Sad News... Update Post #32...Photos Added Post #47, #61 & #75

[Hostile]

I had to go get the clothes he will be buried in. While I was there I looked for more WWII photos and found these. I want to mention something that Bill did not have pictures of but he occasionally talked to me about. I asked him if his platoon ever liberated a Concentration Camp, and he said they did 2 of them. He said the atrocities were nowhere near some of the infamous camps like Auschwitz, but that he was still sick to his stomach and that he often could not sleep.

This first one is my favorite. You see him as he was headed to war. A handsome young man with his life ahead of him and staring at a very real possibility of death.

Caption on back.

Training completed at
Fort Pierce, Fla
July 1943

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This one had no caption on the back and is a little hard to still see, but the writing on the front is why I am posting it. Bill is on the left.

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I am not 100% certain of this, but I think Bill is the guy on the right in the top hat.

Caption on back.

3rd Squad
Charlie Company

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Bill sometimes said stuff about Smitty. I gather he was quite respected by the men. If you look closely at the man on the right, he is wearing a German Coat. See the swastika? I think the man with the stuff on his helmet is Sgt. Karkoska pictured below, but I am not 100% sure. I am also not sure which guy is Smitty. Maybe the guy with the Swastika. If that is Sgt. Karkoska, then this picture was also taken in January 1945 after the Battle of the Bulge.

Caption on the back

Smitty & the Rat Pack

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Yet another that gives me chills because of what it says on the back. Bill is in the middle. Quite obviously these are care packages from home. For those who do not know the History, the Battle of the Bulge is widely considered the bloodiest battle of WWII. US casualties alone were estimated at almost 81,000.

The first German attack was on December 16, 1944. Bill was in Patton's 3rd Army and his respect for General Patton is as high as the sky. He once said to me, "I always felt safe when I knew General Patton was there. I knew we were going to attack and the enemy was going to be more scared than we were."

Caption on back.

Sergeants Miller, Lindskog, Karkoska

January 1945
Eschweiler, Germany

After the Battle of the Bulge

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[tomson75]

Unbelievable photos Hos. Thank you for sharing them with us.

These are truly priceless historical artifacts IMO.

I bet you could find someone that could put them to good use...any of your writing colleagues writing about the second world war?

 

[yimyammer]

May he know a soldier's rest, he's certainly earned it...

I'm deeply sorry for your loss, old friend...

I like this, ditto

 

[Hostile]

I just noticed that the last 2 photos the building behind them is the same building, so I was right that it is also after the Bulge.

I don't know why I hadn't thought of that before.

 

[vta]

These are amazing, thanks for posting. Very sobering.
You're both lucky to have known each other.

 

[HoleInTheRoof]

The gentlemen posed for a moment, a picture was taken, and then they carried on their business.

Just as soon as it was taken, the time has gone by, and here we are now.

You see images of great, strong, young men in the primes of their lives. And here we sit today, looking at these pictures and praising the men who, unfortunately, have likely all passed on.

But as long as those photos exist, those frozen moments in time live on.

 

[YosemiteSam]

The pics reminds me of Band of Brothers and even Saving Private Ryan.

I think I'm going to have to drop a hint to my wife that the Band of Brothers BluRay DVD set would be a great stocking stuffer!

 

[Kilyin]

My grandfather that I never knew (mom's dad) was a fighter pilot in WWII. Unfortunately, he drank himself to death by the time he was 32 (ironic when you consider he was up against kamikazes and survived). At least, that's the story I've been passed down. He actually died in jail, and without the technology we have today, who knows what really happened. Wish I had some cool pictures like that to look back on. Sorry about your friend Hos. At least he seemed to have lead a good life.

 

[burmafrd]

My father landed at Omaha just a few days after D Day, and was later wounded in the battle to take Cherbourg. I was just a kid when cancer got him, but I still remember the stories he told about the battle he was wounded in and the field hospital where a surgeon was able to save his arm. He was transferred at his request to a supply unit since his arm was technically too weak for regular duty; he could have gone home but wanted to stay with his unit as much as he could. So he was with the supply company the rest of the war. He told me not long before he died that it was sort of like being at the 50 yd line at ND Vs Army (He is the one that started me as a ND fan when I was about 8) he got to see a lot of it without having to be right in the middle. I wish now I had written everything down after he died when it was still vivid; now I remember only bits and pieces.

One thing he always said about Patton "We never sat and waited for the Germans to attack- we were always attacking them. And that was a lot better way to fight a war."

 

[Hostile]

My father landed at Omaha just a few days after D Day, and was later wounded in the battle to take Cherbourg. I was just a kid when cancer got him, but I still remember the stories he told about the battle he was wounded in and the field hospital where a surgeon was able to save his arm. He was transferred at his request to a supply unit since his arm was technically too weak for regular duty; he could have gone home but wanted to stay with his unit as much as he could. So he was with the supply company the rest of the war. He told me not long before he died that it was sort of like being at the 50 yd line at ND Vs Army (He is the one that started me as a ND fan when I was about 8) he got to see a lot of it without having to be right in the middle. I wish now I had written everything down after he died when it was still vivid; now I remember only bits and pieces.

One thing he always said about Patton "We never sat and waited for the Germans to attack- we were always attacking them. And that was a lot better way to fight a war."

The first time Bill fell I had him telling war stories to the firefighters while we waited for the ambulance. I'm not kidding, these 4 men had tears in their eyes listening to him. I did too.

At one point he started talking about General Patton and these guys became silent as he talked. He said that Patton prayed with his men any chance he got. He said he would visit men in foxholes and pray with them asking for them to be protected.

That was when he made the comment about taking comfort in knowing the enemy was always more afraid than they were. He said Patton was fearless.

I asked him one time if he ever got to actually talk to Patton and he said, "oh yeah. I loved that man."

He has a couple of Patton items in his place that I saw. Perhaps I can take a closer look in the coming days and see if I can scan that. I took some pictures of the paintings in his place. There are 4. I think I'd rather have one of those to remember him by than anything else.

 

[casmith07]

This is amazing stuff, Hos...thanks for posting these.

 

[Hostile]

This is amazing stuff, Hos...thanks for posting these.

That generation is slowly leaving us Lieutenant. I am so glad we finally have a WWII memorial in DC. It took too long. I know Bill would have loved to have seen it. We talked about that once. His wife was too important to him to go see something like that.

Every time we talked I felt like it was a History lesson. I don't mean for this to be political. Please don't anyone make it something it is not. He was very angry when France did not join the alliance to rid Al Qaeda. He said, "if those *******s had flown a plane into the Eifel Tower we would have been the first nation to back them up."

He was fiercely proud of our Military. Every Memorial Day or Veterans Day I went to his place so that I could salute him. He got a kick out of that.

They really were the greatest generation. He was a hell of a teacher. I know that as my wife and I grow old his example will affect me in a positive way.

 

[WarC]

All the rest in the world to Bill and you, Hostile. Thanks for sharing his story and the pictures. It's a gift to this whole forum. I appreciate it immensely. RIP Bill.

 

[silverbear]

Unbelievable photos Hos. Thank you for sharing them with us.

These are truly priceless historical artifacts IMO.

I bet you could find someone that could put them to good use...any of your writing colleagues writing about the second world war?

If not, there has to be a museum somewhere that would just love to have them... I think that would be a fitting final tribute to him...

 

[Hostile]

Bill's paintings. I took these pictures to send to his niece. I am hoping they will let me have one. If I can choose one, it will be the 2nd one.


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http://i6.***BLOCKED***/albums/y244/2Hostile/Billsorder2.jpg

http://i6.***BLOCKED***/albums/y244/2Hostile/Billsorder1.jpg

 

[casmith07]

WOW. He was quite the artist.

Would be awesome if he had some WWII paintings stashed somewhere.

And I agree that they were the greatest generation. Moreso than any war fought in the history of this planet, the cause for World War II was above and beyond what anyone would usually go to war for...true humanitarian effort against pure evil.

 

[SaltwaterServr]

WOW. He was quite the artist.

Would be awesome if he had some WWII paintings stashed somewhere.

And I agree that they were the greatest generation. Moreso than any war fought in the history of this planet, the cause for World War II was above and beyond what anyone would usually go to war for...true humanitarian effort against pure evil.

Agreed.

Thanks for posting all of that Hos, put today in a little better perspective.

 

[Hostile]

I found a poem about the Battle of the Bulge and I am going to read it at his funeral. Thought you might like it. The author is Leroy Drumm and this was apparently a song made at the request of a Medic from the 94th Infantry Division.

The Battle of the Bulge

I joined with Patton's Army
Back in 1944
Just an Alabama plow boy
When I headed off to war
We were young and eager
And from all walks of life
We heard the sound of bugles
And were looking for a fight

So we sailed across to England
And we got more training there
Then off through France and Belgium
Battle scare were everywhere
Then came the coldest Winter
That we had ever seen
And the **** Army hit us
They were swift and they were mean

I've felt the heat of battle
I've watched as good men died
I nursed the sick and wounded
There's times I sat and cried
Satan has no fury to match
The hell we have been through
At the Battle of the Bulge
For the old red, white, and blue

From the woods we thought were empty
The ghost came as us there
Panzer tanks with guns a-blazin'
**** troops were everywhere
Men were fighting, men were cussing
Men were dropping all around
What a total scene of horror
On that dark and bloody ground

I have aged and I have seasoned
But their names are cut in stone
Of my friends who didn't make it
And who never will come home
They are living there together
'Neath the crosses row on row
They'll be marching off to heaven
Where the glory bugles blow

I've felt the heat of battle
I've watched as good men died
I nursed the sick and wounded
There's times I sat and cried
Satan has no fury to match
The hell we have been through
At the Battle of the Bulge
For the old red, white, and blue

 

[casmith07]

That's going to move hearts at his funeral, Hos. Outstanding.

 

[StevenOtero]

Okay folks, here are 7 photographs I found when searching for his will, life insurance, and other important info. On the back of the photos there are notes. I am going to share with you what is there.

This first one really thrilled me to find. He told me they had a 40 MM anti aircraft gun that they called "Stinky." He said the smell of the powder and sulphur was overwhelming. Right on the side of the gun it says that this is "Stinky." Bill is on far side of the gun.

Caption on back.

40 MM Anti-Aircraft Rifle
Alsdorf, Germany
November 1944

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This is not Bill in the Photo. You can see the word Auctung right on the prop.

Caption on back.

Pablo Barrera
German ME 109
Captured air field

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Check out the bullet holes in this one. Not to mention the completely gone tail rudder.

Caption on back.

Pablo Barrera & Dick Mullineaux
with German FW 109
Shot down by Charlie Company
Weser River

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In this one Bill is the guy to the far right with something in his left hand.

Caption on back.

1st Squad
German Pill Box in Back

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This one gives me chills.

Caption on back.

Captured German Tank
Germany - December 1944
Bulge

Yep folks, the battle of the Bulge. He was there.

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You all know what this is. The writing is faded out except the word "9th", but it is clear they marched into Paris.

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In this last one Bill is in the 2nd row, 2nd from the left.

Caption on the back.

C Company
1st Platoon 239th
March 1945
Rhineberg, Germany

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Hos, I hear this song when I look at these pictures.

[youtube]EYGwxf1gCC4[/youtube]