Bill’s blog archive: Daily Posts

Goodland – The High Plains Museum and the City of Goodland, Kansas are pleased to have Mr. Bill Beigel, a World War II Researcher, come to the High Plains Museum to give a presentation.  The presentation will start at 7:00 PM MST Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at the High Plains Museum.

Beigel will talk about this program during his presentation, “Return of the WWII Dead: How the demands of American families changed history” with a special segment entitled “Tell Me About My Boy: 2nd Lt. Fred. K Stewart, from Clearwater, Kansas to Germany and Back.”

In 1947, across the United States, tens of thousands of American servicemen and women made their silent return from World War II.  These Americans were the soldiers, flyers, naval personnel and Marines who had met their deaths overseas in the War, and whose remains were being returned, at Government expense, to their next of kin.  This effort occurred entirely during the time of Harry S. Truman’s presidency. The “Return of the Dead” program was unprecedented in expense and scope, and remains unique in world history.  No other nation returned its dead to the homeland after the War. Yet this story, which occurred from 1947 to 1951, remains a forgotten legacy of the Truman Presidency.

Bill Beigel is an American military casualty researcher, specializing in the records of American servicemen and women who died in active duty in World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Bill has researched nearly a thousand fallen service members, providing long‐sought knowledge about the deaths and last acts in wartime of family members, fellow servicemen, entire fighting squads, or a complete list of veterans who served from a community, school, university, or region. Beigel holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and a Master of Arts Degree in Geography, both from UCLA.

Come join us for this special program on Wednesday, January 21 at 7:00 PM MST at the High Plains Museum and learn about this unprecedented program in our Nation’s history.

Go online: www.highplainsmuseum.org to learn more about the special activities planned.

The High Plains Museum is located near downtown Goodland and features exhibits of local history. For more information go online or call 785-890-4595.