A Few of FR's Finest..Every Day..02-6,7-07..WW2: The War, The Era, The Monument, The FReeper Vets

February 6, 2007 | Dolly Howard

[DollyCali]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Dutchess, DollyCali, GodBlessUSA, Aquamarine~

World War II (abbreviated WWII), or the Second World War, was a worldwide conflict fought between the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers, from 1939 until 1945. Armed forces from over seventy nations engaged in aerial, naval, and ground-based combat. Spanning much of the globe, World War II resulted in the deaths of over sixty million people, making it the deadliest conflict in human history. The war ended with an Allied victory .

Names & words like Adolf Hitler,Nagasaki, Normandy, the Holocaust, Pearl Harbor, Nazi, Adolph Eichmann, Rudolf Hess Auchwitz, , Iwa Jima, Atomic Bomb all bring sharp memories and often tears to those who lived through the time & bring images of a sad history for those of us who followed. .

Some 63 million people, or 3% of the world population, died in the war (though estimates vary): about 24 million soldiers and 38 million civilians. This total includes the estimated 9 million lives lost in the Holocaust. Of the total deaths in World War II, approximately 80% were on the Allied side and 20% on the Axis side.

Allied forces suffered approximately 17 million military deaths, of which about 11 million were Soviet and 3 million Chinese. Axis forces suffered about 8 million, of which more than 5 million were German. In total, of the military deaths in World War II, approximately 44% were Soviet soldiers, 22% were German, 12% were Chinese, 8% were Japanese, 9% were soldiers of other Allied forces, and 5% were other Axis country soldiers. Some modern estimates double the number of Chinese casualties originally stated. Of the civilian deaths, approximately 90% were Allied (nearly a third of all civilians killed were Soviet citizens, and more than 15% of all civilians killed in the war died in German extermination camps) and 10% were Axis.

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Many civilians died as a result of disease, starvation, massacres, genocide--in particular, the Holocaust--and aerial bombing. One estimate is that 12 million civilians died in Holocaust camps, 1.5 million by bombs, 7 million in Europe from other causes, and 7.5 million in China from other causes.[7] Allied civilian deaths totaled roughly 38 million, including 11.7 million in the Soviet Union, 7 million in China and 5.2 million from Poland. There were around 3 million civilian deaths on the Axis side, including 2 million in Germany and 0.6 million in Japan. The Holocaust refers to the organized state-sponsored murder of 6 million Jews, 1.8-1.9 million non-Jewish Poles, 200,000-800,000 Roma people, 200,000-300,000 people with disabilities, and other groups carried out by the Nazis during the war.

The Soviet Union suffered by far the largest death toll of any nation in the war, over 23 million. The Holocaust was the organized murder of an estimated nine million people, including approximately six million Jews. Originally, the Nazis used killing squads known as Einsatzgruppen to conduct massive open-air killings, shooting as many as 33,000 people in a single massacre, as in the case of Babi Yar. By 1942, the Nazi leadership decided to implement the Final Solution, or Endlösung, the genocide of all Jews in Europe, and to increase the pace of the Holocaust. The Nazis built six extermination camps specifically to kill Jews. Millions of Jews who had been confined to massively overcrowded ghettos were transported to these "Death-camps", in which they were either slaughtered on arrival or put to work until the Nazis could find no more use for them, at which point they were put to death by shooting or mass poisoning in gas chambers. .

In a short presentation such as this no attempt will be made to do a depth study of this war but rather to provide some links for those with an interest to know more.

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WW2 time line

WW 2 Europe

WW2 Pacific Timeline

Eyewitness to History WW2

Pacific Naval Battles

Wikipedia – WW2

Mini Biographies of Military & Political Leaders

Best of History Websites

Voices of WW2

The magnificent World War II Memorial Official Site was dedicated on May 29th of 2004, but this wonderful memorial cannot be shared with most WW II Veterans here in Ohio or elsewhere. They are now in their 80s to 90s.

The majority are on limited, fixed incomes, lack help. A twelve-hour bus ride is not an option for these heroes.

According to Veterans Affairs statistics, about 1,200 WW II Veterans die each and every day. The overwhelming majority of them will pass away without ever having an opportunity to visit the memorial they have waited over 60 years to see. We are changing that.

FReeper Warrior Queen works with the Cleveland USO & volunteers now with a remarkable group. Here are some of her comments…. We now fly WW II Veterans, one Saturday a month, in large commercial aircraft to the Washington, DC area. The program is called Honor Flight and the purpose is to fly America’s elderly veterans to visit the memorials dedicated to recognize their service and the sacrifices of their friends.

We are a federal nonprofit (501c3) organization. We are doing everything we can to make this activity FREE for the veterans. Sadly, Honor Flight does not receive any corporate or government sponsorship. We are asking for donations to cover airfare, tour bus services, food, tee shirts, scooter/wheelchair rental, oxygen and operational costs. We’re hoping that, by getting the word out, public support will continue to grow.

The more support we receive, the more veterans finally get to visit their memorial. Over the past two years, we have transported a total of 463 members of “the Greatest Generation.” We are now joined by other programs in North Carolina, Utah, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Illinois. Next year, our combined goal is to fly over 5000 WW II Veterans.

We conduct regular operations out of Dayton and Columbus. We plan to expand to Cleveland in 2007. Round trip, same day flights from Cleveland into Baltimore Washington International (BWI) would cost about $120.00 per seat. We then handle ALL the ground operations/logics from BWI, around Washington DC and back to the airport. We provide a deluxe motor coach, meals, tee shirts, name tags, motorized scooters, oxygen, etc. Our cost is about $50.00 per person.

It is our hope that we will pick up the cost of all ground expenses so that organizations from around the country pay only for their airfare. The cost will be about $120.00 a piece< to make the dreams of hundreds of WWII Veterans from Cleveland come true. Our policy is that the WWII Veterans don't pay a penny. . We will be serving as the "parent" organization to similar programs across the country. Recently we had about 20 people from across the nation that want to learn about how to proceed with an Honor Flight, HonorAir, Hero Flight, etc. program.

An office is opened that is staffed with volunteers to answer the phone, a national toll free number (1 888 FLY-VETS) and a national web site (presently under revision) www.HonorFlight.org. .

Time is NOT on our side. Since early January 2005, thirty-seven World War II veterans on our waiting list have passed away without visiting their memorial. In another 3 to 7 years, almost all WW II Veterans will be gone.

We remain committed to do everything we can to help those surviving veterans view their precious memorial. They are ordinary men and women who collectively and literally saved America and the
world.

If you would like more information or would like to help, please visit our web site at www.HonorFlight.org, email me at HonorFlight@aol.com
or call (937) 864-7261.

Erwin (Earl) Morse, Captain, USAF Retired
Founder of Honor Flight, Inc.
P.O. Box 214
Enon, OH 45323
Phone: 937 864-7261

More Honor Flight Information

Submitted by FReeper Bev ..the Bev in Bevlar; wife of Larry.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1012827/posts He is also registered at: http://www.wwiimemorial.com. The above site is where Freepers paid tribute to him. I cherish this website!!!

Lawrence Fredrick Zacker was born in Carroll Iowa November 4, 1915. He was 26 years old, married with children on December 7, 1941. The ARMY, NAVY AND MARINES wouldn't take him because he had very flat feet. He quit his job as Used Car Manager at a Los Angeles car dealership and went to work at Northrop building the P-61 Black Widow planes. He was doing his part for the war effort but felt he needed to participate as a soldier/sailor. In the summer of 1942, the United States Merchant Marines took him - flat feet and all after he begged the examining doctor to pass him.

He served in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters during the war years and was "bosun" on a ship off the coast of Normandy June 6, 1994. His service to his country did not go unnoticed and at the end of the war, he was contacted by the US Navy and given the opportunity to enter the Navy as an Ensign. He declined and returned to civilian life but often regretted his decision. He was a true flag waving patriot!!

After returning to civilian life, Larry became a Realtor and lived in Sana Diego for many years. In 1973, he retired and we moved to the mountains of N CA to the little town of Fall River Mills. We received an offer we couldn't refuse - Columbia Helicopters needed a watchman and we would be paid while we literally vacationed in our motor home. All we had to do was look after the helicopter during the evening hours. We traveled with Columbia for 4 years and had the time of our lives. In 1979, we decided to settle down once and for all. We bought a small acreage on the river - just a mile from the ocean on the beautiful north coast of Oregon.

In 1994, he received a special invitation, including a seating badge, to attend the 50 year remembrance of the Normandy invasion. He refused to attend because the draft dodging Bill Clinton was going to be there to strut around.

Larry will always be my hero because I knew his heart. I was Blessed to be his wife. He served his country with pride and honor. Larry died 10/31/03.

MY WAR
by William Barrows

Submitted by FReeper Wheelbarrow. A short excerpt presented here from the essay

FOUND HERE

"…..we pulled into what I thought was Liverpool (but later documents said it was Grenock, Scotland). En route we fought off and sank a German submarine that Hitler had boasted sank us, so when a British search plane came out to find us (or the remains) it was a jubilant dockside welcome that greeted us on arrival.

In England our troop train took us to a camp near North-witch for about a week, then again we were put on a train and taken to Southampton and loaded on assault ships to take us to Utah Beach in France where, like the guys who took the beach head, we had to climb the cliffs to get to the trucks that would take us to the combat area.

In France we traveled on mostly country roads (the German Air Force was still something to worry about, and there was a big German submarine post back behind at St. Nazzaire). We bypassed Paris and eventually wound up near Nancy (the last city of any size we’d encounter), the HQ. of General Patton’s Third Army and my 26th Division. Soon after to the east we were dropped from the trucks and began the march to the “front lines” some 20 miles away….."

1-09-07 ~ Hall of Fame #18

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 2-05-07 Military Monday

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' Every Thursday at the Finest The guy's good, folks!

[ex-snook]

Thanks much Dolly for this site. Your skill is exceeded only by your concern for this period in our history. I would like to save it but don't know how. There was so much I would like to visit again and again. Regards,

[SevenofNine]

What did I learn about Patten he is so easily photoshop on FR RIGHT NOW

I think in those days Women were women and men were men

[DollyCali]

do you mean the movie Patton? or are you referring to something else?

I haven't seen any Patton photoshopping recently.. If you have some, please either post the graphic or link to thread okay?

[Redleg Duke]

Thanks, Dolly. What a powerful message!

[Billie]

Good morning, Dolly. I can see the work and the love you put into this thread, and it's most deservedly a 2 day offering! You do an outstanding job with your research and collages, and I love the personal FReeper WWII vets tribute/stories! Thank you so much for honoring our WWII vets, and to Bevlar's late husband and to wheelbarrow, thank YOU for your service!

[DollyCali]

Hi you are welcome ex-snook. thank you for your service in WW2. I have your "material" to post a bit later & will ping you.

I am waiting (I think it is in vain) for a couple others to get me there material

By saving..well, you can BOOKMARK at FR this thread but selecting the "button" right before the first post..there is a narrow bar with two choices (abuse & bookmark)

If you save it there is will go on your profile page under LINKS. At your profile page across the top are a few selections, LInks, are the threads you wanted to save & be able to reference easily.

You can also save the thread in Either Internet Explorer or in Mozilla Firefox by hitting favorites.

As far as saving individual things.. I guess saving pix is right click on pix & select save photo etc & make sure you see where your computer is putting it.

Material saved the good old copy/paste method .. I am good at that!!!!

I dont know your computer skills so it is hard to help but if you have specific questions, do post them. When I am gone later, others can help you (pinging those who I know are around & might helpP=)

[Lady Jag]

Boogie woogie lab puppies

[Billie]

You note all the separate tables? It is not my MO (not intentionally at least). I did again try for the mega border layers (ala Billie).. the sub topics nested within the "mother table" if you will..

Each time I try that it is a mega mess of tables/colors as the formatting fails. You who post these big threads with multi tables KNOW what I mean.I go thru & look for a stray Blockquote, center, td, whatever & then get resigned to just make more "mini" ones.

Now, see, you shouldn't have mentioned you didn't INTEND to have all the separate tables! They worked, Dolly, but I do have to say the last one with the bordered tables inside the main table was really the prettiest one to me!

May I say also, that one thing (in looking at your source code because sometimes the tables do get a little wide), if you use a blockquote for your paragraphs, and you don't turn it off before posting the graphics, and your graphics are as wide as your main table is specified, then that graphic is going to stretch the whole table to accommodate the width of the graphic plus the blockquoted indentions on each side. Does that make sense? :)

[La Enchiladita]

Thanks for the Boogie Woogie Bow Wows, Lady Jag. I'm really "In the Mood" for all this WWII era stuff today.

And ... how are YOU doing...?

:)

[lysie]

Excellent....*sniff** Wow!

[DollyCali]

WW2 Vet / FReepers

Ex – Snook – UsArmy – European Theater

Invictus – Infantry WW2 & Chaplain Korean

Texican

Tommix2 – USN - USS Ticonderoga

Wheelbarrow – US Army Air Corps – European Theater

Michael A. Marhevka (RIP) US AirForce

Bevlar (RIP)– US Merchant Marines

EdLinn (RIP)



Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

Christina Rossetti

Ex – Snook

I received 17 weeks of combat infantry training in Texas learning to walk and to shoot everything that could be carried The Army would not send you over as an infantry replacement until you were 19 although you could go over at 18 with a unit. I was still 18 and was assigned to Company A, 232nd Regiment of the 42nd Rainbow Division.

Only the three Regiments went to France in December 1944 as an Infantry Task Force without the full Division. . We were the last American unit on the front next to the French. As new Infantry we were assigned to guard the quiet Rhine North of Strasbourg. The quiet didn’t last long, the Bulge started. The Nazis came across the Rhine. They had white painted tanks. The Nazis called this operation Norwind and was run by Himmler with objectives to retake Strasbourg and circle around our forces advancing toward Bastogne. It was the final Nazi offensive. My assignment was to a Regimental forward command post answering phones from the front and plotting our troop and enemy locations on a map. We took a beating. Our Regimental Exec was captured during a counter attack.

We withdrew until the full Division arrived. I had an R&R in Paris. There I got two tickets to the Follies Bergere where I saw the topless version of the Rockettes. Life went on in gay Paree.

After that we advanced. I crossed the Rhine in a field hospital with pneumonia from wintering in the ground. Once in Germany it was pretty easy. I was on a special task force to take all the records in the Germany factories in Schweinfurt. I was here when Roosevelt died. We had a memorial service in the streets.

From there it was to Bavaria. Some units went to Dachau. Mine went to Munich where I was when Hitler killed himself. Finally to the Austrian border where we sat until Stalin took Vienna. We could have beaten them to Vienna because the Nazis gave up fighting us and were concentrating on the Russians. They apparently thought that whoever conquered the land would occupy it but political arrangements were otherwise.

Although the war in Europe was over, it was not over for us. We were still on the alert for Pacific duty until thankfully, for us, Truman ended it. Then occupation in Austria until May 1946. Of interest, in spite of what is spoken here by people who were not there, we had no one killed by Nazis, Werewolf or otherwise. We had overwhelming force to completely defeat, occupy and control the enemy. Guys had more trouble with the Russians.

Then home, five years of night college under the GI Bill. Married, seven children, 19 grandchildren. Health problems, yes, but I’m in good shape for the shape I’m in.

Jim Robinson has a great site to exchange ideas and people like you make it even better.

Regards,
Ex-Snook

[La Enchiladita]

GeeBee, you'll be happy to know it is foggy and drizzling here today...so our little 3 days of summer are over.

;^)

[Wheelbarrow]

Notwithstanding I am featured in it, this report is one of the most complete synopsis of WWII I have ever seen. There have been a lot of books and articles written over the years but this tells it all as it was...I know; I was there! The items about us who fought, the background to the War itself and the corollary items on how it affected the civilians back home represent, to me, a monumental effort.
YOU ARE TO BE CONGRATULATED AND APPLAUDED!

[DollyCali]

DollyCali’s Dad
MM Michael Grlicky, USN

Raised as one of 7 children to immigrant farming parents from Czechoslovakia, Mike was born in Michigan & later relocated with his family to NE Ohio. Public Schools & technical training at East Tech in Cleveland helped him with skills that would be used in the military & in his early jobs following college graduation

He met wife Eleanor at Martin Luther Lutheran Church & they were married shortly before the US was attacked at Pearl Harbor. Mike joined his other 4 brothers in signing up when the nation was attacked. The other 4 joined Army but Mike loving the water, chose Navy

He used his mechanical skills learned at East Tech to become a Machinist Mate. He envisioned lots of travel on ships. But the curse of all naval guys was his.. SHORE DUTY. He was stationed in Pacific theater in Okinawa & This was a “boring” land assignment to dad as he was in charge of setting up & maintaining the water purification on the island for the troops. He didn’t speak much about his war time but did recall LONG days & nights on Okinawa playing cards with his shipmates.

Following the war he used the GI Bill to go to Chiropractic College (a new field) in Davenport Iowa. He trained under BJ Palmer - the father of Chiropractic. Those early years found students invited to BJ’s home & learning the skills from the Master.

Back in Ohio following graduation & further studies at Logan Basic in St. Louis presented a dilemma.. Begin a practice & have the financial drawbacks that went with it or use his mechanical skills in industry & make the comfortable living.

Mom’s 10 votes to dads one vote had Industry(money) over Chiropractic(drought). As fate would have it, years later he was in middle management and the company was overtaken by a mega-buyout & he was “downsized”…

The devastation of this job and income loss was huge. The silver lining is that he was able to NOW later in life, do what he wanted to do his WHOLE life & he began his chiropractic practice.

He died of heart failure at age 74 & at his funeral My brother & I were thrilled and touched by the number of patients who came through & told us how much he meant to them & how often he treated them if they couldn’t pay. And this was the norm, not the rarity. He felt it was his duty to help/cure the infirm.. not get rich off of them.

He was an active man his entire life. He bicycled, walked, golfed, and was an avid card player. He was very involved as a Mason with the Twinsburg Lodge & along with my Mom in Eastern Star. He became Worthy Master & attained the 32nd degree

He was a fun father & played with us and taught us much regarding life. My love & excitement regarding the outdoors I attribute to the hours we would tromp around the woods & have berry picking outings or go to a nice lake & swim & enjoy the sun & nature in general.

He was a devoted & involved father to both my brother and my self. As a teen I could NOT even get a temporary permit to drive until I could change the oil of the car, change a tire & learn to check fluids & FILL THEM, I attribute my math skills to the hours he spent with me playing cards. He was the faithful dad when I did my dance lessons over the years. Mom never drove & if I couldn’t get there via bus, Dad would drive. In Sunday school we had “memory ladders”. Dad spent hours each week for MANY years learning them all with me. He always learned them faster. He had a wonderful mind & great sense of humor. He would amuse my friends when we would go on family outings as he was the only dad in the water & did fancy dives & flips off the board. The other dads were drinking beer with their buddies (my dad caught up on that later in day however).

His two times of "not so happy with Dolly" came when at 16 I sneaked out with the car one evening & got in accident. The second is at my wedding I chose White tie/tails for the attire for the men. He said he felt like a penguin. (but he looked very handsome). He was very proud when I joined the Navy following college & proud also of my brother's decision to join the Air Force. He was a wonderful grandpa & in his later years loved his "pup" Pierre, a Pomeranian, that he called - PeePee Fox.

He served his country, his church and his family with devotion & honor. Each Memorial Day I proudly go & “decorate” his grave & thank God for men such as him who have been the backbone & examples of decency in our great country.

[DollyCali]

Thank you Bill.. The historians would NO DOUBT strongly dispute the claim of "most complete etc"..

lol

you, my friend, are the one to be congratulated. We all thank you for your service to our wonderful country-

[lysie]

Lovely. ((Dolly))

[DollyCali]

Thanks Lysie.. I have to hustle to get to bible study & a dog walk first. The pups are bouncing off the walls..

was your dad ww2?

If so, please write about him & share any pix you have

[Diver Dave]

Last Friday on our weekly grocery shopping trip, I noticed a gentleman wearing a "World War II Veteran" baseball cap.

I set aside my normal timid self and approached him to extend a word of "Thanks for serving our great country". I also noticed a globe and anchor gold pin attached to the hat, so the words that came out were, "Thank you for serving our great country, Marine."

I received a warm smile and thank you from him. Found out that he served on Iwo Jima among other south sea islands. He reflected that Iwo Jima was "Bad - real Bad!" but he was grateful for the Navy Corpsmen who were there as well.

I was wearing my USS PIEDMONT hat and told him it was a Destroyer Tender. He then shared about his times spent aboard Navy vessels and how great the Squids treated the Marines. Literally gave them the shirts off their backs when a change of clothes was needed and the mess cooks gave em whatever they wanted to eat.

I'll be looking for him at future shopping trips and will extend a greeting each time I see him along with any others who may cross my path.

[DollyCali]

Awe Dave, that is wonderful.. there are not too many left.

I recall out of College going to parades etc & there were just a few of the WW1 patriots left.

Now 40 years later it is the same with the WW2 folks.

[lysie]

Yes ,as well as, his 3 older brothers.

Greg's dad and his uncles , too.

In fact, Greg's dad was walking along a street in France and out of the blue...who did he see?? His brother, Tony. I bet there was mega celebration that night.