“Those who flew in late 1942 and early 1943 fought a very different war than those who came later”. Russell Strong-First Over Germany The story of the US 8th Air Force’s bombing campaign against Germany is one of the most well-known and researched campaigns of the Second World War. Much of this interest began with the historic 1944 documentary Memphis Belle by Hollywood director William Wyler. The plane itself has become the most iconic plane of the entire war. In the followi

Author: John Vick Captain William G. Cumbie, MD, U.S Army Medical Corps, WW II. [Photo: Dr. William G. Cumbie, Jr.] It was not long after completing medical school and internship at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, that Dr. Gary Cumbie joined the U.S. Army Medical Corps and was sworn in as a First Lieutenant on July 3, 1943. He was sent to Camp Barkeley, Texas, for training. He wrote his mother on July 4, 1943, “Please excuse the writing as I’m sitting on the side of the bed

Author: John Vick Major Lester CV. O'Neal, MD, Regimental Surgeon, WW II, KIA Italy. [Photo: Mrs. Tillie O'Neal Hamiter] Memorial Day is a day in which we honor those who gave their lives in the service of their country. Most of us have known some of the veterans of WWII, the group celebrated by Tom Brokaw as The Greatest Generation. The fallen from WW II are honored at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. Among those fallen heroes is Major Lester C. O’Neal, MD, Regi

Author: John Vick Willie Locke and Mortar Squad #8 were busy pumping round after round into the oncoming North Vietnamese assault. Willie suddenly found himself blown several yards from the bunker, disoriented and said, ‘Where did that round come from?’ About that time, one of my buddies from the mortar squad came over and said ‘Man, you’re bleeding all over!’ That’s when the Corpsman came over.” Willie James Locke, Jr. was born November, 16, 1947 to Willie Gene Locke and Dai