44 Presidents

See them, from Washington to Obama.

http://www.flixxy.com/presidents-morphing.htm

Thanks, JP.

Dad's World War II Army Reunion in Denison

Here's a good write-up from the Sherman-Denison paper, including soldier's stories.
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World War II reunion still going strong

BY K. MCSTAY

HERALD DEMOCRAT

"Thank you for letting us save the world," Sgt. Paul Gray said as he blessed the meal. Those assembled nodded and scooted closer to the table, chatting amongst themselves. These are the men who served with the 146th Engineer Combat Battalion, assigned during World War II to the 1121st Engineer Combat Group. They landed on the beaches of Normandy, participated in the Battle of the Bulge and returned to the states as heroes. On Friday evening, they came to Denison to hold their annual reunion, a time to share stories and reconnect.

"We're all around 85 years old," said Gray, the organizer of the event. Due to ill health or other complications, several of the veterans were unable to attend the event, and Gray said that this could be the last reunion for the veterans, as age and illness make traveling difficult.

Second Lieutenant Wes Ross spent his time catching up at the banquet that concluded the reunion. "We're telling stories, most of 'em true, some of them embellished," he said. Some of the banter was light-hearted reminiscences on war-time hijinks. Private First Class Lamar Keith shared tales about the right way to store spirits while on the move: not, he said, in aluminum canteens, as it'll melt the metal. "They never told us what it'd do to our stomachs," he said.

At one point while in France, Ross said, he came across a man drinking a small glass of what looked like wine. In an attempt to out-drink the man, Ross drank straight from the nearby bottle. The liquid, however, was Calvados, a French spirit distilled from apples. "I could even breathe for a few minutes," Ross said. While on a reconnaissance mission, Ross said that his team ran into a German truck. "We weren't sure what was about to happen," he said. Out of the truck, however, jumped a Russian soldier. "He ran up to me and grabbed me in a bear-hug" he said.

"The Russian soldiers loved to drink and dance," Keith remembered.

Other memories from the days in the European Theater surface as well. Two weeks prior to D-Day, Tech. 5 Gene Beleele was called in to a commanding officer's tent. "He told me they needed a supply truck driver," Beleele said. The position meant that he wouldn't be in the first wave on Normandy Beach, but would come four or five days after. "I asked, 'do I have to?'" Beleele said. "I'd rather go with them."

A friend of Beleele's took the position instead. "The minute I was out there, I was thinking: 'you crazy idiot,'" Beleele said. "Though I didn't get a scratch." Beleele said that he crawled along the beach, using blasting caps taped to his helmet and TNT carried on his back to clear underwater and beach obstacles. "You had a little more than five seconds to get away from it before it blew," he said.

After D-Day, Beleele was wounded when a mine went off. Fellow soldiers, after clearing, had piled up disabled mines. Beleele was helping to rig explosives on the mines when he heard a snap. Despite soldiers walking around the area all day, no one had touched the final mine. "It went off, but it stayed in the ground," Beleele said. The mines, after being activated, jumped off the ground and sent small metal pieces flying. This mine, however, remained where it was. "I've always felt like the good Lord held his hand on it," Beleele said.

Beleele's shoulder was wounded and both legs were broken in the incident. As a result, he was shipped first to a hospital in Germany, then sent to England. By October, Beleele was served his discharge papers. He went to Tulsa and worked all his life, he said.

Zandra Marlow and Maxine Manning both had family members in the 146th. Marlow's father, Pfc. Jay E. Hansford, and Manning's husband, Cpl. Joe Manning, were both members of the battalion. Hansford was killed in action during the D-Day assault, shortly after Zandra was born. Marlow said that her grandsons, Caleb and Benjamin Newton, found the reunion activities through the battalion's Web site. "I was excited," she said. "We finally found someone who remembered his name." The boys, she said, became interested in the family's history due to a display Zandra has honoring her father. "There's my father's flag, his purple heart and different things," she said. Despite living in Parsons, Kan., Zandra and husband Warren, along with their grandchildren, attend the reunions as often as possible.

Both Caleb and Benjamin Newton believe that their peers aren't learning about the history as they should. "I think they need to learn it," Caleb Newton said. "If you don't learn it, the history dies off," Zandra Marlow said. "There's an urgency to it."

Manning's husband passed away in March. "We only missed two reunions ... we're all one big family," she said. In addition to the camaraderie between the former members of the battalion, she said the honor paid to not only the 146th, but all veterans, is important. "I'd like to see the 146th honored for their service," she said. "I thank them for it, and all the rest of the vets."

Texoma comments ...
1 comment found!

: 10/12/2008
Wes Ross was a 1st Lieutenant, not 2nd LT.
Lenny Fox, Webmaster: www.146thecbwwii.org

Quote of the Day

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

History of the Gray Name

http://www.graycastle.com/history.html

History Lesson

This link exposes inaccuracies in a widely circulated email about life and common phrases originating in the 1500's. In the process, you will learn about the REAL origin of these items! Enjoy.

http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/1500.asp

The Great Escape Tunnel, World War II

The Tunnel that made The Great Escape possible

When graphics appear, move cursor over the number (no need
to click) to display an explanation of activity.

Make sure you take the tour. It's really something to see.

This may be one of the most amazing e-mails I've seen. The last number to 'roll over' is 16. Be sure to look and read the numbers and click 'next' to move along.

In 1943 work had begun on 'Harry', the tunnel that
allowed over 70 men to escape from the German POW camp,
'Stalag III', during World War II.
This was the same tunnel made famous by the movie 'The
Great Escape'. The URL below takes you to a site
where one of the men, after the War, drew a diagram with
explanations of each of the sections.

It's amazing how accurate the movie was, even though it
couldn't possibly include all the information involved
in this great engineering feat. Hope you find this as
interesting as I did.


http://www.kerman94.com/tunnelharry.html

Thanks, Mark.

Which Religion Will Win

Interesting story in The Atlantic about religion and the future.
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200803/secularism

I think this can be viewed without a log-in. If not, let me know.

There are other articles on religion in the March issue, but I
haven't read them yet.

Vietnam Wall Video

This is about the sacrifices made by my generation in Vietnam, a look at the Wall Memorial off the mall in Washington. One of the most moving experiences of my life was to visit the Wall in person.

The link opens a video with your default player.

http://paulw.gray.googlepages.com/TheWall.asx

Thanks to Snuffy for sharing this.

A Historic Leap - TCU Basketball in the 60's

http://www.star-telegram.com/college_sports/story/491670.html

I was there at the TCU-Texas game in Daniel Meyer Coliseum. I was a sophomore at UTA, and our dorm volleyball team was leading the intramural league, but I took a couple of guys to the basketball game and we had to forfeit that night. We still won the championship!

Fwd: 60 years after ww II- please forward

Please read the little cartoon carefully, it's powerful.  Then read the comments at the end, and please - forward it!  We cannot, we must not, ever forget what happened in Europe over 60 years ago, because it could happen again.  Anyone, any group, could be the target.  It has been said that those who refuse to study history are doomed to repeat it.  In this case, those who are attempting to rewrite history are probably planning to repeat it!  The hatred is already there, in place, taught to the children from infancy, with promises of glory and honor to those who carry out the plans. Forewarned is forearmed, and I'm doing my small part by forwarding this message.   I hope you'll do the same.

In Memoriam

 

 

It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended..  This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated with the German and Russia peoples looking the other way!

Paul's Phones - Home:  972.423.7949  Cell:  972.841.5755  Fax:  253.550.8342

Military Pictures Slideshows

Here are a couple of great slide shows of military pictures. Thanks to Lenny and Bruce for these posts.

Both use PowerPoint Viewer software.

http://paulw.gray.googlepages.com/100greatestmilitaryphotographs.pps

http://paulw.gray.googlepages.com/awesomeslideshow.pps

Obituary of Sam Houston

http://www.texasbob.com/texdoc10.html

These are Our Credentials

Thanks to Snuffy for this post.
------------------------------
This is a tribute to the US fighting men.

Opens with Powerpoint Viewer or Powerpoint.

http://paulw.gray.googlepages.com/Credentials.pps

After the motorcade

With the Kennedy assassination anniversary looming on November 22nd, here is a first-person account.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/points/stories/DN-sanderson_18edi.ART.State.Edition1.371fa5a.html