Russell J. York receives the Silver Star medal.

Russell J. York (August 5, 1921 – July 22, 2006) was a native of Waterville, Maine who served between 1942-1945 as a combat medic assigned to the 4th Engineer Battalion of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division.

He landed at Utah Beachon D-Day under the command of Gen. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. and with the U.S. 22nd Infantry Regiment served in the campaigns in Northern France, Rhineland, Battle of the Bulge and Central Europe.

For gallantry in action in Germany, November 20, 1944 he earned the Silver Star medal.

The 4th Infantry Division saw some of the most heavy and ferocious fighting of the war, particularly in Normandy and the Hürtgen Forest.

The 4th Infantry Division was tasked with linking up with airborne forces through the flooded fields of Normandy on June 6th, 1944, and then cutting off and clearing the Cherbourg Peninsula.

The fighting within the Cherbourg Peninsula was particularly bloody, entire regiments were chewed up and spit out within a period of only 2 months. In September 1944, the 4th Infantry Division was a unit spearheading the charge through the Siegfried Line near Aachen.

The Division was battered and soon pulled off the line for a time. In 1945, they continued the push into Germany and although the fighting was not as ferocious as it may of been in Normandy or the Hürtgen Forest, it was no less deadly.

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A great story about a little bit of 'humanity' during a terrible war.

A great story about a little bit of 'humanity' during a terrible war. In April 1945, 2nd Lt. Peter During was a South African fighter pilot (N.7 Squadron) running missions over Italy when his Spitfire was shot down by German AA fire. He managed to crash land his plane behind enemy lines where he was immediately captured. Whilst been escorted to a German Lufwaffe Prisoner of War (POW) camp (he was a pilot and thus his interrogation and imprisonment was the responsibility of the German airforce), he opened a conversation with his captors. He was quickly able to establish that they could already see the writing on the wall, that the war was at an end and Germany would lose it. ...

He said the family were "acutely aware" there were "extremists of all sides who are keen to hijack this incident for their own ends".

The family of a man who was kicked in the head by police at Manchester Airport has appealed for "calm in all the communities", an MP has said. Paul Waugh, Rochdale MP, said the "traumatised" family wanted to make it clear they had "no political agenda whatsoever" and did not condone political violence. Anger over the video led to protests outside Rochdale police station on Wednesday and Thursday nights, with another protest also held in Manchester city centre on Thursday. Mr Waugh said the family would not be attending any protests or giving any media interviews as they wanted their privacy protected. "The strong message they wanted to give is that they have no political agenda whatsoever," he told BBC Breakfast. "They wanted me to issue an appeal for calm among all sorts of different communities in Rochdale. "We've had a history of unfortunate division in our town and we do not want to go back to those days." He said the famil...

A grieving family has paid tribute to their “simply irreplaceable” teenager with "a heart full of gold" who died in a reservoir this week.

A grieving family has paid tribute to their “simply irreplaceable” teenager with "a heart full of gold" who died in a reservoir this week. Tyrese Johnson, 16, had finished school for the summer when the tragedy happened. The teenager got into difficulties at Lodge Farm Reservoir in Netherton, Dudley, on Tuesday evening His body was recovered from the water the next day by police divers. Emergency teams raced to the reservoir in the West Midlands, but were unable to find the youngster. A major search was launched involving police divers and a helicopter and his body was recovered the next day by an underwater team. In a statement, his devastated family said: "Tyrese, words can't describe what you meant to us as a family, your loving devoted mom, your brother, dad, your niece and nephew. "You were a kind loving young man with a heart full of gold. Your warm, gentle, kind hearted soul, simply irreplaceable." Dozens of tributes and flowers were left near the s...

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