Bill Shea's WWII Memorabilia Blog RSS

Prepping for Iwo Jima... Friday, March 24th....We received a comprehensive symposium and some strict regulations regarding the rules set down by the Japanese authorities regarding travel to Iwo. There is a ceremony, and all males must wear a sport jacket, tie and dress shirt. NO shorts! Mind you, Iwo temperatures at this time of year are in the 80s with humidity.   After the ceremony or once you leave the area where the ceremony is held, you can ditch the jacket, shirt and tie but still not shorts. We've been told we will be walking (NO transportation except for Iwo...

Passing the International Date Line... Tuesday, March the 21st...It was a long travel day including an eight hour flight to Guam. We got to know each other better while we were sitting in the United Airlines lounge. We have some very interesting people traveling with us.   David, who is a cinematographer and film editor for Tim Gray who founded the World War II Foundation, was born in Guam. His Dad died in the sixties and was buried in Guam. He plans to find the grave that nobody from his family had visited since then. At the time, he was only two years old....

The journey continues... Sunday, March 19th...This was meant to be sort of an open day as I had to pack, switch hotel rooms and unpack along with meeting up with the tour group at 6:30 PM for a kickoff orientation and dinner. I had one more special place I still wanted to visit for another trip down memory lane. There was a hotel on Waikiki Beach that had a huge banyan tree out on the patio leading to the beach. Forty years ago, I had found an old family album and there was a photo of my Grandfather taken in 1918 when...

THIS IS ONE FOR THE BOOKS....FOLLOW ME THROUGHOUT MY RECENT TRIP EXPLORING THE PACIFIC BATTLEGROUNDS OF OUR GREATEST GENERATION!!   This is the beginning of a number of days I spent recently on a journey to the Pacific. I will be sharing a day to day journal of this adventure. Friday, March 17th....After 13-hours, and two plane rides, I arrived a bit weary at our hotel in Honolulu on Waikiki Beach. I settled in and began my planning and reconnaissance for the next two days before the official trip began. I tried my very best to stay awake as long as...

  Day 11:  Dachau, Germany     Bill at the iconic gate...     Dachau entrance   Main grounds at Dachau     Site of barracks at Dachau   Site of barracks at Dachau Old picture of the barracks   A memorial at Dachau     Another memorial at Dachau     Perimeter barriers at Dachau.  Beyond the trench (which was then a moat) was "The Kill Zone"!     Perimeter barriers at Dachau     Perimeter barriers at Dachau with one of many guard towers in background Crematorium   Crematorium   The Autobahn ~ unfortunately this section has a...