Ila Cole, Navy WAVE, San Francisco I was a Specialist V, 2nd Class, Transport Airman, stationed in San Francisco in 1945. Essentially, I was an airline stewardess. We flew C-54 Skymasters (except in the Navy, we called them R-5Ds) between Moffett Field, California and Honolulu. Sometimes, we flew the Martin Mars aircraft, which was
Hirohito, Emperor Shōwa, 1935. (Public Domain) By Todd DePastino The Atomic Bomb that destroyed Hiroshima effectively ended the Pacific War. Japan’s perfidy at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, was fully repaid with the nuclear strike on August 6, 1945. Because of the Bomb, Japan’s surrender was inevitable. That’s the history most
Vietnam veteran Bill Kapito passed along the letter below written by his uncle Pfc. William Silberman, who was killed in Italy on April 12, 1945. Silberman was a member of C Company, 168th Regiment, 34th Division, a unit that saw 517 days in combat in World War II. He had joined the unit in
Written by Todd DePastino WWII Royal Air Force Veteran and VBC Member Joan Gill just turned 103 years old on June 14! Joan was born in 1922 in Chatham, England, just 30 miles southeast of London and within earshot of the Royal Naval Dockyards. By the time the Battle of Britain raged overhead in
The Veterans Breakfast Club remembers with honor and gratitude Julian Moses, who passed away on May 31, 2025, at the age of 100. A Navy veteran of World War II, Julian served aboard the USS Bushnell (AS-15), a submarine tender that operated in the Pacific Theater in support of America’s “Silent Service.” Born in
Can military records heal family wounds? In this emotional episode of the Veterans Breakfast Club series, historian and professional military records researcher Beth Reuschel of Reuschel Research shares the remarkable story of helping a client, John Myers, uncover the hidden wartime heroism of his estranged father, WWII veteran Sgt. Ervin Myers. John grew up
