We are now approaching the sixth edition of this event. “A Jump into History” 2010, taking place as usual at the historic location of the Giogo Pass, just behind the Mount Altuzzo. Will be a new opportunity to show a wide audience how re-enacting and collecting can contribute to preserving the memory of our past, keeping alive interest in the history of our communities. At the same time, we hope it will be the occasion for enjoying a weekend sharing our passion with fellow hobbyists.
Unrecognized Iwo Jima photo shows how World War II memories fading
Ron Grossman March 2010
I took a quick survey in the newsroom the other day, something between a Rorschach test and a pop quiz, asking younger colleagues to identify an iconic photograph of World War II.
While some instantly recognized the image, others couldn't quite place it.
An unfortunate medical issue in February of 2010 necessitated the decision of making a career change, With the encouragement of family and friends who have greatly benefited from my common sense approach to research in compiling their ancestral family histories, i decided to establish Swamp Yankee Genealogy and Research.
I`m still in the process of getting the business up & running & tweaking & adding to the website, and would appreciate any feedback you could provide.
One service that i hope to provide in the near future is to have a place where our overseas friends that have adopted graves of our fallen can find and contact family members of the soldier. And to make people here become more aware of the grave adopters. I should be able to set this up as a free service and will strive to do so.
My dear friend Doug Wilber has passed away. Doug had been battling with cancer for over a year, and finally lost that battle this summer.
I had talked to him throughout his illness via phone, texting and email, and really thought he was going to pull through. But yesterday, Reg told me he had passed away at the end of July. He didn't know until a few days ago and had tried to leave a message on my phone, but yesterday we finally touched base and he told me the sad news.
Doug was a good friend to both Reg and I, and we will never forget him. We both got to meet him in person, and together through the exchange of information, we were all able to help each other fill in the gaps of knowledge concerning WWII.
Doug was the son of Charles Wilber, who is featured on our main site. You will be sorely missed.
The first time I met Doug was at a 326th Engineer reunion which was held not far from my place, here in Michigan. I drove down and spent two days with Doug and the gang and had a splendid time. Doug and I stayed up the first night and talked for hours about our dads. He was such a sweetheart and so much fun.
Then a year or so later, had the honor of seeing him again, when Lee and I went down state and met up with Don Burgett, his family, Reg and Anne from Belgium, and of course Doug. We went to a WWII re-enactors weekend and had a blast. Lee and Doug really hit if off and had a wonderful time chatting.
There so much I could say, but...
I need to get in touch with his daughter Margaret and make sure his site stays up and running. He put so much of his heart and soul into it, and we cannot let it run out with the bathwater.
So goodbye to Doug. Hard to imagine we will not chat again.... Will miss you good buddy!
Will miss you good buddy!
