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...
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...
Barenaked Ladies Edition – Research Tour Travelog
Today I started on a trek through the Southwest and some of the middle states, conducting in-person research and visiting more than half a dozen military and aviation museums. I'll do my best to blog every day of my trip.
Left home about 10:45, worried that I would get caught in the “Cajon Crawl” in the Cajon Pass on I-15 to Victorville. Although the traffic was heavy, I beat the Crawl. Temperature was 97 degrees in the Pass. Listened to Bare Naked Ladies CD.
Four miles west of the...
The Almost Found Cities of America
by Bill Beigel
The almost found cities of America
Decker-Buffalo-Deer Creek-Cutler-
Moran-Killmore-Cyclone-Thornhope-Walnut-
Tetersburg-Star City-Freeland Park
What is this fabric
What is this quilt that our mothers and fathers have woven
Over the fields and woods and prairie
Now made highways and farms and corner stores and old war monuments
Curtisville-Waymansville-Vernon-Vevay
A way of life, a way of hearing the wind
That is not so changed...
Frigatebird
by Bill Beigel
White and black wings, almost mirage and full-breathing shadow
Spinning, skimming arabesque above the water
The slightest turn to the surface of the wings
A radical shake and shift in flight and speed and balance and more balance
Right-angle-sharp wing tips leave their course in the water
For only the briefest glance of a second, maybe it is just a fast joke
As fleeting as everything else on and under the sea
Except the colors, without argument
The sunken, deep, dirty,...
The Last Tight Mountain Turn
by Bill Beigel
The jeep sped around the last of the tight mountain turns, and soon was making great time along the road that crossed the alluvial fan at the base of Monte della Torraccia. He’d probably be back in time for dinner in the mess tent. He looked forward to some good strong black coffee.
Everything looked the same to Staff Sergeant Keyes as he passed the Brazilian field artillery battalion and the Canadian aid station.
He slowed down the vehicle to make the final turn...
Simmons’ Creek
by Bill Beigel
Walking the beach at dawn is a habit. There are many places where I can find a crescent ring of tiny shells.
The shells are embedded and enmeshed in a tangled mass of sea grass and feathers and dark, coarse sand. They are nearly hidden. But when the sun is just right, the shells shine out to me. I have picked up many handfuls, but usually end up tossing them back into the ocean. I enjoy the small splash they cause, and the ripples that tickle the surface for a few...
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
