The Great Escape Edition – Research Tour Travelog
Started the day on U.S. Highway 50 west bound from the railroad town of Lamar, Colorado and arrived in Bent County, heart of the “The Great American Desert.” The Rockies are still nowhere to be seen and East Graveyard Creek is dry. I pass through other towns that were along the Santa Fe Trail; Fort Lyon; Las Animas; La Junta; Swink; Rocky Ford.
There are thousands upon thousands of pale-yellow butterflies dancing back and forth across the highway.
On the bridge over the Apisharpa...
The Quiet Edition – Research Tour Travelog
On US Highway 34 west bound from McCook, NE. Past the Frenchman Valley Co-Op Silo. Rail cars on the left of me, cornfields to the right, black clouds up ahead.
There are dozens and dozens of flag poles at the Culbertson NE cemetery. Each one has at least one small metal plaque attached, bearing the name of a veteran from the area, the year he was born, and the year he died.
There is a headstone for SGT Harold L. Propp, of the 680th Glider Field Artillery Battalion. He was killed in...
The Good Life Edition – Research Tour Travelog
At the Kansas-Nebraska state line is a white chapel. It is the Immanuel Lutheran Church. A small cemetery is behind the building.
On US-136, it is late August
Summer hasn’t left yet
5 miles to Jansen, another 5 miles to Fairbury
And 5 miles back is the valley of the Big Blue River
And where am I, lost in this dry-land sea of gold and green
The road a carpet, or a stone-paved direction to be obeyed at all costs
Church cemeteries full of Germans and Swedes that...
The Harry Truman Edition – Research Tour Travelog
Today I visited the Harry Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri. I think that this is one of the finest exhibits about this great man, and that Truman was among our most admirable presidents.
In the section on Truman’s decision to drop the Atomic Bomb on Japan, there is a sign-in book for visitors to use to express their feelings about this momentous event. What I wrote was:
I was reunited with my MIA luggage in Lawrence, Kansas, after having left it behind in my hotel...
The Holy Grail Edition – Research Tour Travelog
The National Personnel Records Center is really hallowed ground for a military researcher. I arrived at National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis a half hour early for my scheduled start of research at 7:30. Assistance from the staff was outstanding, and I made some wonderful new contacts, in addition to folks I've worked with for the better part of two decades. While there, I researched files for:
Leo Boutte – Navy
Raymond Grenier - Navy
Bernard S. Snyder -...
The Hertz Donut Edition – Research Tour Travelog
Up at 4:45 a.m., so I could find a Hertz location to replace my vehicle (road damage to front bumper, cause unknown) and found a place at 6:30. My replacement vehicle is a minivan called the Interstate Rocket Ship, or I.R.S. Also, I lost some of my luggage - unless it is buried in the van!
On the road, I saw a bumper sticker that said “DADDD,” which stands for “Dads Against Daughters Dating Democrats," so at least I know where I am.
On today's museum tour itinerary was the Air and...
The Sherman Tank Edition – Research Tour Travelog
It was a rough ride on US-50 from Hutchinson, KS, to Wichita. Cars going at 70 MPH in each direction, with no visible center meridian. Lots of construction work as well. Part of the plastic of the front bumper of my Hertznbeigel Research-Mobile somehow detached from the rest of the vehicle, so, at low speeds, my car sounds like a tank missing a tread.
At 10 a.m., I had a great tour of the Kansas Aviation Museum next to the Wichita Airport. It turns out that about 70% of all aircraft ever...
The Prohibition Edition – Research Tour Travelog
Found out alcohol is not served or sold in Kansas until noon, so breakfast was ruined.
In Liberal, Kansas, I visited the Mid-America Air Museum. Great collection of vintage aircraft; it's said to have the fifth largest collection in the United States. Very impressive B-25 on display. Liberal was home of a B-24 training base, so there were all sorts of artifacts in connection with the work that went on there during the War: one item was a B-24 Pilots Manual.
Just outside of Liberal,...
The Stuckey’s Edition – Research Tour Travelog
In which Bill's thumb learns how to take a selfie.
Forty miles out of Santa Rosa, I came across a Stuckey’s that looked like it had been destroyed in a riot. Driving along the US-54 Business Loop in Tucumcari, I saw ten burned out buildings, many of which were gas stations or restaurants. The scene is nothing short of post-apocalyptic.
US-54 running north-east from Tucumcari is so straight that it looks like it will take you off the edge of the earth.
Ate lunch under a shady tree on...
Shambala Edition – Research Tour Travelog
My first full day on this interstate hunting expedition. Up at 5:45 AM. Cool in Williams, AZ, probably about 55 degrees. The complimentary breakfast in the hotel reminded me me of sleeping over at a friend’s house and then having breakfast with his family the next morning. And, in keeping with the ideal of providing the best service to my clients at the lowest reasonable cost, my breakfast consisted of a small bowl of raisin bran, orange juice, and a tiny red apple. Don’t ask me how eating...
Five From the 464th Bomb Group
The 15th Army Air Force, based in...Wee Willie and the photo that started it all
Above is B-17 “Wee Willie”...Debut for Debach
It was the very first combat mission...From Panatella to Ploesti
The 15th Army Air Force, based in...Six B-24s From Baker Box Downed
The men – the boys, really...The World War II Dead of University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
More than 260 UCLA students, faculty ...
Talk Radio One’s Steven Spierer Interviews WW2 Researcher Bill Beigel
Steven Spierer Talk Radio One Interview...Captain Norman L. Aigner: An Ordinary Guy
If you’ve been reading my blog with...Tomas Garza’s Daughter – “Now I Don’t Feel Empty”
Like most children of World War II...“Fresno Marine Dies in Action in Pacific War” – Fresno Bee, Oct 21, 1944
Private First Class Huston R. Fannon,...“Fresno Officer Dies in Action on German Front,” Fresno Bee, April 3, 1945
This article is part of a series...The Pheley Brothers of Fresno, California
This article is part of a series...
Wee Willie and the photo that started it all
My father was Paul D Jessop, he spoke of your Grandfather a lot. My father passed away in 2011 .The World War II Dead of University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
Hi Bill, Thanks for putting this together. My grand uncle, 2nd Lt. Robert L. Woolfolk attended UCLA and I believe he graduated in 1936. He was on the waterpolo team. He was a bombardier in the 571st Bomb Squadron, 390th Bomb Group and his aircraft "Decatur Deb" was shot down on May 28, 1944. He and six others perished while three were able bail out and became POWs. This is written up the in the book "Bloody Skies: U.S. Eighth Air Force Battle Damage in World War II." There is a B-17G tail gunner's compartment on display at the 390th Bomb Group Memorial Museum, which is dedicated to this crew. Regards, Nick VeronicoBill’s WW2 Almanac for January 21: Featuring Col. Randy’s Flying Circus
Hi! Randall Col Randy is actually my great grandfather and I was wandering if you ever new him? I am curious to know more about him.Women in WWII: Cornelia Clark Fort
Interesting....very hard to know the 'who hit who'.....Fort had enough flying time to be a instructor, I know nothing about the other pilot. If Pastor Jeff had information on her being talked into a situation, I would love to know if reliable. Regardless, so many losses in so many ways.... My take is the WAFS/WASPS deserve a bit more of history's 'time in the books'. Many thanks for the commentary, StarrRemembering the Fallen: WWII Veterans of UCLA, Major Robert C. Maze
Bill, Are you still working on this blog? Rosemarie is my mother in law. She passed away 10 years ago. Her (and Roberts') son Robert Maze Jr is alive and well. I was googling Admiral Radford and ended up googling links... Thank you for your efforts here. Kim WoodsFrom Panatella to Ploesti
I’m looking for information on My Great great GRANDFATHER WAS ON A B-24 LIBERATOR CALLED: Diamond li
Bill’s WWII Almanac
