. “So instead of becoming a lawyer, he became a teacher.”
During his service, Shapiro landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day and fought in 18 battles, including the Battle of the Bulge. At one point, he was missing for eight days in enemy territory, according to Leland Shapiro.
Shapiro received many awards for his service, including two Bronze Star Medals with First Oak Leaf Cluster “for heroic achievement on 16 December 1944” and the French Legion of Honor Medal in 2012.