Posts made by Raunchy The Pirate

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2587193/Secret-desert-camp-used-First-World-War-hero-Lawrence-Arabia-discovered-intact-rum-jars-campfire.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2581304/Man-known-kissing-sailor-WWII-era-image-dies.html

I like the stories from individuals:

ROBINSON CRUSOE, USN tells the story of George Tweed, who is local and is buried at ‘Eagle Point National Cemetery’

The movie is “No Man Is An Island” from 1962.

Great true stories.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2564838/The-Medal-Honor-recipient-stormed-Omaha-Beach-D-Day-dies-92.html

Now lives in Medford, OR. From Iowa initially.

When Army medic Harold Hayes climbed aboard the Army transport plane on Nov. 7, 1943, in Sicily, he anticipated landing in nearby Italy some two hours later.

They would make their way to the coast, where they met up with a British boat at midnight — 63 days after they had landed in Albania.

Instead, the four-member crew and its 26 passengers of Army nurses and medics would become lost in a massive storm encircling the heel of Italy, be forced to land near a remote lake in Nazi-held Albania, then dodge enemy troops for more than two harrowing months before being rescued.

He is the last of the 30 and this is a local story.

To me, this is another story that was never told or heard about, but did happen. To small for normal channels. This is similar to Charles Durning, who had a remarkable life but most had never heard of all that he had been through.

http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130423/NEWS/304230310

Harold Hayes, 91, of Medford is the last surviving member of a 30-member group that dodged Nazi troops after their plane was forced to land in Albania in World War II. Their story will be told in a book scheduled for release on May 7.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2308039/Survivor-Great-Escape-spared-firing-squad-Hitler-dies-aged-92.html

One of the last survivors of the Great Escape ‘who was spared from the firing squad by Hitler’ dies, aged 92
Les Brodrick was shot down in France aged 22 and sent to Stalag Luft III
Joined 75 others in escape attempt but was captured and returned to camp

His death leaves only two survivors from the Great Escape, Dick Churchill and Paul Royle.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2239241/Hero-RAF-pilot-Ken-Gatward-dropped-French-flag-Arc-Triomphe-Nazi-occupied-Paris.html

I posted this story Nov 29th.

I mentioned that this would be a perfect story for Steven S. or done in a Tarantino style.

I wish I had already bought the movie rights. If this is ever made into a movie, I would settle for a spot with the directors/producers at the world premier.

In his own words" I can’t count how many of my friends are in the cemetery at Normandy, the heroes are still there, the real heroes.

[about arriving at Omaha Beach on D-Day] It’s hard to describe what we all went through that day, but those of us who were there will understand. We were frightened all the time. My sergeant said ‘are you scared, son?’ and I said ‘yes, I am’, and he said ‘that’s good, it’s good to be scared’, he said ‘we all are’. This guy in the boat, he turned to me and he threw up all over me, and I got seasick. He was scared. You’re not thinking about anything, you’re just thinking about you hope that shell that just went off isn’t going to hit this boat. Even the guys who had seen a lot of action before, and this was my first time, they were just as ashen as I was, and I was frightened to death. I was the second man off my barge and the first and third men got killed. First guy the ramp went down, the guy fell and I tried to leap over him and I stumbled and we both slipped into the water. We were supposed to be able to walk into shore but they didn’t bring us far enough. And I was in 60 feet of water with a 60 pound pack on, so I let it all go.

[on reaching Omaha Beach after falling in the water] I came up and I didn’t have a helmet, a rifle, nothing. I hit the beach, the guys pulled me in who were already there, I’d lost everything; but they said ‘you’ll find plenty of them on the beach, rifles, helmets, that belong to nobody’. Nobody knew where we were supposed to go, there was nobody in charge, you were on your own. All around me people were being shot at, I saw bodies all over the place; but you didn’t know if they were alive or dead, they were just lying there.

[about D-Day] We got behind this tank to protect ourselves; we’re holding our own when they called us over to them. I asked the sergeant ‘you want me to go first or you go first?’ He said ‘you go first, I’ll be right behind you’. I heard an explosion, and I turned around, and his torso was here, and his body was over there

Was one of a few survivors to the infamous massacre of American POWs by German SS troops at Malmedy, Belgium, during World War II. The surrendering engineering battalion, captured behind enemy lines when the main American forces retreated, were gathered together and brought to a large field. As the German guards backed away from the prisoners, machine guns that were hidden in trucks opened fire on them. Approximately 88 US soldiers died, a good number of them by a single shot at close range through the head, indicating that those who survived the initial volley were subsequently executed. Only about 20 of the group of approximately 100 managed to escape the massacre and make their way to American lines. The incident was re-created in Battle of the Bulge (1965) starring Henry Fonda

He was one of the few to survive the Malmedy massacre and may have been the last one alive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8EkmyoG83Q&feature=plcp

Here is the link to the video mentioned in the article (where it says click here)

About 7 minutes long and at the end shows the book that was written.

True story.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2245472/Amazing-tale-WWII-pilots-encounter-German-flying-ace-saluted-American-plane-let-fly-safely-instead-shooting-down.html

I just re-read the log and I wonder if any of the 61 photos can be found?

I can also see Spielberg doing a bio-pic and using some of the original photos in the closing sequence.

Maybe I should try and buy up the movie rights and see if I can make a little bank.

This has Hollywood written all over it.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2239241/Hero-RAF-pilot-Ken-Gatward-dropped-French-flag-Arc-Triomphe-Nazi-occupied-Paris.html

I had never heard of this story before.

If this was only a Hollywood script, it seems to be in the style of Tarantino.

Very few remain:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2226940/This-ordinary-contribution-One-Americas-heroic-WW2-Navajo-Code-Talkers-dies-90.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2215992/Basil-L-Plumley-death-Legendary-American-soldier-immortalized-We-Were-Soldiers-dies-aged-92.html

Legendary American soldier who fought in World War 2, Korea and Vietnam and was immortalized in ‘We Were Soldiers’ dies aged 92

Most impressive to me:  5 combat jumps.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2210283/Solved-70-years-The-mystery-missing-Lancaster-bomber-crew.html

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/09/divers_searching_to_prove_stor.html#incart_river_default

This was the handgun he handed over duting his capture.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2192511/The-gold-plated-revolver-used-Hermann-Goering-surrender-allies-resurfaces-sale-30-000.html

From the article:

Among the prisoners were Desmond Llewelyn (pictured above), who resumed his acting career after five years in Colditz and achieved fame as Q in the James Bond films

I never this about Desmond Llewelyn, does anybody know of an autobiography about Q? 5 years in Colditz.