Bethanne Strasser here. I'm a writer who loves everything about the WW2 era. I mostly write contemporary romantic suspense novels, but decided this year to do something a little different. My research brought me here and I look forward to browsing the different threads in search of pockets full of information. In the evenings, my husband and I can most often be found watching PBS specials, sometimes featuring ww2 topics, other times... who knows? We love history. My grandfather, Walt Seale, served in the Army during WW2 in the Pacific. He was part of the 871st Airborne Engineers. I loved hearing his stories and listening to him yell about the d*mn J*ps. I didn't understand as a child but I thought it was entertaining to hear the swearing because I wasn't allowed to swear and didn't hear it very often. I live in a corn field called Central Illinois and look forward to someday going back to the mountains. I have four children whom I hope will grow up loving history as much as I do. I'm glad I found this spot and look forward to getting to know other people here.
Bethanne -- You are most welcome here and I hope you enjoy and learn and contribute with each visit! I find the forums to be a great break from my daily grind! Cheers! David
hi bethanne welcome aboard you have came to a great forum menny great people here you will enjoy your stay best krieg
Welcome Bethanne!! Good to have you here! Just read through the article you linked for us! Wow! Thanks so much for that! It's a great read! This caught me as very funny!! Later, while we were creating a borrow pit (for fill) the dozers unearthed trunks full of rifles and bayonets. These were all well oiled and neatly preserved and were probably buried to hide them from the Japanese. Some of our men ground the US off of the bayonets and sold them to the Navy and the merchant marine sailors as "genuine Japanese " souvenirs.
I'm so sorry I missed all these replies! I must not have checked the notification box. Thanks for the welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed the article. My grandfather was a character and I still miss him. Now i'm off to go learn something about the war in Europe.
