WWII veteran

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Biden's Remarks on Uncle's WWII Death Conflict With Records

He claims he was shot down and might have been eaten by cannibals

(Newser) - President Biden misstated key details about his uncle's death in World War II as he honored the man's wartime service on Wednesday and said Donald Trump was unworthy of serving as commander in chief. While in Pittsburgh, Biden spoke about his uncle, 2nd Lt. Ambrose J. Finnegan Jr....

At New Orleans Museum, AI Lets You Talk to WWII Vets

Participants sat for as many as 1K questions each

(Newser) - Olin Pickens sat in his wheelchair facing a life-sized image of himself on a screen, asking it questions about being taken prisoner by German soldiers during World War II. After a pause, his video-recorded twin recalled being given "sauerkraut soup" by his captors before a grueling march. "That...

Famous WWII Pic Once More a 'Political Lightning Rod'

Memo said Eisenstaedt's V-J Day pic 'The Kiss' would be pulled from VA venues; VA chief says no

(Newser) - The Veterans Affairs secretary has reversed a department memo that aimed to ban VA displays of the iconic "V-J Day in Times Square" photograph of a Navy sailor kissing a woman he didn't know on the streets of New York at the end of World War II. Secretary...

Last Member of Famed WWII Unit Dies
Last of Merrill's Marauders Dies
Dec 28, 2023 4:19 AM CST

Last of Merrill's Marauders Dies

Russell Hamler, member of famed WWII unit, was 99

(Newser) - The reputed last member of the famed American jungle fighting unit in World War II nicknamed Merrill's Marauders has died. Russell Hamler, 99, died on Tuesday, his son Jeffrey said. He did not give a cause of death. Hamler was the last living Marauder, according to a biography published...

Last of the "Band of Brothers" Dead at 99

Edward Shames and "Easy Company" helped inspire book and HBO series

(Newser) - Edward Shames, a World War II veteran who was the last surviving officer of “Easy Company,” which inspired the HBO miniseries and book “Band of Brothers,” has died, per the AP . He was 99. An obituary posted by the Holomon-Brown Funeral Home & Crematory said...

He Almost Fired on 3 Kids in WWII. Now, a Joyous Reunion

'My heart is bursting,' says American vet Martin Adler, 97

(Newser) - Martin Adler still has nightmares about his experience in World War II. But there are happy memories, too, like that day in October 1944 when he posed for a photo with three Italian children he'd nearly killed. Adler, then a 20-year-old private, had been searching the village of Monterenzio...

WWII Vet Beats COVID, Celebrates 104th Birthday

Alabama man received newly approved therapy

(Newser) - An Alabama man who spent World War II repairing bomb-damaged trains in France recovered from a fight with COVID-19 in time to mark his 104th birthday on Thursday. Major Wooten was physically drained and a little fuzzy mentally after battling the new coronavirus but appears to be on the mend,...

Why a 90-Year-Old Is Beating Taylor Swift on the Charts

Jim Radford's D-Day memorial song has been re-released

(Newser) - A 90-year-old is currently beating Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and Ed Sheeran on Amazon UK's singles chart—but not just any 90-year-old, a D-Day veteran who's out with a tribute to that fateful day in 1944. Jim Radford was just 15 during World War II's D-Day landings—...

He Famously Grabbed Blanket, Threw Himself on a Grenade
Man Who Represents the
'Best of America' Has Died
obituary
May 14, 2019 2:34 PM CDT

Man Who Represents the 'Best of America' Has Died

Nation's oldest Medal of Honor recipient dead at 98

(Newser) - World War II veteran Bob Maxwell, the nation's oldest Medal of Honor recipient, died Saturday in Bend, Oregon, more than seven decades after grabbing a blanket and throwing himself on a German hand grenade in France to save his squad mates. He was 98. The death was confirmed Monday...

Oldest Military Survivor of Pearl Harbor Dies at 106

Ray Chavez died in his sleep Wednesday

(Newser) - Ray Chavez, the oldest US military survivor of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, died Wednesday. He was 106. Chavez, who'd been battling pneumonia, died in his sleep in the San Diego suburb of Poway, his daughter tells the AP . The chief historian for the National Park...

America's Oldest Man Robbed of His Savings

Thieves stole Richard Overton's identity and broke into his bank account

(Newser) - Richard Overton is something of a celebrity in Austin, Texas, because the 112-year-old WWII veteran is the oldest living man in America. He now has a new distinction: the oldest American to be robbed of his savings, reports Newsweek . Family members recently learned that an unidentified thief used Overton's...

Band of Brothers War Hero Donald Malarkey Dies
Man Who Famously Fought Off
the Nazis Has Died
OBITUARY
Oct 2, 2017 3:13 AM CDT

Man Who Famously Fought Off the Nazis Has Died

Easy Company's Donald Malarkey was 96

(Newser) - Donald Malarkey, a World War II paratrooper who was awarded the Bronze Star after parachuting behind enemy lines at Normandy to destroy German artillery on D-Day, has died. He was 96. Malarkey was one of several members of "Easy Company" portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. He...

'Brutal' Murder of 97-Year-Old Vet Rocks Baltimore

WWII veteran Wadell Tate was killed in his home on July 21

(Newser) - For six decades, Wadell Tate lived in a two-story row house in Baltimore. It was also where the 97-year-old died last month in his pajamas, bludgeoned to death by intruders, reports the Washington Post . Intruders kicked in his back door on July 21, and when Tate didn't answer the...

Sole Survivor Marks 75th Anniversary of 1st US Raid on Japan

Dick Cole, 101, is last of Doolittle's Tokyo Raiders

(Newser) - At age 101, retired Lt. Col. Dick Cole says his memories are vivid of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders mission that helped change the course of World War II. Now the sole survivor of the original 80-member group, he plans to take part in events Monday and Tuesday at the National...

Hundreds Attend Funeral of Veteran With No Family

'We serve together, so therefore we should not die alone'

(Newser) - When Army Maj. Jaspen Boothe heard about Serina Vine, she knew she had to do something. Vine, a veteran of World War II, died May 21 at age 91 with no known surviving family. Boothe learned that there were only going to be four people attending Vine's funeral service...

Female WWII Pilots Regain Right to Be Buried at Arlington

'I think that the WASP deserve to have that honor'

(Newser) - Female WWII pilots are once again allowed to have their ashes buried with honors at Arlington National Cemetery thanks to legislation passed by Congress this week, the Los Angeles Times reports. More than 1,000 women flew noncombat and training missions as part of the Women Airforce Service Pilots program...

WWII Sweethearts Share a Squeeze—70 Years Later

Norwood Thomas, Joyce Morris will spend two weeks together in Australia

(Newser) - It was the hug he'd been waiting 70 years for. World War II vet Norwood Thomas, 93, greeted his wartime sweetheart Joyce Morris, 88, in person on Wednesday for the first time since their brief love affair in London in 1944, per NBC News . "This is about the...

WWII Sweethearts to Reunite on Valentine's Day

Norwood Thomas hopes to give his wartime girlfriend a 'squeeze'

(Newser) - Norwood Thomas' reunion with his wartime girlfriend was incredible, but it came with one major drawback: "I can't take you in my arms and give you a squeeze," the 93-year-old World War II vet told Joyce Morris, 88, during a Skype call in November. "Well, we'...

Lawmaker: Let Female Pilots' Ashes Rest at Arlington

Arizona congresswoman files legislation to that effect

(Newser) - An Arizona congresswoman filed legislation Wednesday to ensure that a group of female World War II pilots can have their ashes laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. The pilots known as Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, flew military aircraft in noncombat roles during wartime to free up male...

Lonely Obituary Draws Hundreds to WWII Vet's Funeral

Harold Jellicoe Percival never married or had kids

(Newser) - WWII veteran Harold Jellicoe Percival died last month at age 99, leaving no close family behind. So the funeral home organizing his service put a note in the UK man's obituary asking that "any service personnel who can" come to the funeral today, the BBC reports. The obituary...

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