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UCLA Alumni Association Honors University’s World War II Casualties
WWII Researcher and Historian Bill Beigel Presents Research of 273 Bruins Killed in World War II

TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA. November 6, 2017 — Torrance resident, World War Two researcher, historian, and two-time UCLA alumnus William L. “Bill” Beigel will be the featured speaker at UCLA Alumni Association’s Veterans Day commemoration, “Remembering the Fallen.” The event will be held Thursday, November 9, 2017, from 6 – 8 p.m., at UCLA’s James West Alumni Center, 325 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California. Admission is free and all are welcome. Seats may be reserved online at http://bit.ly/vday-rsvp. Walk-ins are welcome, space permitting.

In 2009, Bill Beigel discovered a list published by UCLA of one hundred ninety-two students, alumni, and faculty who were killed in World War II in active military duty. Beigel decided to research the complete military records of every one of his fellow Bruins on the list. In 2014, Beigel published an article titled, “The World War II Dead of UCLA,” including more than two hundred sixty of UCLA’s heroic dead. To date, Beigel has researched military records, newspaper articles, yearbook photos, and other published information on 273 Bruins who gave their all for freedom.

Unsatisfied with the lists of names usually associated with war memorials, Beigel is motivated to tell the stories of the fallen. His research primarily helps individuals and families who, even after more than seven decades since the end of World War II, still seek information about the service of military veterans of the “Silent Generation,” or about the deaths of their loved-ones who didn’t come home.

Upon announcing his Nov. 9 Veterans Day commemoration speech, a past client, David Pius, of Florida, wrote to Beigel, “Bill, what you are doing is a true mitzvah and I am grateful to you for not only the research you did for me several years ago about my uncle, 19 year old B-24 gunner Glen T. Swartz, but for your continued work to keep the sacrifice of so many American men and women – in many cases just boys and girls really – from being forgotten.”

About William L. Beigel
Bill Beigel is WW2 military records research expert, historian, author, blogger, and lecturer, specializing in histories of Americans who served or died in active duty in World War II. To date, Beigel has researched more than 2,000 veterans and casualties for more than a thousand clients worldwide. Beigel holds a BA in History and a Masters in Geography, both from UCLA. A collection of Beigel’s research of flyers from the Mighty 8^th Air Force is held by the American Air Museum, a project of the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, England. Beigel is the official researcher for the Kwajalein MIA Project, which locates remains of Americans lost at sea in the Kwajalein Atoll for future recovery efforts. Beigel’s book about the forgotten history of “The Return of the World War II Dead” is pending publication. For more information, please visit http://ww2research.com.

Editorial Contact: Ruth Danielson, Publicist
Mulberry Street Market Intelligence, LLC
805.441.7447 | rdanielson@msmarketintel.com
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UCLA Alumni Assoc. Contact: Cia Ford
Sen. Dir., Professional School & Affinity Programs
310.206.0684 | ciaf@support.ucla.edu
https://alumni.ucla.edu/