Western troops join Russia's Victory Day parade

UK soldiers march through Red Square during the Victory Day parade in Moscow, Russia on May 9.

Western troops join Russia's Victory Day parade
By the CNN Wire Staff
May 9, 2010 11:11 a.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The Soviet Union suffered the most losses of any country during World War II
Millions of Russians watched the parade on TV, attended smaller parades
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev: says the victory won in 1945 was "our common victory"

Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Troops from the United States, Britain and France marched in the annual Victory Day parade through Red Square for the first time Sunday, a step Russia's president called a nod toward their "common victory" in World War II.

The annual parade celebrates the defeat of Nazi Germany by the former Soviet Union and its Western allies and serves as a demonstration of Russian military might. More than 120 aircraft flew overhead and more than 10,500 troops paraded through the capital this year.

"The victory won in 1945 was our common victory, a victory of good over evil, of justice over lawlessness," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said at a reception honoring veterans after the parade.
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Western troops join Russia Victory Day parade

Two words mean so much to veterans from a grateful nation

Thank You: Two words mean so much to veterans from a grateful nation
Honor Flight sends 81 World War II veterans to nation's capital
By John Staed
Posted April 24, 2010 at 7:38 p.m.

WASHINGTON — It could have been the man playing patriotic songs on a French horn at the Washington, D.C., airport lobby, or maybe the raucous welcome home they received from family and friends Tuesday night at Greenville-Spartanburg Airport

Perhaps it was the first look at the World War II Memorial dedicated to their sacrifice 65 years ago. Or just a quiet “thank you” delivered by a stranger as they toured the nation’s capital.

Wherever they found it, the 81 WWII veterans from Upstate South Carolina learned that their nation hasn’t forgotten them, that despite the span of time, what they did so many years ago was critical to its future.

After the war, many said, they had put away those memories to move on with their lives, but in this atmosphere, they opened up a bit to talk about their experiences. Some family members said it was more than they have heard about the war in years.
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Two words mean so much to veterans from a grateful nation

WWII Veteran hero subject of Tom Hanks Pacific and heart

Overwhelmed: Pasquala Cassetta, a World War Two marine, is too emotional to speak as he comes face-to-face Tom Hanks at a memorial service for Pacific campaign veterans

The poignant moment Tom Hanks comforted overcome war veteran whose heroism inspired new TV series The Pacific
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 4:50 PM on 12th March 2010

For one old soldier the moment was simply too much to bear.
Confronted by memories of long-gone battles and standing with the Hollywood star who had made sure distant sacrifices were not forgotten, Pasquala Cassetta was overcome.

He twisted his face away and grasped the arm of Tom Hanks, too emotional to speak.

The actor himself seemed moved, clasping Mr Cassetta, a World War Two marine, and cradling the man's face with one hand.
The soldier, from Long Island, New York, is one of the marines who inspired new 10-part HBO series, The Pacific, which Hanks executive produced along with Steven Spielberg.
A follow up to the 2001 hit series Band of Brothers, it charts the lives of US Marines fighting the Japanese after the attack on Pearl Harbour.

Spielberg said they had made wanted to make sure the Pacific theatre was also remembered.

'We did it because all of you are the greatest stories ever told,' he told veterans '... with each passing generation, more and more people are forgetting about World War Two.
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Tom Hanks comforted overcome war veteran

Cherokee County veterans make Washington pilgrimage

Cherokee County veterans make Washington pilgrimage
Chronicle Times - Cherokee,IA,USA
Monday, June 15, 2009

What does the number 180,100 mean to the World War II veterans from Cherokee County?
It means that the veterans were part of that number of World War II veterans who have gone on the Honor Flights from across America since the program began in 2005. They were on the Honor Flight that flew out of Sioux City on June 2 , 2009, to go to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.. On the flight were 108 veterans and 60 guardians, many from the Cherokee County area.

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Memorial honors victims of secretive WWII crash

Memorial honors victims of secretive WWII crash

American soldiers were returning from leave in Australia when plane went down
By Kimberly Hefling - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Jun 12, 2009 7:59:02 EDT

FORT MYER, Va. — A beach vacation in the midst of World War II turned tragic for 40 U.S. soldiers, and the circumstances of their deaths in a plane crash in Australia was long kept a military secret.

On Thursday, 66 years later, they were honored and their sacrifice commemorated with a monument at Selfridge Gate in the shadow of Arlington National Cemetery.

The ceremony brings “long awaited closure for one of the second World War’s final open chapters,” said Army Secretary Pete Geren, as family members and veterans with a gold sunflower pinned to their chests listened quietly.

The crash on June 14, 1943, at Bakers Creek near Mackay in Queensland, Australia, was the deadliest in Australian history and the worst single plane crash in the Southwest Pacific in World War II, officials said. The transport plane crashed en route to New Guinea, as it was shuttling back troops who had taken leave on the beaches in Australia.

The circumstances were kept classified for 15 years because of “demands of operational security,” Geren said.

The dedication was a culmination of years of work for a group of volunteers called the Bakers Creek Memorial Association who spent years tracking down the relatives to tell them what happened. They then raised money for the memorial and lobbied for a place to put it.
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Memorial honors victims of secretive WWII crash

U.S. D-Day Memorial struggles to stay afloat

U.S. D-Day Memorial struggles to stay afloat

By Sue Lindsey - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 2, 2009 17:28:32 EDT

BEDFORD, Va. — On the eve of the 65th anniversary of D-Day, the foundation that runs the National D-Day Memorial is on the brink of financial ruin.

Donations are down in the poor economy. The primary base of support — World War II veterans — is dying off. And the privately funded memorial is struggling to draw visitors because it is hundreds of miles from a major city.

The memorial opened eight years ago at a ceremony attended by President George W. Bush. It was built in Bedford because the community suffered among the highest per-capita losses in the United States on D-Day.

Facing the prospect of cutting staff and hours, the memorial’s president believes its only hope for long-term survival is to be taken over by the National Park Service or by a college or university.

So far, he has found no takers.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_d_day_memorial_060209/

National D-Day Memorial may close because of bad economy

Official: National D-Day Memorial may close

The Associated Press
Posted : Friday May 29, 2009 6:30:15 EDT

BEDFORD, Va. — The president of the National D-Day Memorial foundation says it may be forced to close the memorial.

William McIntosh said Thursday the memorial needs an infusion of cash or a new owner.

He says the memorial’s big problem is a lack of donations, due to the economy. The memorial gets about $600,000 a year from visitors, but counts on donations for another $1.6 million annually.

The memorial honors the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France during World War II. The invasion was the largest land, air and sea operation in military history.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/05/ap_d_day_memorial_052909/

Veterans Get 1st Visit To WW II Memorial

Veterans Get 1st Visit To WW II Memorial
'First Coast Honor Air' Provides Trip To Retired Servicemen

POSTED: Monday, May 18, 2009

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A little more than a week before Memorial Day, a group of 40 World War Two veterans from northeast Florida took a special trip to Washington, D.C., to see the memorial honoring their war efforts.

Paul Casteel was among those who went to the nation's capitol, thanks to a group known as Honor Air. Casteel, a Navy veteran, said he'd seen a lot in his day. During the war, he saw American troops die, fighting for their country. "It was so bad over there that you can't imagine."

Casteel's seen Marines storm the beaches of Iwo Jima and he's seen the ship he served on nearly sink. "We were torpedoed, bombed, strafed," he said.

On May 16, Casteel got to see a token of the American people's appreciation for veterans like him, for the first time. The 40 veterans from the Jacksonville area joined others who had traveled to D.C. this weekend, from around the country.
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http://www.news4jax.com/news/19496894/detail.html

WWII veteran opens up for first time at the WWII Memorial

Military staff writer Kelly Kennedy went with her grandfather, a WWII veteran, to the Memorial because of the Honor Flight. While there, he shared some of his experiences with his granddaughter for the first time. Many never talked about what they did because it was not "what you do" when you come home and it's a shame because they kept it all inside. While we talk about PTSD openly now, they never did and they suffered inside instead of healing.

Brothers in arms: WWII veterans bask in trip to Washington, hero's welcome home

Brothers in arms: WWII veterans bask in trip to Washington, hero's welcome home
WASHINGTON -- The people thanked him for his service and wished him well. They shook his hand and patted his back. John B. Williams was practically a celebrity. His hat was the key. It announced to everyone that he had served in World War II.

John Williams got his wish to meet Gen. Colin Powell during his visit to the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C.

So as he strolled the grounds of the National World War II Memorial, all sorts of people approached him. The tourists appreciate the veterans and want them to know it.

John could have impressed his well-wishers. He could have told them about how he was a Buffalo Soldier, one of only a few hundred African-American men still alive who served with the famed black cavalry.

He could have told them how, after the Buffalo Soldiers traded their horses for tanks, he and the 7th Army invaded southern France in Operation Dragoon, the war's second D-Day.

He could have told them how he's spent a lifetime fighting for civil rights and racial equality.

Instead, every time someone acknowledged his service, he said this, or something like it:

"Well, thank you. Now let me tell you about my brother."

Just as they've done everything else, John and his brother, Robert F. "Bob" Williams, visited Washington together on Nov. 1. They were among 63 veterans on Honor Flight, a national program that flies World War II and terminally ill veterans to Washington free.
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Veteran's son pilots idea for visit to WWII Memorial in D.C.

Dorothy Halevy, shown in this 1942 photo, served in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps during World War II. (BARBARA V. PEREZ, ORLANDO SENTINEL / February 4, 2008)

Darryl E. Owens Sentinel Staff Writer
February 7, 2008

Bill Mancinik's father, Frank, never talked much about his time as a gunner in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

"They went to war. They served. They came back and gave us the world we have today, and I didn't think much about it," said Mancinik, 57.

But his interest grew years after his father's death as he learned more about what's been called "the greatest generation." And it skyrocketed when he discovered Honor Flight, which provides free trips for veterans to see the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Mancinik, of DeLand, leads Volusia Honor Air, a collaboration of three Volusia County Rotary Clubs seeking to raise $65,000 to fly 100 World War II veterans to see the memorial in May. Though the campaign has sprung up in several Florida communities, Volusia Honor Air is the first of its kind to take flight in Central Florida.

"It not only intrigued me," Mancinik said of Honor Flight, "but moved me to such an extent that I thought, 'We have to do this.' "

So far, 49 veterans are booked, with 16 applications pending. The group has $14,535 in its coffers and hopes to raise more through a publicity campaign and word of mouth.

"It's our chance to thank the remaining men and women for what they did," said John Cheney, 55, president-elect of the Rotary Club of Downtown DeLand.
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