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November 10, 2022

Bridge to History Ambassador: Ethan

November 10, 2022/ Liberty Phillips

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!

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November 08, 2022

Bridge to History Ambassador: Adam

November 08, 2022/ Liberty Phillips

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!

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.

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!

Learn more about b2h

donate to bridge to history

November 07, 2022

Bridge to History Ambassador: Charlotte

November 07, 2022/ Operation Meatball/ Liberty Phillips

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

November 05, 2022

"It Only Took 70 Years"

November 05, 2022/ Liberty Phillips

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.

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…

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)

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October 22, 2022

The Children Take Normandy: Bridge to History Launches

October 22, 2022/ Liberty Phillips

When I was in the single digits, my dad took my siblings and me to Bunker Hill in Boston, Massachusetts. He lined us up and told us to, “Hold until you see the whites of their eyes,” then Charge! There were no Redcoats in front of us. Nothing but a grassy hill and an old monument, but, when we charged, we gave it all our 6, 7, and 8 year old hearts could give. We saw the Redcoats and the fate of the American Revolution rested on US at that moment. I never forgot it.

A little over a week ago, the inaugural Bridge to History Children’s Program wrapped up in Normandy, France. We spent 9 days adventuring through the Churchill War Rooms of London, England, retaking the beachhead at Bloody Omaha, laying wreaths to our fallen Allies at their last resting place, recalling the bravery of the Bedford Boys, learning about French culture through the local school children, and driving the backroads of Normandy in WWII Jeeps and trucks.

Without a doubt, this was a life-changing trip. Not just for the students, but for the parents and for me.

To experience Normandy and D-Day through the eyes of a 9 year old is something else. Untainted by the madness of world politics, there is a purity to their perspective.

“Grown-ups like numbers. When you tell them about a new friend, they never ask questions about what really matters. They never ask: “What does his voice sound like? What games does he like best…” They ask: “How old is he? How many brothers does he have?… How much money does his father make?” Only then do they think they know him. If you tell grown-ups, “I saw a beautiful red brick house, with geraniums at the windows and doves on the roof,” they won’t be able to imagine such a house. You have to tell them, “I saw a house worth a hundred thousand francs.” Then they exclaim, “What a pretty house!”
The Little Prince by Antoine De Sainte-Exupery

The tactile nature of climbing in old German bunkers, through trenches, or the gun emplacements of Longues-sur-Mer, brought to life what the children had been reading about their whole lives.

They visualized what adults can’t see. They played war, and they were fighting the Germans again. But when taps came over the speakers at Colleville American Cemetery and the flag was lowered, they held a salute. No one told them to. They just knew.

Over the next few weeks, I will be recapping Bridge to History and sharing writings from the children - my student ambassadors to history.

They came well prepared, ready to engage, and through the fire hydrant of learning they received, they left with new goals and dreams of how to preserve history.

Our legacy starts with the children. They are the future. After the 9 days I spent overseas with my students, watching them embrace history so fully, I feel re-inspired. To hear 9 year-old Dyche tell me he wanted to bring his children to Normandy, and 12 year old Charlotte declare she never wanted to wash her hands again after holding an original photo of the Bedford Boys on Omaha Beach… it makes me smile. They get it.

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!

Learn more ABOUT B2H

DONATE 2 B2H

September 06, 2022

The Rotorhead

September 06, 2022/ Operation Meatball/ Liberty Phillips

“It would be right to say that the helicopter’s role in saving lives represents one of the most glorious pages in the history of human flight.”

— Igor Sikorsky

This past spring while in Vietnam, I discovered a new breed of crazy: The Vietnam Helicopter Pilot. They fondly call themselves “Rotorheads,” and will unblushingly tell you “I’m not perfect, but I’m a helicopter pilot which is better.”

For fear of offending the Marine’s muscles or the Paratroops jump boots, I won’t say the Helicopter pilot is the *craziest* of them all, but after a month spent traveling through Vietnam with this insane crew, perhaps I could get away with giving them the accolade of the most audacious of the trio?

One of these spectacular characters I became acquainted with during that time was Major General Patrick Brady, US Army.

At first glance, General Brady is tall, elegant, and has the demeanor of one used to being in the public eye. Spend a few minutes with him however, and you witness an irony to his smile and a wry sense of humor that’s on point (but doesn’t feel cliche).

He is a Rotorhead through and through.

50 plus years may have gone by since he committed the actions which gave him the Medal of Honor, but he still has the spunk and tenacity that carried him through the hottest days of fighting in Vietnam.

I witnessed this spunk returning from the Mekong Delta one afternoon this past April. In the lobby of our hotel, I was met with the most outrageous story that started with the General, a fellow Rotorhead, a Donut Dolly, and a few others ending up in the bed of a less-than fragrant Vietnamese farm truck in the backtracks of Vihn Long on a mission to lay a monument in honor of the late Major Charles Kelly.

At the time I was unfamiliar with Major Kelly’s heroics, but I was fascinated to learn more. Besides the obvious hilarity of the situation the General and company had found themselves in that afternoon, my bigger question was, what was the impetus for this elegant 85-year-old gentleman to make such an extremely arduous trip across the world to lay a monument? I am embarrassed to admit that at this point I far underestimated the chutzpah of the Rotorheads, and if I’d any inkling for their personal audacity, that in itself would have answered my question.

The next few weeks we spent in Vietnam, I listened eagerly as the General bantered with his old war comrades, telling stories that were far too outrageous to be created in the minds of man. Only the jungles of Vietnam, circa 1967, could come up with such tales.

And I also learned about Major Kelly.

“When I have your wounded”

I once read a book called, “Let Us Die Like Brave Men.” It was the short biographies of Civil War officers and soldiers who had used their dying breaths to encourage and inspire their men when the battle was thickest and the outcome darkest.

Different eras, different times, but Major Kelly was made of the same mettle.

Renowned for his fearlessness in the face of the enemy and willingness to proceed into every dangerous scenario if it meant the rescue of wounded Americans, Kelly’s last moments on earth became a rallying call.

Major Charles L. Kelly was Dustoff and Dustoff was “Combat Kelly.” The two became synonymous in Vietnam in 1964. As commander of the 57th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance), Kelly assumed the call sign “DUSTOFF.” His skill, aplomb, dedication, and daring soon made both famous throughout the Delta. The silence of many an outpost was broken by his radio draw, “…this is DUSTOFF. Just checking in to see if everything is okay.” And when there were wounded, in came Kelly “hell-bent for leather!
- Dustoff Association

On July 1, 1964, Major Kelly was flying into an LZ (landing zone) to pick up a load of wounded when he was notified over radio that the LZ he was attempting to reach was too hot from enemy fire and the mission should be aborted. His response was matter of fact: “When I have your wounded.” These were his final words. Immediately after, an enemy bullet struck him in the heart.

The next day, the same bullet that had killed Kelly was presented to Brady (then a Captain). The commanding officer flung it on the table and asked Brady if they would take note and dial down the “aggressive nature” of their flying.

Brady took the bullet, and looking at the officer responded, “We are going to keep flying exactly the way Kelly taught us to fly, without hesitation, anytime, anywhere."

Brady was more than words. Inspired by the gallant death of their leader, the “Dustoff pilots” continued to fly into the toughest situations “without hesitation,” saving innumerable lives that would otherwise have been lost.

(Patrick Henry Brady | Vietnam War | U.S. Army | Medal of Honor Recipient (cmohs.org)

On January 6, 1968:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, Maj. Brady distinguished himself while serving in the Republic of Vietnam commanding a UH-1H ambulance helicopter, volunteered to rescue wounded men from a site in enemy-held territory which was reported to be heavily defended and to be blanketed by fog. To reach the site, he descended through heavy fog and smoke and hovered slowly along a valley trail, turning his ship sideward to blow away the fog with the backwash from his rotor blades. Despite the unchallenged, close-range enemy fire, he found the dangerously small site, where he successfully landed and evacuated two badly wounded South Vietnamese soldiers.
He was then called to another area completely covered by dense fog where American casualties lay only 50 meters from the enemy. Two aircraft had previously been shot down and others had made unsuccessful attempts to reach this site earlier in the day. With unmatched skill and extraordinary courage, Maj. Brady made four flights to this embattled landing zone and successfully rescued all of the wounded. On his third mission of the day, Maj. Brady once again landed at a site surrounded by the enemy. The friendly ground force, pinned down by enemy fire, had been unable to reach and secure the landing zone. Although his aircraft had been badly damaged and his controls partially shot away during his initial entry into this area, he returned minutes later and rescued the remaining injured.
Shortly thereafter obtaining a replacement aircraft, Maj. Brady was requested to land in an enemy mine field where a platoon of American soldiers was trapped. A mine detonated near his helicopter, wounding two crewmembers and damaging his ship. In spite of this, he managed to fly six severely injured patients to medical aid. Throughout that day Maj. Brady utilized three helicopters to evacuate a total of 51 seriously wounded men, many of whom would have perished without prompt medical treatment. Maj. Brady's bravery was in the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.

At a veterans’ luncheon two Fridays ago, I heard General Brady pose the question, “What is a Hero?” to a room of over 400 veterans and family members. It is a good question.

Hero is a word Americans tend to banter about with alarming casualness. We worship “celebrity” and chase our 15 minutes of fame at all costs, trying to be the loudest in the room. But at the end of the day, it leaves you with the same emptiness as before.

The dictionary says that Hero is one who shows great courage. When General Brady received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Vietnam, it was America’s stamp of approval and notice that said, “This is a hero. This is a man who showed courage above and beyond.”

But General Brady doesn’t look at it that way, like many before who have received the same award, he chooses to deflect and says, “Major Kelly was a hero.”

Today he goes around the country, representing the Medal of Honor Foundation and educating children on Patriotism. Another word that has almost become archaic. But if you brush off the cynicism and doubt of the 21st century, you’ll find it to be a beautiful word.

“What is the most important thing for a teacher to teach? Science, engineering, accounting? What is it. It’s a simple answer, Patriotism. Democracy cannot survive unless we grow patriots. That’s not someone who says they love their country, that’s someone who supports and defends their country.” - Patrick Brady

Though (as he calls himself) a “reluctant soldier,” General Brady has a deep understanding of the meaning of patriotism. He’s witnessed it in red, white, and blue. He closed his talk the other week with a short story about one of these patriots - fellow Medal of Honor Recipient, Webster Anderson.

Over the course of a terrible night of fighting the Vietnamese on a hilltop in a storm, Anderson lost both of his legs and an arm. It turned out that Brady was his medivac pilot and he later learned that Anderson had received the MOH for his actions that night. “He thought I save his life. The physicians saved his life.” Brady said with deflection. They went on to become good friends and would speak at schools together.

“One day we were in a classroom in Oklahoma, and he wouldn’t sit down. He had these bad prothesis in those days and one arm, nothing but a cane. But he’d stand up, we’d prop him up to talk to the kids. And one of the kids raised his hand and said, “Mr. Anderson, knowing what you know now - that it would cost you two legs and an arm - if you had it to do over again would you?” And Webster said, “Kid, I’ve only got one arm. But my country can have it any time they want.”

And I’m sure those children sitting there looking at this great soldier (who was more plastic than flesh) will be forever impressed with what he told them and of the true definition of patriotism is and what I believe is the most important thing we can teach our children.”

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today

August 29, 2022

What is Bridge to History

August 29, 2022/ Operation Meatball/ Liberty Phillips

In 6 weeks, I will be taking my first group of students over to Normandy for the inaugural Bridge to History Children's Program. To say I'm beyond excited is an understatement. In fact, it’s a dream come true.

During the last decade of my work with WW2 veterans, I have been continually inspired by the Europeans’ integration of their youth into all of their remembrance programs. They take their young children to their cemeteries, to their battlefields, to their war memorials; not just as spectators, but as participants in an experience which stays with the children as they grow, perpetuating a grateful nation that honors and remembers. This is how I was raised, and I can personally speak to the impact it had on me as a child.

I started Bridge to History because I want to give this experience to American children - children who have already shown through personal study and community initiative a genuine desire to learn and remember.

For our October program, I have 7 students, ages 9-13, and they are absolutely amazing kids! They've been working their tails off studying and preparing for this trip... writing essays, drawing maps, and connecting with their local community.

I can't wait to share more about these kids in the upcoming days. Their passion and enthusiasm at such a young age is genuinely inspiring to me.

One of my students, Adam, went on local TV last week to talk about the trip and why history is so important. At 9 years old, his understanding and grasp on the importance of history far surpasses many twice or three times his age! Watch the video below:

Over the course of our 9-day overseas bootcamp, B2H children will walk the battlefields, feel the sands of Omaha Beach between their fingers, climb in old German bunkers, meet our allied veterans of WW2, learn facets of military life, meet their young French counterparts, pay respects to the war fallen in special ceremonies at the cemeteries, and see how a nation responds to oppression and liberation.

We call the children “Bridge to History Ambassadors” because when the trip ends, their mission is only beginning. When the children return stateside, they will have been commissioned to take what they have learned and apply it to their lives at home. Some of this entails:

Giving presentations to local schools and clubs about their experience in Europe.
Getting connected with local veterans and recording their stories (from the viewpoint of a pre-teen… a completely different perspective than an adult).
Adopting the graves of local servicemen and recruiting 3 schoolmates to do the same.
And generally starting a buzz and generating interest from their peers.

We understand this is a big-ask for pre-teens, and Bridge to History will come along side our ambassadors, training them and helping facilitate these operations and encouraging them along the way.

*Two of our October students, Ethan and Charlotte, at the grave of Audie Murphy*

My goal is to ignite a sense of honor and remembrance in American children and set the tone for a life devoted to the perpetuation of our American heritage and honor the men and women who helped preserve it.

I cannot wait to take kids like Adam, to Normandy to experience first-hand the magic and mystery of walking in the footsteps of their heroes.

If you would like to support these amazing youngsters and their passion to save history for the next generation, go to:

Bridge to History

All donations are tax deductible and go to bringing Adam and the (7) B2H students to Normandy.

SPONSORSHIP

If you are interested in sponsoring a Bridge to History Student Ambassador either in part or in full - you can go to www.Bridge2history.com or for more information, contact me at Liberty@Bridge2History.com.

1 student sponsorship (which is 1 student + parent/guardian) for the 9-day trip is $5,000. This includes airfare for student and parent, and an all-inclusive experience (transportation, guides, lodging, food, museums, and special activities) for 9 days in London, England and Normandy, France.

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today

July 14, 2022

INTRODUCING: Bridge to History

July 14, 2022/ Operation Meatball/ Liberty Phillips

For the last 8 years, Operation Meatball has worked to connect with thousands of WWII Veterans, share their stories, honor them, and remind them of the days when they were young and in the service of their country.

Our motto has been:

"Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today."

Up to now, our focus has been on honoring the living. Currently, the average age of the WWII veteran is 98, and this unusual chapter in our lives is rapidly closing. But our work is ongoing, if not just beginning. While continuing our initial objectives, we are so happy to announce the next step and our brand-new initiative:

The Bridge to History Children’s Program:

Connecting Our Future to the Past

Beginning this fall, we will be taking pre-teen students on an international adventure to London and Normandy for an immersive week of curated commemorative events honoring and remembering the legacy of WWII.

The students, our Bridge to History Ambassadors, will walk the battlefields and visit the graves of soldiers they've studied, meet veterans who were our allies during the war, form friendships with their French counterparts (grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the liberated), and personally host ceremonies honoring the memory of the war dead.

When our young ambassadors return home to America, they will have been commissioned to take what they have learned and use it to light the fire of a new generation of informed and grateful Americans.

To learn more, sponsor or nominate a child, go to:

Bridge to History

The program officially starts next spring, but we are planning a pilot program for this fall. If you have a student between the ages of 8-12 who would be interested in joining us on the pilot program, we are accepting applications now at: Bridge2history.com. The student and guardian will have to have an up-to-date passport and flexibility.

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today

July 07, 2022

Welcome General Parker!

July 07, 2022/ Operation Meatball/ Liberty Phillips

We are thrilled to announce the addition of a new board member and team activist at Operation Meatball, Bob Parker, Major General, USAF, (Ret).

General Parker has been a friend and supporter for many years, and we are so grateful and honored to have his participation and wisdom as Operation Meatball moves into it’s newest and most exciting chapter.

A message from General Parker:

“I am extremely honored to have been elected to Operation Meatball’s Board of Directors. I am very excited to be part of Operation Meatball’s new direction to educate our younger generation on our history and the sacrifices earlier generations made to preserve our way of life and the freedoms we enjoy.

I have worked with Liberty for the past several years supporting our veterans on programs like Honor Flight, Red Shirt breakfasts ( WWII) veterans, and Veteran Appreciation dinners.

Under her strong, creative leadership, I see Operation Meatball having a significant impact on our youth and their appreciation for the men and women who wore the uniform of our country.

I have willingly committed my time and contributions for this most worthwhile endeavor, and I solicit your support.

Thank you,”

— Bob Parker, Major General, USAF, (Ret).

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today

May 30, 2022

Tom Shaw: Memorial Day Remembrance

May 30, 2022/ Operation Meatball/ Liberty Phillips

T O M || I was introduced to 1st Lt. Thomas Shaw on a winding road through the jungles and rice paddies of Vietnam, somewhere in the vicinity of Anh Khe.

Before my trip to Vietnam I’d never heard of Lt. Shaw -a good-looking boy from Fond Du Luc, Wisconsin. But thanks to his former roommate and buddy, Jim Crigler, I now carry of piece of Tom’s memory in my heart.

From what Jim told me, Tom was everything good and kind and solid. The few months they roomed together in 1972 they became close friends and over time Tom mentored Jim, sharing his moral compass and life ideals with him:

1. Be courageous.

2. Be truthful.

3. Trust in God.

The friendship deeply affected Jim and one day the two made a pact - an oath - that on the off chance that either of them was killed the surviving friend would escort the body home to the family.

On April 27th, 1972 as Jim headed out on his first mission of the day he found a note from Tom. “Jim, Use your courage today to focus on what is right, not what is wrong. Live the truth. Trust in God! - Tom”

Jim returned from his final mission of the day to be greeted by the news that 1st Lt Thomas Shaw’s helicopter had crashed, killing him and a Warrant Officer, Claude Strothers.

It was devastating. But Jim held up his end of the pact - escorting the body of his friend and comrade HOME.

This wasn’t the last time Jim would be fulfilling his end of the bargain. On April 30th, 2022 (making his first return trip to Vietnam), Jim held a small memorial service on the side of the mountain - not far from his buddy had been killed 50 years & 3 days before.

In a strong, but not emotionless voice, Jim read letters from Tom’s family and shared his own memories and lessons he’d learned from the short life of the Fond Du Luc boy.

The tears don’t come as easy for me these days, but as the clouds opened and the rain started to trickle down I found myself wiping more than raindrops away from my face… in fact it was hard to stop the flow as I listened to the heartfelt sincerity of this genuine man who had traveled around the world - over 30+ hours of flying - to pay homage to a friend and mentor. BROTHERHOOD.

This to me was worth the trip.

I could go on. But for now I’ll just add that on Memorial Day this year I’ve been thinking about 1st Lt. Thomas Shaw. A good man. His name now reflects off of the Vietnam Wall in DC. I hope the next time one of you visit this special cenotaph you’ll pay Tom a visit. And remember him, not just on Memorial Day.

If you’d like to learn more about Jim and the distinctive and wonderful ways he is still serving his country, click through here: Mission of Honor – Vietnam Veteran writes a book and Paddles the entire length of the Mississippi River to right a wrong.

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today

May 27, 2022

JP: Moments from Vietnam

May 27, 2022/ Operation Meatball/ Liberty Phillips

I’ve known JP for most of my life, though there is some debate between us as to our actual meeting. Each time he introduces me to someone as, “I knew her when she was this tall,” gets shorter and my age gets younger. I keep telling him that eventually he’s going to claim to be the presiding midwife at my birth.

During the Vietnam War JP served with the 1st Cavalry Division as a helicopter pilot. And a dang good pilot too. But, in Vietnam you had to be good.

Fully acknowledging my redundancy, I can’t stress how special it was to visit these locations and listen to his southern drawl on about them. Places I still find exceedingly difficult to pronounce, much less spell- Phước Vĩnh, An Khê, Pleiku (probably because Vietnamese does not translate well into Texan), but are now cemented into my memory log with the visuals I took in and the dirt still imbedded in my boots (to clean or not to clean… That is the question).

These locations have largely been built up over the last 50 + years. In some cases built up, torn down, and built up again multiple times. Often times there’s a paved road where there used to be a tarmac made of Marston Matting (a perforated steel material that was used as makeshift runways and landing pads. Visualize flat legos fitting together like a puzzle)… Or locals dry their rice on cement sidewalks and grassy areas where we used to have hard back tents housing our boys.

(Incidentally - it was with amusement that a few times we saw farm trucks drive by with their sides encased in Marston mats from the war. Quite clever in fact as it converted the bed of the truck into a suitable way of carting animals or large and bulky items).

But even though there is little evidence of great military force that was once there, if you just sit still enough for a minute and imagine - it’s not hard to see the helicopters coming in and out and hear the purr of their turbos. And lemme tell you, it’s a beautiful noise.

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today

May 20, 2022

Leaving Vietnam

May 20, 2022/ Operation Meatball/ Liberty Phillips

After nearly a month in Vietnam (nearly 2 weeks longer than planned for thanks to some complications getting back stateside), I’m home.

An adventure to say the least. I’ve been joking with some of the team that when I write my book of this last month I’m calling it, “And then there were none.” Or “Yes, we have no nachos: surviving the Hotel California of Hanoi.” (Que: “You can check out any time you like / but you can never leave.” )

For a hot minute, I was pretty sure a couple of us might take up citizenship in Vietnam - or just get deported. My visa actually runs out tomorrow. So either option was a possibility.

But y’all - you can’t buy an experience like this.

There’s so much to process from this trip, I’m afraid y’all will have to suffer through some of my ramblings in the near future. Vietnam is nothing like I expected. I’m so in love with the country, the culture, and the people. It’s cliche, but the best things are.

Our hotel staff at the Silk Path Hanoi made the last 10 days of “being stuck” absolutely delightful, and I feel as if I have a wonderful new set of friends. Which I do (we have already discussed plans of returning some day soon).

So bear with me while I have images and anecdotes to post.

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today

May 02, 2022

H Ô I • A N |

May 02, 2022/ Operation Meatball/ Liberty Phillips

H Ô I • A N || Inescapably beautiful. Walking down the streets of Ancient Town the sensoria is overwhelmed with colors, smells, languages, tactile sensations, and a beauty that almost feels manufactured.

Mopeds packed 3, 4, and 5 passengers strong, balancing every imaginable thing possible or impossible that can be carted on two wheels.

Meats, rice, noodles, fish, all spread out on ground mats or stands alongside the street. Ancient mamas squatting and swatting flies away.

Fat little children (I call them Buddha Babies) running around the street in frilly frocks and suits, holding onto their mothers with one hand and a Bánh Dúa (coconut cake) in the other. Powder sugar covering their faces.

Shops of every imagination - leather, tailoring, purses, clay works, baskets, coffee, salons, model shops… miscellaneous dogs sleeping in the sun.

An old woman: toothless, wrinkled, skin turned hardened to leather by decades working in the rice patties - now she sells small clay whistles in a doorway. She is not beautiful, but if beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then she is beautiful to me.

Colors, vibrancy, smells, noises… it’s glorious. I’m in love with Vietnam and the people.

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today

April 27, 2022

Cù Chi Tunnels: Vietnam

April 27, 2022/ Operation Meatball/ Liberty Phillips

CÙ CHI TUNNELS || Yesterday we explored the former Vietcong Tunnels at Cù Chi.

These tunnel systems hosted upwards of 10,000 VC troops, and spread miles and miles under the ground of the unsuspecting Americans (very similar in fact to the tunnels at Iwo Jima).

One of the vets on the trip told me he knew a Marine, small of stature standing at 5 ft 2. Because of his height he was “volun-told” to become a tunnel rat- climbing down into these tunnels looking for VC, hoping not to find them. A terrifying prospect regardless.

Since the war, the tunnels have been slightly widened today to accommodate visitors who want to explore them. But for the most part they remain intact - as they were.

Highly effective. Very intimidating. Brilliant warfare.

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today

April 25, 2022

Good Morning, Vietnam

April 25, 2022/ Operation Meatball/ Liberty Phillips

Technically it’s my second day and it’s almost midnight, but I’m still gonna say “Good morning, Vietnam.” And que some Creedence Clearwater Revival.

It’s been a seven year dream of mine to travel to Vietnam. My curiosity was first pricked on a flight from LA to Hawaii when I sat next to a salty old Marine and he told me about the time he spent three days in a fox hole in Nam, cold, tired, miserable, but mostly hungry.

For those three days, he sat in a layer of water that had filled the bottom of his fox hole. It felt as if his feet were rotting. Socks soaked through. He couldn’t move and could only speak in whispers for fear the slightest sound would give away their position to the Vietcong.

After three days of this misery, without eating, John came across a tin of crackers he had somehow missed. With loving care and exuberant excitement, he opened the tin and shared it with his buddy. It was the greatest meal he had in Vietnam.

He told me about the many trips he took back to Nam looking for the body of a friend of his, presumed to have fallen out of a helicopter while being shipped back in a body bag. John was in his late 60s at the time, no easy return trip. I was deeply impressed by his devotion and commitment to “No Man left behind.”

He never found his buddy’s body, but he found other remains on other battlefields and spent much of his life helping other vets and family members of KIAs find closure.

These conversations with the Gunny awakened my interest in Vietnam. They gave humanity to a war which you only ever hear the horrors of: the complexities, the political narrative, the hate, and the generic “our soldiers were treated poorly when they returned; how sad.”

It was a complex war. There are so many aspects I still can’t wrap my head around. But over the last several years, as my heart has been opened, and I understand more behind the Vietnam veteran, I also see beauty. Goodness. And compassion.

Why is it that so many Vietnam vets with the worst PTSD tell me what a beautiful country Vietnam is and how much they love the people?

Another line I have heard many times, and in fact again yesterday, was this, “When you’re in combat, you’re not fighting for your country, for your family back home, for the people you’re trying to help. You’re fighting for the man next to you.

All of these factors are coming together about a war that was really pretty recent… Not a war our grandfathers fought, but a war our *fathers* fought, a war our uncles died in.

This trip in many ways is for the Gunny, but also for the many Vietnam vets who are dear to my heart. On this trip, I hope to understand more, for their sake.

I’ve spent my life living and breathing the world of my World War Two veterans… but over the years, Vietnam keeps coming back to me - pricking my finger and whispering in my ear, “Do not forget us. Hold my hand and listen to my stories.”

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today

March 22, 2022

The Daniel Colgan Story

March 22, 2022/ Operation Meatball/ Liberty Phillips

A few weeks ago, I was in D.C. for my annual Iwo Jima Association Reunion. One of the nights, I took off with a couple of friends to explore the war memorials under the stars.

I’m no stranger to D.C. Growing up with family living on the outskirts, the memorials are my stomping ground. Yet no matter how many dozens of times I visit them, I still find magic there. Especially on nights when the crowds are gone, the city is “relatively” quiet, the bitter cold lends a crispness to the air, and you’re just left with your thoughts.

We meandered around a while, and on entering the area of the Vietnam Wall, I was struck by how unusually breathtaking it was tonight. The moon hit the names engraved on the wall, highlighting the thousands and thousands of young lads killed during that awful war.

From it’s conception, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund has done an exceptional job organizing and cataloging the names, making it quite easy to find your friend or relative on the wall through their website. Sometimes I wander down the wall, looking up names and reading their stories. If an image is attached to the bio, it immediately becomes evocative.

This evening, reading some of the names to myself, I suddenly remembered a promise I had made a little over a month and a half before.

Fred and me a few years ago after one of his many moves.

Over Christmas a dear friend and Iwo Jima Veteran, Fred Harvey, was in the hospital. It was a tough time, and there were many days when Fred struggled to know where he was and why he was sick. One night in particular, he was in a lot of pain and his memory was very incoherent. I tried to distract him by having him tell me stories from his childhood or life in general.

It worked pretty well. Fred, never one to pass up an opportunity to tell a story, found mental clarity enough to relate all sorts of little memories to me as best as he could patch together. On conclusion of the story, it was almost as if his mind would revert back, and I’d have to start explaining where he was again and why he was gonna be okay.

“Tell me about Ol’ Rip. Tell me about Jessie - your mom.” I’d say.

His eye would flicker, calmness would come over, and he would tell the story - exactly as he had told it every time since I first met him.

It was hard, but it was worth it for those moments of peace he had.

In the midst of all of this, one particular story seemed to stick in his mind more than anything else, and for an hour he related it over and over again.

It was the story of Danny Colgan.

The Danny Colgan Story

Back in the 60s, Fred was coaching football at a high school in El Paso, Texas. It was the middle of the Vietnam War and the anti-war protesters and hippie movement had inundated the high school. The kids would come out with their signs and their chants, their anti-American speech, and their lack of self respect. It wasn’t a great time to be a teacher or a coach, but Fred knew hard times. His childhood had been a struggle to survive. Hardly out of his teens, Fred had almost lost his life on the volcanic island of Iwo Jima in the Pacific when he took two grenades and sat on a third. He knew hard times. But he loved his job and his kids. So he poured his life into them - regardless of the rising political tensions.

One of the most hard headed students was a kid by the name of Daniel “Danny” Colgan. It wasn’t that Danny couldn’t do the job (he had potential), he just wouldn’t. More often than not, he would find himself in trouble with the school administrators. Fred told me that sometimes during practice Danny would join the kids on the bleachers shouting and making noise, overall protesting anything they could think of.

The culmination came one day when Danny came to Fred’s office with the information that he had been expelled from the school. He was done.

Fred wasn’t shocked by the news, but he still wanted to help the kid out. He explained that, at the end of the day. the only one who was affected by Danny’s decisions was Danny himself. His future was in his own hands, and he couldn’t blame anyone else.

The next afternoon, Danny returned to Fred's office waving his enlistment papers for the Marine Corps.

“I’ve joined up.” He said.

“I thought you hated the war?” Fred asked.

“I know. But I’ve changed my mind. I want to be a Marine like you.”

“It’s not easy, you know,” Fred told Danny.

But Danny knew that. He also knew that there was a future for him in the Marines that he’d struggled to find elsewhere. Besides, he knew how proud Fred was of his service and he wanted to be like him.

Danny went off to boot camp. And Fred went back to coaching.

Some months later, Fred opened the paper to find that local El Paso boy, Daniel P. Colgan - Private First Class United State Marine Corps, had been killed on October 7, 1968 in the Province of Quang Nam, Vietnam. He was 20 years old.

There’s more to the story… how Danny came home draped in an American Flag. His death directly impacted the kids at the high school. Perhaps it didn’t put a halt to all the anti-patriotism, but it definitely sobered them up.

And Fred never forgot Danny.

Well fast forward to last Christmas. As Fred struggled with conscious thought and fighting the healing IVs, he told me the story over and over again. Except this time, he told me about the guilt he felt. That Danny’s death was his fault.

Clutching my hand with a crushing grip, he repeated again and again, “If it wasn’t for me, Danny would be alive. He joined because he wanted to be like me. I encouraged him. It’s my fault that he died. I’m responsible for Danny’s death.”

It broke my heart to see a 98 year old man still grieving so deeply over something out of his control that had happened 50+ years before. During WW2, Fred lost a lot of close friends and comrades in arms. But something about the loss of his young student seemed to be coming to the front of his mind as the brain tried to reconcile past events.

I tried to soothe him. “Fred,” I said, “It wasn’t your fault. Danny was always meant to be a Marine. Just like you. There was nothing that would change that.”

“But he wouldn’t have gone if I didn’t encourage him.”

“Fred - you didn’t have to encourage him. He wanted to be like you. You inspired him. It was his honor to die as a Marine, like the Spartans of old.”

“I have to tell his story. I have to tell people about Danny.”

“You have Fred. In your book. You talk about Danny.”

“I did?”

“Yes Fred.”

“Well I have to tell his story again. People need to know about Danny.”

“We will, Fred. And you know what - when we go to D.C. next month for the Iwo Jima reunion - we’ll go see Danny together at the wall.”

My buddy Fred didn’t make it. He passed away in the hospital two weeks later, and in the events surrounding, I forgot about Danny Colgan. That is until I wandered down the walkways of the Vietnam Wall.

I remembered Danny. And my promise to Fred.

“Hi Danny.” I said, touching his name on the wall. “Fred says hi. He was so proud of you. But you know that. He’s probably with you now. Semper Fi Marines.”

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today

March 10, 2022

"A Touch of Texas"

March 10, 2022/ Operation Meatball/ Liberty Phillips

Clyde and hs wife reunited after the war

As a Texan, one of the things we take pride in is stories of other Texans. The below anecdote is one of my favorites. Written by local Wichita Falls boy, Clyde Fillmore, who spent 46 months in a Japanese POW camp in the Pacific.

He wrote an excellent memoir in later years that included images he drew while a prisoner. The photo is Clyde and his wife, reunited for the first time in late 1945.

The official description of the photos from the UTA Library is: “After 46 months of waiting, Captain and Mrs. Clyde C. Fillmore were reunited at the Texas & Pacific Railway Station in Fort Worth, Texas. As a member of the Lost Battalion, Captain Fillmore's whereabouts were unknown to everyone, including his wife. The captain was recently liberated from a Japanese prison camp. He is dressed in a military uniform. Mrs. Fillmore is wearing a blouse, blazer, and a skirt. The couple are natives of Wichita Falls, Texas. They are standing in front of the train, kissing.”

Some time I’ll share more stories from his book. It’s worth the time. But here is a whimsical story that captures the impact of Texans in WWII. I say impact tongue and cheek. I’m pretty sure the fellow in the below story had more trauma to unpack from his time surrounded by Texans than the actual pow experience.

Excerpt from “Prisoner of War” by Clyde Fillmore

"You remember that when we left Singapore in January of 1943, we were forced to leave nine men who were too sick to travel. Well, of these nine, eight were from Texas; the other one hailed from Massachusetts. It isn't difficult to imagine this one fellow's plight nor imagine his misery as he was forced to listen to eight loyal Texans day after day.

In 1944, a B-29 was shot down over Singapore, and three of the survivors eventually found themselves with the nine Americans. The prisoner from Massachusetts was elated and approached them almost with prayerful expectancy. Alas! They were all from Texas.

When the war ended another B-29 came in to take them to Calcutta for hospitalization, where we met them once more. However, the prisoner from Massachusetts had not given up hope, so when the big plane landed, he rushed up to the pilot, a young first lieutenant, and asked him where he came from. In an unmistakable drawl, he answered, "I'm from Texas."

Hope had, by this time, almost died, but being a rather stubborn individual, he did not give up so easily. After about an hour in the air he noticed that the navigator was a full blood Chinaman. He sidled up to him and asked in a faltering voice, "And how long have you been away from China?"

Came the answer, "Why, I'm not from China; I was born in San Antonio, Texas!"

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today

March 04, 2022

State of Maryland Honors WWII Veterans

March 04, 2022/ Operation Meatball/ Liberty Phillips

The other day we had the very special honor of hand delivering a Citation from the Maryland General Assembly recognizing the military service of WWII Veterans: Melvin Hurwitz and Jack Meyers.

An excerpt of the citation says,

Resolution in Dedication and Memorial by Delegate Dan Cox, Candidate for Maryland Governor (submitted for drafting and vote December 7, 2021

“To recognize the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the lasting bond between the State of Maryland and the World War II Veteran Community;

Whereas, three World War II veterans of the European Theatre representing Maryland have traveled to Pearl Harbor today for the 80th anniversary, and include Corporal Wilbur "Jack" Myers, age 98, from Hagerstown, Maryland; SSgt Melvin Hurwitz, Age 96, from Frederick, Maryland; and Lieutenant Adolph "Ade" Chwastyk, age 95, from Silver Spring, Maryland;

Now, therefore, be it remembered:

That the Maryland House of Representatives, on December 7, 2021, the 80th anniversary of the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii—

(1) Pays tribute to the members of the Armed Forces of the United States and civilians who died in the attack.

(2) Acknowledges the role of the USS Maryland and residents past and present of the state of Maryland who served in branches of the United States military, and defended our nation against the hostile forces during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

(3) Offers thanksgiving to God for the ultimate military victory of the United States against our enemies in the great conflict of the Second World War.

(4) Appreciates the role of the WWII veteran support community like Operation Meatball and The Best Defense Foundation and many others, responsible for the ongoing care and honor of these national treasures - those last surviving warriors of all military branches who defended our freedom in the European and Pacific theatres of the Second World War.

(5) Honors the thousands of men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States who paid the ultimate sacrifice and gave their lives in defense of freedom and liberty during World War II.

Official Citation

from the Maryland General Assembly

Many thanks to Dan Cox for drafting and putting this special resolution through!!! The vets were so honored and pleased.

Operation Meatball

Honoring Veterans & Connecting Them With the Youth of Today