ACG WebOps (10 March 2007)
Welcome to WebOps, Armchair General’s weekly recon of links to military history news, articles, websites, and more. American World War I military history marked a sobering event this week with the death of Retired Army Cpl. Howard V. Ramsey, the last of the known U.S. World War I combat veterans. As always, there’s more, including the dedication of the new CPO Legacy Center. Clicks away.
News
March Field museum wants to add history to attractions – PE.com (audio, video)
The new emphasis targets children, young adults and people who’ve never served in uniform by emphasizing the stories and sacrifices of those who did. The goal is to turn the museum into an educational center for students and people who are interested in aviation, aerospace and military history.
{default}Japan to probe WWII military brothels – Yahoo! News
TOKYO – Under intense pressure from Asia and the United States, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday that ruling party lawmakers will conduct a fresh investigation into the Japanese military’s forced sexual slavery of women during World War II.
PEARL HARBOR – The USS Missouri Memorial Association has unveiled the first center dedicated to the legacy of the Chief Petty Officer (CPO). The creation of the “CPO Legacy Center†was initiated by retired U.S. Navy Chief Boatswain’s Mate Harold Estes, a WWII veteran and founding member of the association, and funded by the donations of literally hundreds of active-duty and retired Chief Petty Officers.
Articles
Barb Fuscaldo reflects love of military, recalls duty as nurse – dcmilitary.com
Barb has also been involved with the Dahlgren Officers’ Spouses’ Club, as well as other organizations, and is a great advocate for military members and retirees. But many don’t know that while Barb is part of the Navy family, she was first a young Army nurse who found herself in harm’s way in Vietnam. This is Barb Fuscaldo’s story, in her own words:
Letters reveal one man’s thoughts during WWII – The Weston Town Crier
A number of soldiers wrote long and frequent letters to their loved ones back home. In one case, a young officer wrote, on average, a letter every two-and-a-half days to his wife. All 486 of them from one soldier, written between February 1942 and October 1945, were saved, and they will be the subject of the next presentation sponsored by the Weston Military History Group, "Utah Beach to Paris: Letters Home, World War II."
Curator an example of base’s close community tie – Air Force Link
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. (AFNEWS) — With 140 years of military history at her disposal, the museum director has a lot of information to share with visitors at the Warren ICBM/Heritage Museum.
Irving man keeps alive lore of the Buffalo Soldiers – Dallas Morning News
As president of the Bear Creek Buffalo Soldiers Youth Organization, the 57-year-old Irving man spends most of his time dressing up in the period uniforms he sews himself to give kids all over North Texas a taste of the past they never knew existed.
Announcements
Authority on Modern Warfare To Give Talk on Monday – Wabash College
Wabash College invites you to hear Jeremy Black give a talk at 8 p.m. Monday, March 12, in room 101 (Lovell Lecture Room) in Baxter Hall. His talk will be on "Modern Warfare: A Military Historian’s Perspective."
April Confederate History Month events slated – The Shreveport Times
Recreations of the April 9, 1864, Battle of Pleasant Hill will be April 13-15, with camps open to the public and battles planned the last two days.
Obituaries
America’s Last Known WWI Combat Veteran Laid to Rest – Army.mil/News
Retired Army Cpl. Howard V. Ramsey, Oregon’s last living World War I veteran and the last known U.S. combat veteran of WWI, died in his sleep Feb. 22 at an assisted living center in southeast Portland. He was honored in a memorial service attended by nearly 200 people at Lincoln Memorial Park exactly one month before reaching his 109th birthday.
Billy Walkabout, decorated American Indian veteran, dies at 57 – USATODAY.com
MONTVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Billy Walkabout, a native Cherokee whose actions in Vietnam made him among most decorated soldiers of the war, died March 7 in Connecticut.
Bataan ‘Angel’ nurse Jean Schmidt dies – Yahoo! News
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif. – Jean Kennedy Schmidt, one of the nurses dubbed the "Angels of Bataan" who were held prisoner in the Philippines during World War II, has died. She was 88.
Front page image: A Confederate charge at the Battle of Pleasant Hill. From Harper’s Weekly, May 7, 1864.
WebOps is a weekly report linking to military history news and articles published in mainstream online media. Excerpts are taken exactly as they are on the noted source websites; quotation marks are not used. The hyperlinks are added by me as I can find them. Please visit the Armchair Forums to discuss the topics in WebOps and much more!
Stay Alert, Stay Alive!
Jim H. Moreno