Genealogy
Grossvater, ist sie? (Grandfather, is this you?)
Gravelotte-St. Privat was the largest battle in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). It involved nearly 200,000 Germans and just over 100,000 French. It was fought August 18, 1870. The battle was fought fives years after the conclusion of the American Civil War and in that time advances in weaponry had made the old style Napoleonic tactics […]
If Wishes Came True
Below is one of my recent World War One era postcards finds: The card is post marked from Rockford, IL and dated November 20, 1917. World War One would have one more year to go before the brutal fighting would be over. The US declared war on Germany in April of 1917 and was well on […]
Send Mail_Doughboy to Loved Ones Back Home
Since the inception of email, texting and other forms of instant communications letter and post card writing are disappearing, One would wonder how historians will document the Afghan War when they will not have access to the thousands if not millions of emails that have passed between the service men and women and their families […]
A Sailor, his girlfriend and the Great White Fleet, c. 1910
Of the five post cards I walked away with from the antique store in Indiana I found this one the most interesting. First of all the artwork is fantastic. The colors are still stunning even though the card is postmarked February 23, 1910! The edging of the card is a metallic gold. My scan does […]
Uncle Bill’s Cold War Cruiser
Sometimes when you did through family history pictures you get a surprise. My Uncle Bill (William Zoromski), whom I had only met a couple of times once when I was 6 and another time when I was sixteen, reportedly served on the USS Providence, a guided missile cruiser that I supposedly toured in 1959 when […]
What did you do in the war dad? Part 8, occupation currency
I have in my possession two envelopes in my mom’s handwriting. My parents were married in 1952 and did not meet until 1950 or so long after my dad’s occupation duty in Germany. This tells me that dad’s pictures and the French francs and German marks below were in my parent’s possession by then and […]
What did you do in the war dad? Part 7_Liege
Although my dad spent most of his overseas duty with the 504th Military Police Bn. he was first assigned to the 707th Military Police Battalion headquartered in Brussels, Belgium after the war. Among my dad’s pictures that he sent home are 16 on the same kind of paper. Two are marked, “Liege, Belgium” and the […]
What did you do in the war dad? Part 6_Giessen
Dad spent most of his tour of duty in Cologne, Germany in 1946. For a time his unit, or at least a portion of it, was transferred to Giessen, Hesse, Germany. Giessen is smaller than Cologne and is located about 50-60 miles SE of Cologne and about 15 miles north of Frankfurt. Frankfurt would host […]
What did you do in the war dad? part 5 Liberty Ships
I remember my father telling me that he made the trip to Europe and then back to the USA on Liberty Ships. He said the trip back was faster than the trip to Europe. The Liberty Ship or the later Victory Ships are among the unsung workhorses of America’s war effort during the Second World […]
History and Hobbies 
Scotland the Brave_a Tribute
As a “Yank” I’ve never had a horse in the race regarding the movement for Scottish Independence from the UK. Frankly, I’ve never understood the argument from the secessionists but certainly have recognized the “William Wallace” pride associated with being Scottish. Soooo, it has seemed to me that the two countries are better off with […]