Showing posts with label WWII veteran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WWII veteran. Show all posts

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Canadian Veteran's dying wish, to step it with wife of 70 years!

Wife of ailing WWII veteran denied bed at Camp Hill


The Chronicle Herald Canada
Andrew Rankin
December 1, 2018
“I’m 97 years old and I’m only getting a few days here and there to see my wife,” said Vaughan. “This could go on until I die. Not a very nice thing to think about.”
The pair have been married for 70 years
Second World War veteran David Vaughan says he’s disappointed that his wife of 70 years is not allowed to live with him at Camp Hill Veterans Memorial Hospital in Halifax. - Andrew Rankin


David Vaughan is nearing 100 years of age and the Second World War veteran wishes he could spend whatever time he has left with his wife Cecilia.

“I miss her a lot,” said Vaughan as he lay in bed at Camp Hill Veterans Memorial Hospital in Halifax Monday evening. “She’s from Cape Breton, a wonderful girl. My best friend.”

The 97 year old, who served as a tank operator during the Italian campaign, found out from hospital staff this week that his 92-year-old wife Cecilia isn’t allowed to move in to the 175-bed long-term care facility.

Veterans Affairs confirmed this on Friday, saying all but 22 of the beds there are currently occupied by Canadian veterans. The Nova Scotia Health Authority pays a fee to the department for those beds. They’re occupied by regular civilians discharged from hospital and awaiting long-term care outside of Camp Hill.

Still, the facility currently boasts 28 vacant rooms.
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Saturday, December 1, 2018

President George H.W. Bush Passed Away

Presidents, politicians mourn passing of former President George H.W. Bush


By ABC NEWS
Dec 1, 2018

The death of former President George H.W. Bush drew an immediate outpouring of condolences from around the country and the world. From former presidents to representatives and business leaders, the praise was overwhelming for the 41st president.
His son, the 43rd president, sent an immediate statement on behalf of George H.W. Bush's children.

"Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear dad has died. George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for. The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41’s life and love, for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for dad and for the condolences of our friends and fellow citizens."
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Sunday, August 12, 2018

WWII veteran lived in RV until someone cared

Ed Smith, would-be loner and World War II veteran, dies at 92
Star Tribune
By Emma Nelson
AUGUST 11, 2018

Those who knew him describe a man whose life was colored by tragedy from the beginning, but punctuated until the end by moments of grace.
Smith was able to bring Puffy when he spent the night at St. Stephen’s. Later, with help from the organization and Novatney, he moved into an apartment. When Puffy died, Smith asked that the dog be cremated and the ashes tucked inside a stuffed animal that he could hold as he slept.
The RV stood in the same downtown Minneapolis parking lot, day in and day out, never moving.

Don Novatney could see it from the building where he worked and wondered if someone was living inside. He hoped not — it was deep winter and frigid cold.

Then, one Sunday, he read a newspaper story about a World War II veteran living in an unheated RV.

“I drove over there and knocked on his door and asked him if he was the person in that article,” Novatney recalled. “And he said yes.”

Shortly after, the man, Ed Smith, also caught the attention of the VA. He soon started receiving enough benefits to move out of the RV, and he lived the rest of his life in an apartment building for seniors in Minneapolis.

Smith died July 25 at age 92. Those who knew him describe a man whose life was colored by tragedy from the beginning, but punctuated until the end by moments of grace.

“He didn’t really have anybody most of his life,” Novatney said. “He just wanted somebody to know his story.”
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Monday, August 6, 2018

Veteran of 3 wars, ex-homeless veteran Willie Dread passed away

Polk Honor Flight passenger dies after fall at home
News Chief
Paul Catala
August 5, 2018

Willie Dread, who died July 31, was among 81 World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans who flew to Washington, D.C., on April 10 and returned home to a hero’s welcome the next day.
LAKELAND — Over the past six years, Willie Dread became more to Emily Cornelius than just a subject for a school project — he became a genuine friend.

And although that friendship came to a close Saturday afternoon, the inspirational bond Dread formed with Cornelius will carry on in her heart, mind and aspirations.

Dread, who died July 31, was among 81 World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans who flew to Washington, D.C., on April 10 and returned home to a hero’s welcome the next day before the start of the Sun ’n Fun International Fly-In Expo’s night airshow. A U.S. Army veteran, he was one of 81 veterans to make the April excursion.

After a fall and hitting his head at his apartment last Tuesday, Dread, 71, was hospitalized in Lakeland Regional Hospital and placed on life support in the intensive care unit. He was officially pronounced dead Tuesday but was sustained via life support until 4:37 p.m. Saturday, after his sister from Atlanta was able to see him.
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Original report Lakeland Teenager Honors Vietnam Veteran

Friday, August 3, 2018

Unclaimed veterans moved from freezer to honor service

Strangers provide military sendoff to veterans unclaimed in death
Michigan Live
By Gus Burns
August 2, 2018

U.S. Airman Second Class Gerald Suttkus, 81, a Detroit native living in Harrison Township, died at home on May 1. He served in the Vietnam War from 1959 until 1965. He later worked as a shipping clerk for a manufacturing company.

Navy Seaman First Class Cyril Brown, 90, of Clinton Township, died Oct. 21, 2017 at Detroit Receiving Hospital. He served during World War II from June 1944 to June 1946.

Thomas Novak, 59, of Warren, died in an area hospital died on April 25. He served as a private first class in the U.S. Army from 1975 to 1976.
Tanya Moutzalias
The Macomb County Council Ritual Team stands in honor of three unclaimed veterans, PV1 Thomas M. Novak (Peacetime), S1 Cyril L. Brown (WWII), A2C Gerald W. Suttkus (Vietnam War), Thursday morning at a memorial service at Harold W. Vick Funeral Home in Mt. Clemens, Aug. 2, 2018. (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)
One survived World War II. Another made it out of Vietnam. The third served his country during peace time.

Most servicemen are sent off with gallant funerals in death, firing line salutes, a trumpet playing "Taps" and U.S. flag pageantry, but it wasn't looking like that would be the case for three Macomb County veterans who died over the last year.

Their bodies instead lay in morgue freezers.
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Saturday, July 14, 2018

WWII veteran with PTSD feels the love from community on 94th birthday

Community has birthday surprise for vet, 94
The Chronicle
By Jennifer Bolton
July 13, 2018
"He is 100 percent disabled from his war injuries," Summer Camp said. "The doctors at the VA hospital said dad has the worst case of (post-traumatic stress disorder) that they've ever seen."
A Dickinson woman who wanted her World War II veteran dad to have a special 94th birthday turned to a place some might think of as a risky platform for help — social media.

Summer Camp asked people on Facebook and Next Door to send messages to her father, Bob Camp to celebrate his birthday on July 8.

She was surprised at what happened. Despite rain and gloomy weather, scores of people showed up to cheer the frail but excited veteran.

A key participant was League City resident John Dawson, who decided that he and the surrounding community could do a little more than send notes.
Serving in the Army under Gen. George S. Patton, Bob Camp fought at the Battle of the Bulge. He earned two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star.
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Saturday, June 30, 2018

112 year old WWII veteran robbed!

112-year-old Austin resident, our oldest living veteran, robbed of savings, identity
Dallas Morning News
Brendan Meyer
June 30, 2018
Thankfully, the bank account was not connected to Overton's GoFundMe page, which finances his 24/7 in-home care. Since its inception in December 2016, the page has raised more than $320,000, though a large portion of that money has already been spent.
Someone is impersonating the oldest man in America.

Family members of Richard Overton, the 112-year-old World War II veteran who lives in Austin, learned that his personal bank account had been drained on Friday.

"Someone set up a bogus account, got his Social Security number and accessed his personal checking account," said Volma Overton, who is Overton's third cousin.
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Monday, June 25, 2018

Army 1st Lt. Garlin Murl Conner MOH

Grandson of WWI's 'Sgt. York' Will Attend Medal of Honor Ceremony
Military.com
By Richard Sisk
25 Jun 2018
On Tuesday, Pauline Conner will accept the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor for her husband, who died in 1998 at age 79

They were Appalachian farm boys and crack shots who were distantly related by marriage, and now they are both Medal of Honor recipients for their "above and beyond" actions in separate wars.
Sgt. Alvin C York (US Army)
Army Sgt. Alvin C. York, believed to be the most highly decorated American soldier of World War I and made famous in a 1941 blockbuster movie, and Army 1st Lt. Garlin Murl Conner, one of the most highly decorated soldiers of World War II, first met when York came to the parade for Conner's homecoming in May 1945 and spoke at the Clinton County Courthouse in Kentucky.

That was where Pauline Conner, or Miss Pauline as she is known in the county, first saw the man who was to become her husband. He was all of about 5-foot-6 and maybe 130 pounds -- "probably," she said with a laugh at a Pentagon briefing Monday.

Pauline, who was Pauline Wells at the time, said her future husband didn't make a good first impression. She recalled with a smile turning to her mother, Tressie, and saying "my God, Mama, that little wharf rat couldn't have done all of what they said he'd done."
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Wednesday, June 13, 2018

WWII veteran recovering from pneumonia booted from Boston apartment

WWII veteran recovering from pneumonia booted from Boston apartment
WCVB News
June 13, 2018

Two months rent had been paid in advance

BOSTON
Ilya Levin’s WWII uniform is his only physical memento of his past after his entire Boston apartment was wiped clean.
Levin’s family tells Newscenter 5 that the 95-year-old was booted from his apartment while recovering from pneumonia. Everything from the apartment was thrown out in an apparent mistake by the management company at the Patricia White Apartments on Washington Street. “I’m shaking,” Alex Levin said. “I can’t believe it.”

Levin’s family found the apartment empty Monday when they stopped in to check on things.

For the past three weeks, Levin has been recovering from pneumonia in a rehab facility. But the family still has their father’s apartment keys and had paid two months rent in advance.

“He had a little place where he would have all his pictures,” Eugene Levin said. “His pictures of his parents that died during the Holocaust, it’s gone. It’s not here.”

Also missing is a safe that Levin had bolted to the closet floor.

WCVB reached out to the property management company and are waiting for comment. The Mayor’s office is also looking into the matter.
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Monday, June 11, 2018

Col. Bud Day, three wars, POW, MOH and now promoted

Col. Bud Day promoted posthumously to brigadier general
Northwest Florida Daily News
By Jim Thompson
June 11, 2018

ARLINGTON, VA. — Col. Bud Day, one of the military’s most decorated war heroes and a longtime veteran’s activist who settled in Northwest Florida after his retirement from the Air Force in 1977, was promoted posthumously Friday to the rank of brigadier general.
Day, who died in 2013 at the age of 88 at his home in Shalimar following a long battle with cancer, was a veteran of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. He was held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for nearly six years. During his time in captivity, Day met Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, then a lieutenant commander in the Navy, and helped nurse a badly injured McCain back to health. The two remained close throughout Day’s life.

Among the 70 medals Day earned was a Congressional Medal of Honor he received for escaping and evading capture by the Vietnamese, and refusing to provide them with information that would have compromised American missions. He was eventually recaptured and held at the infamous Hanoi Hilton.
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Saturday, April 14, 2018

MOH WWII Hero, Love Story and PTSD

Wife of World War II Medal Of Honor Recipient Reveals Their Love Story
Military.com
By Richard Sisk
13 Apr 2018
"More than anything, he was proud of his brothers in World War II. He had five brothers, all came back home. I've often wondered how his mother could take that, with six boys in the war," she said.

Back in 1945, when she was 15 and first set eyes on her future husband, Pauline Conner didn't think much of the scrawny fellow they were making all the fuss about in town with the parade and the speeches.

The great Sgt. Alvin York himself, the Medal of Honor recipient from World War I, had shown up for what the folks in Albany, Kentucky, called the "speakin'" at the Clinton County courthouse to welcome home Garlin Murl Conner from fighting the Nazis.
In their life together, he was a farmer and also served with the Disabled American Veterans, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the American Legion and Kentucky Veterans Affairs. The war stayed with him in ways he could not explain.

"I always thought if anybody had PTSD [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder], it was Murl. He'd wake up in the night, kind of fighting, because of the nightmares. Lots of times he'd just go outside and sit by himself," she said.

Last month, Pauline Conner, now 88, received a phone call from President Donald Trump about her husband, who died in 1998 at age 79. The upgrade of his Distinguished Service Cross had been approved after more than 20 years of bureaucratic and court fights.
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Friday, April 13, 2018

WWII veteran celebrates birthday,,with 5k race?

91-year-old World War II veteran crosses finish line of 5k race
KTXS News
by Ariana Lubelli, SBG San Antonio
April 12th 2018

SAN ANTONIO - Jim Ulbrich, a WWII Navy veteran, celebrated his 91st birthday weekend by running.
"I wanted to finish strong so I took off running," Ulbrich said.

The Poteet native and retired vocational agriculture teacher competed in the '65-year-old and up' category of the Caterpillar Seguin 5K Power Race on April 8th. He came in first place, breaking a record for Seguin.

"But my knees kind of squeak so I have to watch my knees," Ulbrich said. "They're a little old."

Cell phone video posted on Facebook by 'SS American Memorial located at the Lazy U Ranch Seguin TX' captured the 91-year-old running across the finish line.
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Friday, April 6, 2018

Daniel Akaka, first Native Hawaiian in Congress passed away

Daniel Akaka, first Native Hawaiian in Congress, dies at 93 
Associated Press 
April 6, 2018
FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2011 file photo then-Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Former U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, the humble and gracious statesman who served in Washington with aloha for more than three and a half decades, died Thursday, April 5, 2018, at the age of 93, sources tell the Star-Advertiser. He had been hospitalized with an illness. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file)
HONOLULU (AP) — Former Sen. Daniel Kahikina Akaka, the first Native Hawaiian elected to Congress who served for more than three decades, died Friday. He was 93.

Akaka died in Honolulu after being hospitalized for several months, said Jon Yoshimura, the senator’s former communications director.

The Democrat served 14 years in the U.S. House before he was appointed to replace Sen. Spark Matsunaga, who died of cancer in spring 1990. Akaka won election that fall for the rest of Matsunaga’s term, and voters sent him back for consecutive terms until 2012, when he chose not to seek re-election.

His legislative style was described as low-key, a characterization he embraced.

“I have a Hawaiian style of dealing with my colleagues,” he said.

Akaka developed a reputation as a congenial legislator who made many friends while making few waves in pressing the interests of the 50th state.
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Wednesday, March 28, 2018

WWII veteran jumped out of plane...because he never did it before

93-Year-Old WWII Veteran Checks Skydiving Off Bucket List
WFMY 2 News
March 27, 2018

He is 93-years-old, served in World War II, and once won the lottery but in his life, he hasn't done one very important thing: jump out of a plane.

Age is just a number when it comes to Stanley Sasine.

He is 93-years-old, served in World War II, and once won the lottery. But the Sandy Springs native says, in his life, he hasn't done one very important thing: jump out of a plane.

So, he did.

At 93, the filter is gone and the years become golden. Surrounded by family, Stanley is happy to show his life in pictures especially the album of his “fun days.”
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Sunday, January 7, 2018

WWII Veteran Honor Restored and Medals Back

“I was absolutely overwhelmed:” WWII veteran gets his wings back

FOX 17 News
Rebecca Russell
January 6, 2017

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.-- A World War II veteran who was stripped of his medals nearly 75 years ago was repinned on Saturday.

Virgil Westdale was part of the most decorated battalion in military history: the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, after he was stripped of his Army Air Corps badge during the war because he was a Japanese-American. Westdale had his pilot's license taken away and was demoted to a Private in the Army. 75 years later, Westdale got his wings back, along with a celebration of his 100th birthday.


It was a moment decades in the making that many say never needed to happen.
"It was the restoration of his Army Air Corps Badge," said Lt. Col. Steve Kenyon. "That is 75 years after it was wrongfully taken away from him, so it's a pretty big deal."

Monday, December 25, 2017

Pearl Harbor 97 Year Old WWII Veteran Being Evicted

Pearl Harbor veteran, 97, faces eviction from Brooklyn home

PIX 11 NEWS
Magee Hickey
December 24, 2017

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn — A 97-year-old veteran has already lived through many battles and now he's facing one more: eviction.

James Blakely, a Navy veteran who survived the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, will be in Housing Court in less than two weeks. A group called Black Veterans for Social Justice intends to evict the World War Two vet from his studio apartment, where the walls are covered with certificates of recognition and appreciation.

“I am so angry,” Blakely told PIX11. “And we will fight this legally.”

Six years ago Blakely, who is also an ordained minister, was living in a trailer with no running water in a junkyard on Buffalo Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant columnist Denis Hamill wrote an article in the Daily News about his living conditions.

That’s when, according to Hamill, a representative from the Black Veterans for Social Justice offered the studio apartment on Bergen Street to this World War Two vet rent free for the rest of his life.

Now the group says Blakely owes years in unpaid rent.
read more here

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Nevada Honors 13 Veterans With Proper Burial

Military funeral honors men who served during World War II, Korea, Vietnam

Nevada Appeal
Steve Ranson
December 8, 2017

FERNLEY — Each veteran could have been someone's brother, son or husband, yet for some reason beyond their control, they became forgotten after they died.

The Patriot Guard marches toward the ceremonial area with U.S. flags Steve Ranson
With their custom-made urns lined up like soldiers in formation, a folded flag leaned against the middle urns, symbolic of their service to their country during one of three wars: World War II, Korea or Vietnam.
The Nevada Veterans Coalition conducted its sixth Missing in Nevada funeral at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery with military honors Friday to remember 13 men who never received the proper burial after they died. Some of remains sat on a shelf — covered with thick dust — for decades until testing determined the identity of each veteran. Of the 13 men, 11 served during World War II and one each from Korea and Vietnam, while the oldest veteran was 87 years old when he died.

WWII — Thomas Anderson (1920-1977), U.S. Army 1940–1945.
WWII —James Betancourt (1926-1993), U.S. Navy 1944–1944.
WWII— John Bohm (1925-1979), U.S. Navy 1942– 1946.
WWII —James Brady (1915-1972), U.S. Army 1942–1946.
WWII— Joe Brown (1905-1987), U.S. Army 1942–1944.
Vietnam — Dale Carrigan (1950-1986), U.S. Army 1968 – 1970.
WWII — George Carson (1917-2004), U.S. Army 1944 –1946.
Korean —Paul Cole (1937-1997), U.S. Air Force 1954–1962.
WWII —Willie Crumpler (1902-1977) served in the U.S. Army 1942–1943.
WWII — Howard Davis (1909-1990), U.S. Army 1944–1946.
WWII —Edgar Erickson (1920-1992), U.S. Army 1940–1945.
WWII — Sherwood Jerome (1926-1992), U.S. Army 1944–1954.
WWII — Clyde Matthews (1906-1990), U.S. Navy/US ARNG 1926-1936/1940-1943.

Friday, December 8, 2017

Pearl Harbor Survivor Laid to Rest 76 Years After That Day

Pearl Harbor veteran laid to rest on day he survived attack 76 years ago
WPFT 5 News
Alanna Quillen
Dec 7, 2017
Eddie was one of the over 2,000 survivors of Pearl Harbor that are still left in the country.



LAKE WORTH, Fla. - Seventy-six years ago on Thursday, Japanese fighter planes attacked Pearl Harbor, killing more than 2,400 Americans.

But thousands more survived, including one South Florida man who was actually laid to rest on the very day he almost died all those years ago.

WPTV was there at the South Florida National Cemetery as family and friends said goodbye to "Pearl Harbor Eddie" as he was known, a fitting service for Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

Edward Hammond died in September at 93-years-old. He was the last known Pearl Harbor survivor in the South Florida area.

He was just 17 when he served in the U.S. Navy as a chief machinist mate, stationed at the United States Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
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Monday, December 4, 2017

Habitat for Humanity Teams Up For Generations of Veterans

Habitat For Humanity Of South Palm Beach Holds Veterans Build

Delray News
Staff Report
December 4, 2017

Delray Beach family members, veterans and neighbors now have spruced up homes thanks to Habitat for Humanity of South Palm Beach, Vertical Bridge and the Home Depot Foundation.

The homeowners, who are cousins living on the same Delray Beach street, are also members of the military. They have seen many wars including serving in WWII, Iraq and the youngest currently stationed in Germany, spanning three generations of service.
They are 92-year-old WWII Veteran Albert Green who served 41 years in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Merchant Marines stationed in the Pacific Rim during WWII in the Steward Department and Sedric Doughty, who 17 served years in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Navy Reserve and U.S. Air Force Reserve stationed in Japan as military police officer (final rank E-5) and saw active duty in the Iraq and Afghanistan War. Sedric’s son, 18-year-old Sedric Jr. who lives with him in the home passed down from Sedric’s mom, currently serves in the U.S. Army stationed in Germany.
Made possible by a $35,000 gift from presenting sponsor Boca-based Vertical Bridge with $32,000 in grant funding from Home Depot Foundation, more than 100 volunteers from both companies transformed their homes in honor of Veterans Day.

Thursday, November 23, 2017

After WWII Love Lasted Two Lifetimes

WWII Veteran Couple Married for Seven Decades Dies on the Same Day 
PEOPLE 
Jason Duaine Hahn 
November 22, 2017
Two lovebirds who married each other after serving in World War II passed away within hours of each other last month, after sharing one last nap together just days before.
Isabell Whitney and Preble Staver put their love story on hold when the United States entered World War II. The two sweethearts met during a blind date in Philadelphia before they signed up to help the Allies in their efforts—Isabell as a nurse in the Navy stationed in Maryland and Preble as a Marine, who earned a Bronze Star during his tenure. Five months after the war concluded, Isabell and Preble reunited and married on February 15, 1946, the beginning of a more than 70-year-long union.
“They were great people. Mom really taught me that you can’t change another person but you can change your attitude towards them. Dad was a bit of a prickly pear!” Laurie Staver Clinton, 62, one of the couple’s five children, tells PEOPLE. “Dad was the strict one. Mom tried to be strict, but we knew what we could get away with her. It was pretty much a father rules the roost sort of thing.”
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