Bridge to History Ambassador: Ethan

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Ethan J., age 10

We have learned so much about America’s role on D-Day and throughout World War II. We saw and learned many things along the way! From the Churchill War Rooms in London to Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, this journey was a very well thought out experience.

ethan standing in “the shadow” of winston churchill at the churchill war rooms

Now that this journey is complete, I personally understand the importance of preserving and remembering this chapter of history. After visiting so many historical sites from London to Normandy, the sacrifices of over 407,000 U.S. servicemembers cannot be forgotten. We have a duty to ensure their stories survive for many generations to come. Going forward I want to share my experiences with you!

Following the path of the 1st Infantry Division with Willem Braam

Out of all the historical sites this trip offered, my favorite site was Utah Beach. Utah Beach was the most successful American beach on D-Day. Utah Beach was assaulted by the U.S. 4th Infantry Division in conjunction with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. I like Utah Beach because so many of the German fortifications are relatively intact. It is incredible to see how well the WiederstandNests at Utah Beach are remarkably preserved! This site looked exactly how a U.S. soldier would have saw it on D-Day.

the remains of WiederstandNests 62 are still open to climb in and explore

Another favorite of mine is the home of the granddaughter of General George S. Patton, the famed commander of the 3rd U.S. Army during World War II. I chose this experience as one of my favorites because I was given the privilege to hold one of General Patton’s fencing swords and sit in his favorite armchair. I felt for a moment like General Patton!

ethan stands on omaha beach in elements of a uniform that would have been worn by a soldier landing on D-Day

I also gained incredible friendships along the way with my newly discovered friends Dyche, Adam, and Winston. We met each other in London, and we all were able to really understand each other due to our shared passion of history and warfare. It further deepens my opinion that this trip has brought us together as friends; reliable to each other in times of need.

Winston, Adam, Dyche, and Ethan excited to head out on a tour of normandy in wwii jeeps and trucks

In conclusion, after this amazing journey, I understand better America’s identity, history, and what really should matter in every American’s heart. I also learned the importance of the American allies like the British and Canadians and the role they played on D-Day and throughout World War II. I gained everlasting relationships, which I will never forget.

adam in front of the grave of laurence madill, 116th infantry regiment, 29th division

Finally, I would like to sincerely thank the sponsors, without your generous support, this journey would not have been possible! Additionally, to all the parents and staff that supported our daily adventures into history, you made all the difference in the world! I hope that Bridge 2 History’s mission of creating strong ambassadors will succeed in the many years to come!

Ethan J., age 9

B2H

Bridge to History‘s inaugural Children’s World War II Boot Camp is complete! If you followed along on Instagram or Facebook and saw any of the photos and videos, you will have a glimpse of just how fantastic it was. These kids – my students - were enthusiastic and engaged and articulate and so much fun! I’m so proud of how hard they worked and what great energy they gave to everything they saw, and everyone they met.

If you have been encouraged or inspired by what you have seen, and if you would like to see this program continue, would you donate to Operation Meatball today? This is a volunteer run nonprofit organization. No one takes a salary. Everything goes to cover our expenses. Whether it’s $20, $200, or $2000, every penny will help us get the next program rolling!

Bridge to History Ambassador: Adam

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My Trip to Normandy with Bridge to History 2022

Adam B., age 9

My name is Adam Boyd and I am 9 years old. I am a 2022 Ambassador with the Bridge to History program, and I have to say IT. IS. AWESOME!!!

First of all, I want to thank everyone with Operation Meatball. Everyone that I got to be with has been the best and I miss them all. I know there’s more people that help with Operation Meatball that I don’t know but who really helped me and the other kids go on the trip and I want to especially say thank you so very much.

Bridge to History has changed my life.

I only thought I knew a lot about World War II and the D-Day landings, but I really didn’t. I thought that standing on Omaha Beach would be the best part but it was only one of a whole lot of best parts. My Mom and everyone keep asking me what was my favorite part of the trip, but I don’t have one, I have at least 4 and those are the ones I want to write about.

Adam stands at the 29th Division Monument just off Omaha Beach

One thing I will always remember is getting off the boat in Normandy and meeting Willem and Zander and driving to Sword beach. I always thought Omaha beach would be my favorite beach, but it is Sword. We got out of the car and there was Zander with soft chocolate croissants. They were so good!

Adam, Dyche, and Winston on Sword Beach.

We ate them and looked at the monument of the flame with the flags around it and the names of Free French Commandos came with the British to free their own land and who died there on June 6, 1944. Willem talked to us about the Sword beach landing while we ate and the sun was coming up. I remember walking down the path to the beach and seeing the big grains of sand and I just took off running. It was so beautiful but all those years ago it was a battlefield. I think about the morning of June 6th a lot now. I think about the men who never left that beach alive. I learned so much right there in the first part of the first morning in France. I had only thought about the British landing there and the battle, but right then I learned what it may have been like to BE from there and to come back with British soldiers and be like, “This is my country and I’m taking it back!”

Adam and Dyche stand on Omaha Beach. They take turns trying on the uniform our boys wore ashore on D-Day.

Whenever I used to think about D-Day I always thought about Omaha Beach. I watched Saving Private Ryan and would imagine being on that beach and pretend to run from the water fighting the Germans. I got to do that! I got to put on a real World War II Haversack and helmet and life belt and try to run up the Atlantic wall with my best friend, Dyche! It was crazy!

But after that I got to go to the American cemetery in Normandy and it changed everything.

The part of Saving Private Ryan when all the soldiers are being killed became real people who had real parents and family. A lot of them were the same age as my sister. Liberty told us about people she knew who told her stories about their soldier buried there and we found their grave and put a wreath with it. I can’t describe all I felt that day. I just cried. All I could think about was that they died for me. They died for freedom everywhere. They were from my state. They had my name. I cry now thinking about it. About them.

Before this visit talking and learning and acting out D-Day and World War II was all about me and what I knew and the people in my family that was in the war and what that meant to me and my family. After being at the cemetery, it’s about them and who they were and who loved them and who they loved too. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to learn about everyone I could. Now I think about what Jason, Ethan’s Dad said to us that day, “They died for you.” I’ll always remember that.

Next thing I want to talk about was the reenactment night. It was so cool! We ate dinner that night and Jason helped us put on camouflage face paint. We got dressed in warm, dark clothes and hats and gloves and left at 8:30. It was a full moon and the sky had clouds just like on the night of June 5th/6th 1944.

Adam prepared for the reenactment with a full face of camo “war paint.”

We got to go in a van that was like a C-47 and we landed in a field. When we got out we were laughing and loud but then Willem had us go silent. He told us we would have to find our way in the dark and to be quiet and on the lookout.

Adam and Dyche preparing for the night reenactment.

We started down the road and “BAM” there was gunfire! The Germans fired on us! We hit the ditch. There was a smell of gun powder and the feeling of nettles in my fingers and in my knees. When a German took my helmet off, I got really scared. I cried because I didn’t know what he was going to do. Really, I don’t even know why I cried I just did. It was so real. Before that night I had just imagined what it would be like to fight Germans in my own little trench and bunker … but they had the real thing!

A visit to the D-Day Experience Museum

I thought about how earlier that day when were at the D-Day Experience Museum and we learned about Bull Wolverton and how brave he and the men who jumped that night onto almost the same ground where I was and then faced the Germans. After being home, me and my Mom looked up more information on Bull Wolverton. We have read the prayer he prayed a lot.

The C-47 simulator experience was a highlight for everyone.

He said, “We ask only this, that if die we must, that we die as men would die, without complaining, without pleading and safe in the feeling that we have done our best for what we believed was right.” He died just a few hours after that prayer and I know he was braver than his prayer and braver than I could ever be.

Taking notes from the days… making sure nothing is forgotten.

The last part I want to talk about is my most favorite and that’s the Chelsea Pensioners. I didn’t know who they were until right before the trip and we looked them up. I still wasn’t real sure about going to the hospital because I worried it was like the nursing home where my Meme is at and that made me really sad but on our first night in London we met Dave and Bryon and they were awesome!

Adam, Ethan, and Dyche with the darling Pensioner, Bryan Rolfe

Faith sang for us and she was amazing, but then Dave got up and sang The Gambler and I knew he was cool. The next day we got to go to the Chelsea Royal Hospital and Dave met us. He showed us around and we met a lot of the other Pensioners too. We saw them do their ceremony and inspections and that was neat. Dave showed us the dining hall and took us for Sunday service in the chapel.

A private tour of the Royal Chelsea Hospital for the B2H student Ambassadors

We visited the cemetery and saw Margaret Thatcher’s grave. Dave told us about when he worked for her and how much she cared for the Pensioners. I can see why. They are real veterans for Britain’s army and they have served their country and deserve our thanks and respect like all our veterans do. I didn’t want to leave. Dave is my favorite person I got to meet on this trip. I have his card and am emailing him.

Adam with the Chelsea Pensioners

My Mom now follows the Chelsea Pensioners on Facebook and we read their newsletters. Dave’s picture was with a group that raised money in a race for the hospital! Before this trip when I thought of redcoats I thought of the Revolutionary war and the War of 1812 but now I think of Dave and the Chelsea Pensioners and their nine buttons and 3 pointed hats and I wear the pin Dave gave me.

Next week is Veteran’s Day and I can’t wait! I’m calling a World War II Veteran named Arnold Price who lives about 20 minutes from me in Sylva, NC. He was in the Battle of the Bulge and was a commander, but sadly he was the only survivor from that awful battle.

I am now trying to study and learn more about battles on the western front and the fall of Germans to the Allied Forces. On Veteran’s Day, I am going to my brother’s school, Haywood Christian Academy and will volunteer to serve lunch to veterans. I’m going to give out more of the American flag pins that I took to Normandy. I have special gifts from Normandy of sand from all the beaches for my special Vietnam Veteran, Jerry McClure too.

My Mom is helping me write something for my online school, the North Carolina Cyber Academy for our school newsletter about the trip. I am also sending the school sand from the beaches for them to keep and display. My Mom is working with me to go through all our pictures and videos and we are making a PowerPoint presentation to help me when I talk to groups about Bridge to History and D-Day too.

We are going back and studying a lot of the stuff Willem, Liberty and all the guides taught us and putting it in writing so I can always, always remember every minute of the greatest adventure of my life. Thank you so much for picking me and letting me go on this trip. I don’t know what I will grow up to do or where I will be but I know that this history will go with me and I will always study and share it.

Adam Boyd, age 9. North Carolina

B2H

Bridge to History‘s inaugural Children’s World War II Boot Camp is complete! If you followed along on Instagram or Facebook and saw any of the photos and videos, you will have a glimpse of just how fantastic it was. These kids – my students - were enthusiastic and engaged and articulate and so much fun! I’m so proud of how hard they worked and what great energy they gave to everything they saw, and everyone they met.

If you have been encouraged or inspired by what you have seen, and if you would like to see this program continue, would you donate to Operation Meatball today? This is a volunteer run nonprofit organization. No one takes a salary. Everything goes to cover our expenses. Whether it’s $20, $200, or $2000, every penny will help us get the next program rolling!

Bridge to History Ambassador: Charlotte

/ Operation Meatball/

It’s been almost a month since our Bridge to History Ambassadors returned from their overseas adventure to London and Normandy. The memories are still being re-lived and the students are hard at working putting everything they learned to task. This week I will be sharing the essays each of the children wrote post-trip.

I think you will find these essays well-written, articulate, and inspiring. My students are young, but precocious. And I have been continually blown away by their ability to grasp an understanding of history that most adults completely miss out on. Enjoy reading.

Charlotte J., age 12

Over the past week, a few ambassadors from across the United States, and myself have explored, admired, immersed in these historical Normandy invasion sites.

It was an outstanding historical week! I was impressed by the people, cheese, culture, and a country’s love for history.

Charlotte places her thumb in the imprint a bullet left on D-Day, 1944. (Sainte-Mere-Eglise)

Of all the places from London to Normandy, my favorite place was Omaha Beach, or how history records it as, “Bloody Omaha”! More than 2400 men made the ultimate sacrifice at Omaha.

But also on June 6, 1944, 30 men from Bedford, Virginia, known as the renowned Bedford Boys, fought there in battle. Sadly, 22 out of 30 men fell at Omaha Beach. That left the small town of Bedford, Virginia, devastated. I had the chance to see where each one of the boys had fallen.

“When I held the photograph, it was such a wonderful feeling, but it then reminded me the true costs of war.”

While there, I met Flo and Jenny (World War II Veterans’ Memories). A couple who had such a passion for history. Flo’s wife, Jenny, was originally from Bedford, Virginia. She loved the Bedford Boy’s story and used to work at the Bedford Boys Memorial.

One day, she and her husband were at an antiques store, and they came across a picture taken in 1941. The picture depicted all the Bedford Boys posing for a unit picture. The picture is so rare that only 200 copies were printed in 1941. The exact number of copies that survived to this day is a mystery only known to the ages.

When I held the photograph, it was such a wonderful feeling, but it then reminded me the true costs of war.

Charlotte holds her hands up and declares she’s “never washing them again” after holding the photograph

I personally want to thank our donors, sponsors, and of course, our coordinators and chaperones for this excellent adventure. Every moment was time well invested.

I will forever cherish the memories, lessons learned, food, and friendships I gained on this journey.

Charlotte and her father at the The Longues-sur-Mer battery, Normandy.

I already miss France and I hope to explore even more! I never thought in a million years that I would partake in such an adventure! The trip was a dream come true for me. Even though saying goodbye was difficult for me, I know there will be more adventures to come.

Organizations like Operation Meatball and the program, Bridge2History, is such an excellent way to connect our children to the past, present, and future.”

|| Thank you Charlotte for so articulately embracing and sharing the mission of Bridge to History.

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today

"It Only Took 70 Years"

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It’s that time of year again… when the weather begins to get nippy, we put our favorite sweaters on, eat the ultimate American artery cloggers, and gather around to sing our favorite songs… oh wait - did you think I meant the holidays? No, I’m referring to the World Series of course. Where else are you going to stuff your face with loaded hotdogs and sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game. 

Bill and his wife of 69 years, Phyllis

The World Series always reminds me of my old friend, Bill Madden. I dust off his story every couple of years and share snippets of it, because it really is a timeless one.

It’s an American story.

A young boy from Chicago grows up to be a United States Marine. Gets Iwo Jima and a Purple Heart added to his resume before coming home to marry the girl next door. An all-American boy, living out the all-American dream until his death at 90.

It’s a good resume. The only thing I’d add to it: Bill was a persevering Cubs fan. 

70 years of perseverance. 

“Baseball is a long-suffering game. If anyone does not have the endurance to overcome tough times, failure, bad luck, bad hops and everything that try one’s patience and then he would not last long in this game.” – Peter G. Doumi

The story starts in 1945. Bill is lying in a Naval hospital in Chicago, recuperating from wounds he’d received on Iwo Jima. Morale is fine, but he’s ready to be better.

Then the news goes around his ward: the Cubs are playing the World Series and as a “Thank you for your service” were sending free tickets to any of the servicemen convalescing at the hospital.

How fantastic! Bill is ecstatic.

The last time the Cubs played the series he was a mere 10 years old.

The scene that followed is cinematic. “Sailors be salty” or something like that… no sooner was news of the sponsored tickets issued, than some hospital official decided to stipulate “that as the Marines were guests of the Navy, a bit of scrubbing and mopping the deck would be required in exchange for the tickets.”

“Shucks,” said Bill. “No way I’m doing dirty work for some sailor who wants to tell me - A MARINE - what to do. The Cubs are sure to play another year, so I’ll go then.”

Well, the Cubs missed the series the next year. And the next. And the next. 

70 years later… 

PHOTO CREDIT: PRWEB

I met Bill in the summer of 2015. We became fast friends immediately, and over the next year and a half we exchanged nearly daily emails. It was a special friendship, and he passed many things on to me including a love of baseball. 

When I heard the joyous news for all Cubbies, that after 7 decades they were to play again at the Series, I was beyond thrilled. I hadn’t waited 70 years, but I knew how much it meant to Bill. His perseverance had paid off. 

To make the circle complete, a very kind benefactor had gotten wind of Bill’s story and gifted him a trip to the game. But unlike 70 years before, there were no strings attached. 

Technically, this is where the story ends. Victory after years of perseverance. But there is a little more…

Bill actually passed away just before the 7th and final game. But he was happy. He was reunited with his darling wife of 69 years, and his beloved Cubs had made it to the World Series.

1945 World SEries. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today