John S. Williams

. . Army Captain John S. Williams of Ridgway, Pennsylvania served as a medical doctor with the 104th Medical Battalion of the 29th Division.  Shortly after his daughter Ann was born, he was killed in Normandy in 1944 when his Jeep struck a mine as it rushed to the wounded on

Bob Williams

. . Bob landed at Parris Island at a hard time for the Marines.  The Corps was so short of manpower that the teenage Bob soon became a drill instructor, barking orders at recruits a dozen years older than he.By 1944, Bob had transferred to the new 24th Marine Regiment,

Tom Wiley

. . Tom Wiley flew over 50 missions as a B-17 pilot in the 15th Air Force in Italy during World War II.  He never wanted to be a pilot.  He wanted to be a Marine, like his WWI veteran father.  But, as an ROTC cadet at Ohio State, he was

Rege Wessell

. . Regis Wessell of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania wanted to be a marine, like his uncle who served in WWI, but the recruiter didn’t think the young lad had the right stuff.  “Go join the Boy Scouts,” the gruff Sgt. barked, belittling Regis for his small stature.  Besides, he was only seventeen.

Ed Wenger

. . The scenery was stunning, but the land below was so desolate that their aerial maps were often blank.  For the men transporting supplies and troops from India into the heart of China’s high plateau region, the trip was as dangerous as any combat mission of WW II.  Even without

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