Bill Shea's WWII Memorabilia Blog RSS

“Tinnies” is a generic collector term for many different types of small pin-on badges that proliferated during the Third Reich. Small pins with various designs were made for members of various Nazi organizations, and were also made to commemorate events of all kinds, from Nazi Party rallies to sports races and trade conventions. Tinnies were also made to commemorate various special dates and anniversaries, holidays, and political days such as elections. Some tinnies were given to all participants of an event, while others were sold to raise money for a cause or for an organization. The Winterhilfswerk (Winter Help Organization)...

Winding down in Peleliu and the long venture home... Tuesday, March 28 Day Two in Peleliu….The day began with a tour of the temporary museum. The artifacts, ordnance, rifles, maps, mannequins (with mostly reproduction items) and photos are OK but need a home. The original location was a massive blockhouse that US forces did their best to destroy and has lots of ordnance hanging around. We were told day two would be quite strenuous including treacherous steep climbing to cover a significant portion of the Umurbrogol Ridge better known to US Army and Marine troops as "Bloody Nose Ridge."  He was not kidding...

The end is near... Monday, March 27th...We left Guam at 11:45 PM (Ugh) for a two hour flight to Koror (Palau) for our next destination which was the island of Peleliu. To best understand what you are going to read and see in this next lengthy episode, you would be well prepared if you saw the HBO series The Pacific and/or read the book With the Old Breed by Eugene Sledge.  Peleliu is approximately six miles long and two miles wide. Its current population is around 500; however, in 1944, that population swelled to over 40,000 between US Marine and Army units and the Japanese...

A day of R&R...not for us! You rest you rust! Sunday, March 26th...It was supposed to be a day of R&R which is what the group did. However, my dear friend Don C, who I have known and mentored for over 45 years, wanted to rent a car and see some of the many places on Guam that our tour group did not visit.  Don is a retired FBI agent and has been to Guam on at least two prior occasions. We visited the huge Piti gun site... and other bunker and gun emplacements overlooking the invasion beaches.  It was a low key...

Bill's final landing on Iwo Jima... Saturday, March 25th...MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! It all began with “rise and shine" at 4 a.m. We arrived at the airport around 6:30 a.m. for a 9 a.m. flight but two of my dear travel companions, Dusta and Scott, had access to the United Airlines lounge so the wait was tolerable.  There were around 400 people going to Iwo on three planes. It's the biggest group that's ever traveled to Iwo for these reunions. A lot of this has to do with the three-year hiatus due to the island being shut down by covid.  The Japanese only allow...