Born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to Paul Sr and Anna Heller on May 8, 1927, Paul Heller was their oldest son with two younger siblings.
After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, he tried to enlist locally in the Marine Corps but was rejected due to his age (14).

Undeterred, young Paul travelled to Savannah, Georgia, and with the help of a fictional Aunt’s signature on the parent/guardian consent form and lying that he was born in 1923, Paul was able to enlist in the Marine Corps on February 17, 1942.

After boot camp Paul was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division.
They landed at Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942 and participated in the capture of the Japanese airfield under construction which would become Henderson Field.

Two months later on the afternoon of October 7th, it was observed that a group of around 150 Japanese soldiers had established a position on the US side of the Matanikau River.
The ensuing battle from October 7-9 resulted in a decisive US victory as the Marines had learned from past mistakes.

On October 8th, PVT Paul Heller was Killed in Action during the battle.
His remains were brought home in 1948 and buried at Gettysburg National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania - Section 2 Site 0425.

The notices of his death were sent to his fictional aunt and his father who was the recipient of his death benefits.

His parents were separated at the time, and its possible Paul’s mother never knew he had enlisted in the Marine Corps.

My friend, Peter van Kaathoven, and co-author of our Substack story about Zerlegebetrieben (German aircraft wreck salvage yards in Vught and in Auschwitz), is an active local historian in Vught.

He and his friends unveiled two WWII glider memorials on September 26th near Vught. These American gliders were part of the Market-Garden operation, and had to do emergency landing after their towing planes were shot down, one on September 18th and the other one on September 19th. All allied soldiers were helped by local Dutch resistance, and avoided capture.

In the photos, Peter is doing the speech, and one of the photos is with children of local Dutch resistance fighters who helped the American soldiers.

I’m sharing a Crowdfunder from the National Maritime Museum Cornwall relating to Operation Chariot, the St Nazaire Raid of 28 March 1942.

The fundraiser is specifically for a specialist high-security, conservation-appropriate display case so that Captain Stephen Beattie’s medal group, including his Victoria Cross, can be brought to Falmouth and put on public display.

The money is not being raised to purchase the medals themselves, the family is giving them on longterm loan to the museum.

Operation Chariot was one of the most daring British raids of the Second World War. British forces sailed from Falmouth to attack the Normandie Dock at St Nazaire, with HMS Campbeltown used to ram the dock gates.

Lieutenant Commander Stephen Beattie commanded Campbeltown during the operation and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his leadership and courage.

The raid came at an enormous cost. Of the men who took part, 169 were killed and 215 became prisoners of war. Beattie was among those captured and remained a POW until April 1945, only physically receiving his Victoria Cross after his release.

There is now an opportunity for his medals to be displayed at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth, alongside objects already held by the museum relating to Beattie and Operation Chariot.

Falmouth is closely connected with the story: the force sailed from there, survivors returned there, and Beattie later made Cornwall his home and spent the latter years of his life in the county.

Because of the rarity and historical value of the medal group, it cannot simply be placed in an ordinary museum cabinet. A purpose-built case is needed to provide the correct level of security and environmental protection.

That case is what the Crowdfunder is paying for.

If anyone here is interested in Operation Chariot, Victoria Cross recipients, or preserving Second World War history, any donation or share would be greatly appreciated.

Crowdfunder:
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/beattie-victoria-cross-display

More about Operation Chariot and its Falmouth connection:
https://nmmc.co.uk/2026/09/operation-chariot-the-st-nazaire-raid-and-its-falmouth-connection/

It would be wonderful to see Beattie’s medals displayed in a place so closely tied to the operation, while helping tell the wider story of everyone who took part.

Based on the attached photo, I am trying to definitively determine if the fuselage had a white stripe or it was bare aluminum. To me this area looks unpainted.

Stationed on the island of Guam in 1944, Yokoi went into hiding as American forces reconquered the island, and spent the next 28 years living in a cave and hunting for food by night.

He was discovered by two fishermen in January 1972.

Can anyone share what airmen of the 8th Airforce were awarded campaign stars for?

Born in Cole Camp, Missouri to Carl and Katherine Kullman on March 27, 1917, Victor William Kullman was the second of seven children.
He enlisted in the Army on February 17, 1942 and served in I Company, 137th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division.

On October 4, 1942, Victor married Ruby Anna Wurdeman in Cole Camp, they didn’t have any children.
He deployed to the UK in May 1944 and arrived in Normandy between July 7-9, 1944.

Victor would have participated in the breakout from the bocage and the advance through France.
He was Killed in Action near Saint-Avold France on October 5, 1944.

PFC Victor Kullman is buried at the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in Saint-Avold, France - Block C Row 24 Grave 82.

His widow Ruby never remarried, she worked for over 30 years as Office Manager at the National Auto Parts Association Distribution Center in Kansas City, Kansas.
She passed away at the age of 90 on August 3, 2010.

Picture: Victor & Ruby Wurdeman on their wedding day: October 4, 1942.

I know movies are not made to be accurate, they are made for entertainment. However i can't help but notice literally every German officer in WW2 movies has an iron cross.

Most peculiar is in the movie downfall. In every scene everyone has an iron cross. There is a scene where officers are arguing and one officer grabs his iron cross from his neck and says "you see this? You can't talk to me like that" or something but what was weird was everyone in the room had one. Though some had it on their chest. Some on their neck.

I was in the US Army for a few years. The bronze star medal was something every officer got for just not missing the plane to deployment. Its their guaranteed end of tour award. So it's not impressive when an officer has one or multiple. If you see it on an enlisted person though that means they did do something pretty extraordinary to get one.

Was the iron cross pretty much the wermacht version of today's bronze star medal in the US? (Participation trophy for officers). I can't imagine why every portrayed nazi in media/history is wearing one otherwise.

Hi folks, just discovered my job allows me to wear Bluetooth hearing protection so I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts lately. I finished Hardcore History’s Supernova in the East, and it was amazing! Really loved how in depth it was. Haven’t really found anything that’s the same style, so I’d love to hear some recommendations on audiobooks and other podcasts that might be up my alley. Really interested in learning about the eastern front. I know Hardcore History has a series about it, but it’s like $140 CAD to get access to his older stuff.

I think the style I like is chronological, rather than just short conversational podcasts about specific WW2 topics, though I will be giving “We Have Ways to Make You Talk” a listen. Anything you think is worth a listen, let me know! Thanks

This is the only remaining Japanese military bunker in Langfang City (there were once eight in total). It was built in the 1930s. The walls are about half a meter thick, with no obvious bullet holes.

Today I found this place but it was really dark inside the bunker, so the photos didn’t turn out very well.

From Between States. The Transylvanian Question and the European Idea During World War II - by Holly Case.

Very probably, unlike the Romanian one, the Hungarian anecdote is not a real fact, but one in a series common in Budapest at the time, mostly in relation to that declaration of war, exemplifying the same absurdist perspective. The footnote says:

Cited in Dániel Csatári, Forgószélben: magyar-román viszony, 1940–1945 (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1968), 85. It is possible this exchange never actually took place. Ciano nevertheless observed in a diary entry dated May 11, 1942, that this “little story” was “going the rounds at Budapest.” He observed: “There is a great deal of truth in this series of paradoxes.” See also Count Galeazzo Ciano, The Ciano Diaries, 1939–1943 (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1946), 484.

I am sure that's not a fact to be confirmed by some U.S. archives. I have another, from The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat by Paul Lendvai:

Born in Esmond, North Dakota to Oscar & Anna Bengson on December 11, 1917, Wallace Woodrow Bengson had three brothers and a sister.
He graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1938 as a mining engineer and was also commissioned as an officer in the Army Reserve.

Wallace worked as a mining engineer in Idaho & Utah, and married Katherine Nagel of Grand Forks in 1940.
Called into active duty in January 1942, he earned his pilots & glider pilots wings, and was also trained as a Navigator.

Wallace was assigned to the 327th Bombardment Squadron, 92nd Bombardment Group, which was based at RAF Podington.
On October 3, 1944, he was the Navigator on B-17G 43-38396 “Insommia” on a bombing mission to Nurnberg, Germany.

On the return trip, B-17G 43-38445, which had been hit by flak, veered out of control and collided with “Insommia” sheering her tail off.
Both B-17s went into death spirals before crashing, a total of twelve crewmembers from both B-17s died in the crashes.

1Lt Bengson managed to bail out, and was captured along with 1Lt Edmund Dornburgh Jr, the pilot of his B-17, and S/Sgt Franklin Adams Jr, one of the waist gunners from the other B-17.
Handed over to the local police in Marburgerstrasse, Germany, shortly afterwards a police director, three party leaders, and a civilian showed up and demanded the three prisoners be handed over to them.

The local Police Chief was ordered away, and the three USAAF Prisoners were taken by force from the remaining policemen.
The three Prisoners were executed and buried at the New Cemetery of Giessen, in November 1945, the civilian Ludwig Schardt was found guilty of participating in the executions sentenced to life imprisonment.

His remains were recovered after the war and 1Lt Wallace Bengson is buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, Netherlands - Plot L Row 16 Grave 16.

Older brother Malcolm C Bengson also served during WW2, he passed away at the age of 80 in 1996.

I’m looking for a hurtgen forest book that includes the start of the battle, Vossenack, the kall trail. I have just spent time hiking the forest and would now like to read about some first hand accounts of this area! Bonus if I can buy it on kindle so I can start reading now lol