WORLD OF ALL

 🇵🇱WWII uncovered: Honouring Witold Pilecki Hero of the Polish Underground Please join us by taking a moment to remember the millions of lives lost - but not forgotten. This maybe best illustrated by the words of Witold Pilecki:  "The game which I was now playing in Auschwitz was dangerous. This sentence does not really convey the reality; in fact, I had gone far beyond what people in the real world would consider dangerous." Pilecki, a celebrated and legendary hero in Poland, is the only inmate known to be voluntarily imprisoned at Auschwitz.  After his escape, he wrote a 100-page report on camp life. "In August 1939, Pilecki was called up to defend Poland against the German invasion. Following the defeat, Pilecki made his way to Warsaw to fight with the Polish underground resistance (the Home Army) against German occupation." According to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust: "On 19 September 1940, Pilecki intentionally allowed himself to be arrested. He was de

 🇺🇲 WWII uncovered: Leonard Funk: The Most Decorated Paratrooper of World War II and Hero of Holzheim. "Pictured Leonard poses with Shorty, an 8-month-old puppy, attached to his parachute equipment. The pup belonged to a fellow soldier and went with him — successfully — on the jump" -US Signal Corps Archive (feature photo) First Sergeant Leonard Funk, Company C, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division was the most decorated paratrooper of World War II, earning the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts, in addition to his Medal of Honor.  ⭐First Sergeant Funk's Medal of Honor Citation reads as follows: On January 29th, 1945 First Sergeant Leonard Funk distinguished himself by gallant, intrepid actions against the enemy. After advancing 15 miles in a driving snowstorm, the American force prepared to attack through waist-deep drifts. The Company Executive Officer became a casualty, and 1st Sgt. Funk immediate

 TERRIBLE STORY OF GEORGE AND HERBERT COOK. Ngāpuhi; whaler. 1855–1941. George and Herbert Cook came from a seafaring family. Their grandfather, William Cook, came to New Zealand as third mate on an English whaler. He took as his wife Tīraha, who was of Ngāpuhi and Kapotai and kin to several important Hokianga chiefs including Tāmati Wāka Nene. William and Tīraha were involved in boat-building at Stewart Island and in the Bay of Islands. Their eldest son, George, went to sea, and married Matilda Hannah Fawkes in 1849 at Port Ross in the Auckland Islands. He plied his own schooner, *Sea Breeze*, between Auckland, Rarotonga and Norfolk Island, and later commanded whalers operating from Sydney. Very often his family travelled with him. George Howe Cook was born on the whaling brig *Independence* off Lord Howe Island, according to family information on 8 May 1855; his brother Francis Herbert (later known as Herbert Francis) was born on 6 November 1859 at Russell; George Cook senior was by

 🇺🇲WWII uncovered: Harry Hudec of the 82nd Airborne Division: Veteran of D-Day, Operation Market-Garden and The Battle of the Bulge "Private Harry Hudec, of 11709 Park Hill Avenue, Cleveland Ohio, enlisted in the Army on October 24, 1942 at the age of 20. He served with the 82nd Airborne Division, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Headquarters Company" - US Signal Corps Archive" Hudec jumped into Normandy on D-Day around 1:30 AM and fought on Hill 30 between Chef du Pont and Picauville. On June 15th, he suffered a combat injury and was hidden and cared for by a local family over 4 days until the arrival of German troops. Harry was hospitalized to remove the hand grenade fragments from his injury. He quickly returned to service. Harry went on to jump into Holland as part of Operation Market Garden and also fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Private Hudec is shown below during a preparation for a practice jump. According to his enlistment records Harry was 6 ft 4 and 1/

 🇺🇲WWII uncovered: Battle of the Bulge: Sergeant Jose Lopez Takes a Heroic Stand: Acknowledged with Medal of Honor Jose Mendoza Lopez, born in Santiago Atitlán, Mexico, was orphaned at 8 years old. Jose then went to live with relatives in Brownsville Texas where he developed an interest in boxing. As a young man Jose traveled the world as a competitive boxer. In 1934 while competing in Melbourne Australia, Jose joined the Merchant Marines and spent the next 5 years traveling the world once more. According to the National World War II Museum: "In 1942, Lopez had returned to Brownsville, Texas, and married his girlfriend, Emilia Herrera. The couple had little time together before Lopez was drafted into the US Army. Lopez was stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas for a short time before he was transferred to Camp Roberts in California for basic training, and was eventually assigned to M Company, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. The 2nd shipped out to the

 🇬🇧WWII uncovered: Sergeant Thomas Frank Durrant Posthumously Honored with the Victoria Cross for St Nazaire Raid. "In February 1937 Thomas Durrant, age 18, enlisted with the Royal Engineers. After basic training Tommy specialised in explosives and demolition at Shorncliffe Camp, Kent. In September of 1939 Durrant volunteered for the Special Service Independent Companies and went with No 2 Special Independent Company on the excursion to Norway in the spring of 1940. It was during this time in Norway that he was promoted to Sergeant." "On the return from Norway, the Companies were reformed into Commando units, and Tommy Durrant found himself in No 1 Commando under Lieutenant Colonel William Glendinning but, when the raid on St Nazaire was mooted, he became attached to Lieutenant Colonel Newman's No 2 Commando. With the other volunteers he underwent intensive training in Scotland and elsewhere before eventually boarding Motor Launch 306, bound for France in March 194

 🇺🇲WWII uncovered: 17th Airborne Division:  Operation Varsity Pictured below is the Robert Capa photo capturing 17th Airborne Paratroopers, their hair cut Mohawk-style for luck and esprit de corps, being briefed for the next day's jump across the Rhine. Arras, France, March 23, 1945. According to the National Medal of Honor Museum: "Early in the morning on March 24, 1945, two airborne divisions, one American and one British, flew over the Rhine River. This was the first airborne mission ever conducted into Germany. The Rhine was the final barrier keeping Allied forces from the heart of Germany." Over 16,000 paratroopers and several hundred aircraft were involved in Operation Varsity. The attack was launched in support of Operation Plunder, which planned to have Allied forces crossing the Rhine River in several places. The mission of the 17th Airborne was “to seize, clear and secure the division area with priority to the high ground east of Diersfordt and the bridges ove

 🇺🇲WWII uncovered: First Sergeant John R. Morton: 6th Armored Division Honored with the Distinguished Service Cross. First Sergeant John R. Morton of Boonville, Missouri, was a highly decorated veteran. He joined the U.S. Army on Nov. 1, 1940, and trained for the armored artillery. His unit entered Europe through the beaches at Normandy shortly after D-Day. In the course of his military career, John would earn the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and the Silver Star. Ultimately, Sgt. Morton was honored with the Distinguished Service Cross by Gen. George Patton for actions in battle at Pontorson, France, when his unit was caught in a German ambush on August 1, 1944. After using up his own ammunition, John retrieved a Thompson and continued attacking, accounting for 26 enemy losses.  During this battle a bullet passed through his helmet as pictured below. On another occasion, Sergeant Morton shot down an enemy fighter with an M-1 Garand, as he was a master marksman.  He left the service as a

 🇺🇲 WWII uncovered: Black History Month 2023: First Lieutenant Vernon J. Baker: A True American Hero. "Vernon J. Baker received the Medal of Honor from President Bill Clinton in 1997. Baker tearfully and humbly accepted the honor for courageous deeds performed over a half-century before in World War II. His bravery had previously earned him the Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star and Purple Heart." "On August 1, 1944, Baker’s regiment landed at Naples, Italy to support the Fifth Army with the intent of fighting their way north and penetrating the Gothic Line. Lt. Baker became a skilled and valued platoon leader in the first few months in Italy, building a rapport with the men who he directed on nightly patrols. In October, Baker had a close call while on night patrol. His squad, which was attempting to take a house on the side of a hill, lost three men right away. Baker was seriously wounded and spent two months in the 64th General Hospital in Pisa before being re

 🇺🇲 WWII uncovered: 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion Commander Lieutenant Charles L. Thomas Awarded Medal of Honor Lieutenant Charles L. Thomas, of Detroit Michigan, entered service with  the US Army on January 20, 1942. After completing Officers Candidate School at Camp Carson in Colorado Springs, Charles was promoted to Second Lieutenant on March 11, 1943. Thomas became the commander of Company C, 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion. "On August 27, 1944, Lieutenant Thomas deployed with the 614th to England. The 614th attached to General Patton's Third Army in Metz, France. The Battalion saw its first combat on November 28, 1944. On December 5, the 614th was attached to 411th Infantry Regiment, and on December 6, the 614th was attached to the 103rd Infantry Division." ( US Army) According to the National World War II Museum: "The morning of December 14 was cold and foggy. As the attacking force, named Task Force Blackshear after its commanding officer, approached Climbac

 🇺🇲WWII uncovered: Medal of Honor Recipient Van Thomas Barfoot: Hero of the 45th Infantry Division.   Van Barfoot of Edinburg, Mississippi was a Technical Sergeant in the Thunderbirds when he was recognized with the prestigious Medal of Honor for his actions during the Italian Campaign in the city of Carano.  On May 23, 1944, during the breakout from Anzio to Rome, Barfoot knocked out two machine gun nests and captured 17 German soldiers. Later that same day, he repelled a German tank assault, destroyed an enemy fieldpiece and while returning to camp.  He also carried two wounded commanders to safety.  Barfoot was subsequently commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. His division moved into France and by September 1944 was serving in the Rhone Valley. Lieutenant Barfoot chose to have the MOH presentation ceremony in the field, so that his soldiers could attend. He was formally presented with the honor on September 28, 1944, in Épinal, France, by Lieutenant General Alexander Patch. After

 🇵🇱WWII uncovered: Honouring Irena Sendler: Heroine of the Children of Warsaw. “We all have to ask ourselves, "What would I have done?"...."Every child saved with my help is the justification of my existence on this Earth, and not a title to glory." - Irena Sendler "While under the employment of the Welfare Department of the Warsaw Municipality, Irena Sendler who served as a social worker, managed to obtain a permit from the municipality that enabled her to enter the Warsaw ghetto to inspect the sanitary conditions. Once inside the ghetto, she established contact with activists and began to help them. When the Council for Aid to Jews (Zegota) was established, Irena Sendler became one of its main activists. The Council was created in fall 1942, after 280,000 Jews were deported from Warsaw to Treblinka." "Records show that Sendler's team of some 20 people saved nearly 2,500 children from the Warsaw Ghetto between October 1940 and April 1943."

 On 10 July 1943 the Allies conducted amphibious landings on Sicily thus beginning Operation *Husky*. This commenced a five-week campaign in which two Allied armies, the British Eighth and American Seventh, destroyed or drove all Axis forces from the island and claimed it as their own. While this ground fighting was underway, the Allied navies, which possessed a combined 2,590 assorted vessels, played their part in supporting the operation. First and foremost, they conducted a continual series of reinforcement and replenishment convoys to expand the Allied armies and fulfil their logistical needs. Including the initial assault forces, the Allies eventually landed a total of 407,175 men, 72,695 vehicles and 485,278 tons of stores in Sicily through 21 August. Likewise, the navies provided valuable fire support to Allied forces operating in proximity to the coastline. The weight of these efforts was demonstrated by the fact that British warships alone answered roughly 200 calls for fire d

 🇲🇽WWII uncovered: 201st Fighter Squadron of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force. "Members of the 201st Fighter Squadron of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force, which was attached to the Fifth Air Force during World War II, at Clark Field in the Philippines" - National Museum of the United States Air Force According to the National Museum of the US Air Force: "Mexico's Escuadrón 201, The Aztec Eagles, equipped with Republic P-47D Thunderbolt fighter aircraft distinguished themselves in providing close air support to American ground units as well as long-range bombing strikes deep into Japanese held territory." "By July 1944 enough Mexican Air Force pilots and ground support personnel had been trained to form the first squadron for overseas deployment, the 201st Fighter Squadron (Escuadrón Aéreo de Pelea 201) consisting of 36 pilots and over 264 support personnel. This unit, along with a Mexican Expeditionary Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Expedicionaria Mexicana

 🇺🇲WWII uncovered: Legends of WWII: Lieutenant Colonel Creighton Abrams Lieutenant Colonel Creighton Abrams, commanding the 37th Tank Batallion, arrives in Bastogne on December 26th for a head-to-head fight with the Panzer forces. Frequently the spearhead of the Third Army during World War II, Abrams was one of the leaders in the relief effort that broke up the German entrenchments surrounding Bastogne and the 101st Airborne Division during the Battle of the Bulge.  Leading the 37th Tank Battalion from the front, Abrams and the crew of his own M4 Sherman tank, Thunderbolt VI, are estimated to have destroyed about 50 German armored fighting vehicles. Abrams wore out numerous tanks – all named Thunderbolt – during the war, but he never had one shot out from under him. Once called the world champion of tank commanders by General Patton - Creighton Williams Abrams served through the Vietnam War.  General Creighton Abrams had three sons and three daughters. All of his sons served in the A

 THE TERRIBLE STORY OF THE BATTLE SCARS OF NORMANDY. On June 6, 1944, the Allied forces launched a massive invasion of Normandy, France, which marked a turning point in World War II. The invasion, codenamed "Operation Overlord," involved over 156,000 troops, and was the largest amphibious assault in history. The battle for Normandy beach was a bloody and brutal one, and the scars of that conflict still remain today. The beaches of Normandy, including Omaha, Utah, Juno, Gold, and Sword, were heavily fortified by the German forces, with bunkers, barbed wire, and mines littering the landscape. The Allied forces faced heavy resistance as they landed on the beaches, with many soldiers losing their lives in the initial assault. The fighting was intense and chaotic, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. Today, the scars of that battle are still visible on the beaches of Normandy. The bunkers and fortifications built by the Germans still stand, reminders of the fierce resistanc

 🇳🇿 WWII uncovered: Honouring the Heroes We Lost: WWII Ace Squadron Leader Keith Granville Taylor-Cannon of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Today we honour WWII Ace and Squadron Leader Keith Granville Taylor-Cannon of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Keith joined the RNZAF on 13th April 1941, and was posted to the United Kingdom on completion of training. After further training on Hawker Hurricanes with No. 56 Operational Training Unit he was posted on the 24 March 1942 to No. 486 (New Zealand) Squadron as a Sergeant. Known as "Hyphen" Taylor-Cannon had his first aerial victory on 17 December 1942 against a Messerschmitt Bf 109. On 17 January 1943 Taylor-Cannon once again shot down another Bf 109 and was subsequently promoted to Pilot Officer.  "By the end of his first operational tour he had completed 256 operational flights with No. 486 Squadron, Taylor-Cannon was awarded The Distinguished Flying Cross on the 22 March 1944 for which he received the bar to his DFC in

 Jews In The Gulag After WWII. Stalin sent to Siberia anyone who had contact with the “the West” – even Russian soldiers who fought for Mother Russia, but had the misfortune of being captured by the Nazis. Here is the amazing story how one Jew escaped. Estimates vary, but there were approximately 250,000 Jews in the concentration camps when World War II ended. Many liberated survivors had no choice but to remain in the very camps where they were imprisoned. Instead of concentration camps they were now Displaced Persons (DP) camps and they were displaced persons. Where was the world going to put them? Most did not want to stay in Europe. About 25,000 Jews tried to return to Poland, because they were ideologically close to communism and the new Poland had a strong communist, Stalinist regime in place. However, when they came back to Poland they came back to pogroms. Literal pogroms. Tens of Jews, if not hundreds, were killed. Jews who found themselves behind the Iron Curtain, especially

 Being a Jew in Hitler-controlled Europe meant persecution, but being WWI decorated veteran, even Jewish, ought to have meant something. It didn’t, but some German or Austrian Jews may have thought so at first. Not that they’d avoided persecution – expropriation, termination of their citizen’s rights, and deportation to occupied territories of Eastern Europe – but annihilation they did not expect. Especially the ones in the Litzmannstadt Ghetto in May 1942.  In late 1941, 20,000 Jews from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Luxembourg were brought there. Between 4 and 15 May 1942, 11,000 of them got deported via the Radegast station to the German extermination camp of Kulmhof and gassed on arrival. 11,000 people in 11 days, no survivors, except for one category. War heroes. Of the previous war, of course. Ghetto announcement no. 380, calling on the foreigners to report for transfer, exempted WWI veterans awarded the Iron Cross of 1st and 2nd class, as well as Wound Badge holders. In

 🇺🇲WWII uncovered: Henry Fonda of the US Navy: Veteran of D-Day and Iwo Jima "Vice Admiral George D. Murray, USN, Commander at Mariana Islands, congratulates Lieutenant Henry J. Fonda, USNR, (right), after he had presented him with the Bronze Star with citation in the name of the United States for meritorious service as an assistant operations officer and air-combat intelligence officer on the staff of Commander Forward Area, Central Pacific and Commander Mariana Islands. Photograph released August 13, 1945." - Feature P poohoto US Navy Historical Archive Henry Fonda had already established his career as a successful actor coming off of an Academy Award nomination for the classic "The Grapes of Wrath" when he enlisted in the US Navy at the age of 37 on August 22, 1942.  According to the National World War II Museum: "After basic training, Fonda went to Quartermaster School, graduating in the top 10 of his class of 200. He was briefly assigned to the destroyer

 29 Jun, 1941 - Germany invaded and occupied Lvov, in eastern Galicia, in the Ukraine. Thousands of people were slaughtered. At the start of World War II, Lvov changed hands, this time falling under the control of the Soviets, who entered the city on September 22, 1939 and immediately annexed it together with the rest of Eastern Galicia. Refugees poured into the city from German-occupied western Poland, and the Jewish population ballooned to more than 200,000.  In the summer of 1940, many of them were expelled to the remote regions of the Soviet Union. Under the Soviets, Lvov underwent a process of “Ukrainization,” whereby Jewish shopkeepers were forced to sell their stocks, and later liquidate their businesses, and synagogues were forced to close down. Schools were instructed to adopt Soviet curriculums, and the Ukrainian language was gradually introduced at the expense of Yiddish. However, about 100,000 Jewish refugees from western Poland gathered in Lvov during this time, which led

 THE TERRIBLE STORY OF LT. COL.RONALD SPEIRS. Lt. Col. Ronald Speirs, one of the toughest soldiers in Easy Company (Band of Brothers) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, April 20, 1920. His family moved to Boston, Mass, when he was 7. He enlisted in 1942 & trained as a paratrooper, becoming a platoon leader in Dog company and later company commander of Easy Company, both of 506th PIR, 101st Airborne.  In January 1945, when Easy Company's initial attack on the German-occupied town of Foy bogged down due to the commander 1st Lieutenant Norman Dike, being wounded, battalion executive officer Captain Richard Winters ordered Speirs to relieve Dike of command. The selection of Speirs was incidental; Winters later stated that Speirs was simply the first officer he saw when he turned around. Speirs successfully took over the assault and led Easy Company to victory. During this battle, Lt. Dike had ordered a platoon to go on a flanking mission around the rear of the town. To countermand th

 🇳🇿WWII uncovered: Phyllis "Pippa" Latour Heroine of the SOE. Born in South Africa on 8 April 1921, Phyllis "Pippa" Latour was an orphan by the age of 3 years old. Adopted by her French father's cousin, Pippa relocated to England in 1939 to finish her education. In November of 1941 she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) as a flight mechanic for airframes. "They took a group of about 20 of us away for training. It was unusual training – not what I expected, and very hard. It wasn't until after my first round of training that they told me they wanted me to become a member of the SOE. They said I could have three days to think about it. I told them I didn't need three days to make a decision - I'd take the job now." - Phyllis "Pippa" Latour Doyle (Stuff New Zealand November 25, 2014 interview) Latour officially joined the Special Operations Executive on 1 November 1943 and was commissioned as an Honorary Section Officer.