Genesis

March 20, 2024

March 20, 1944 – On Anzio a beachhead order to the men to wear steel hats or pay fine

AP correspondent, Richard G. Massock, observed, “Germans are being killed on the Anzio beachhead by “some pretty grim looking characters.”[1]
March 20, 2024

A recording of my WWII presentation at the LSU Military Museum

This presentation, “At First Light: How a Teenager Became a WWII Hero” was delivered at the William A. Brookshire LSU Military Museum in October 2023 as […]
March 19, 2024

March 19, 1944 – Not a single spot on Anzio Beachhead is safe from enemy gunfire

Journalist George Tucker wrote, “To appreciate Anzio it is necessary to remember that the beachhead is shaped like a fan, the handle of which is a […]
March 18, 2024

March 18, 1944 – To seize a beachhead like Anzio was one thing—to hold it indefinitely was another

The miserly affection with which the limited ground on the Anzio, Italy beachhead was coveted is shown by the fact that during March the 3rd Infantry […]
March 17, 2024

March 17, 1944 – Dad’s first medal of valor caused Mount Vesuvius to blow her top

Well, not really. But the two events occurred in close proximity to each other. Phil’s first medal of valor was the Silver Star the Army’s third […]
March 16, 2024

March 16, 1944 – Baptism by fire (Part 2)

“No soldier in any of our theaters of operations is better acquainted with this war than is the Infantryman, and no Infantryman knows war more intimately […]
March 15, 2024

March 15, 1944 – Baptism by fire (Part 1)

“In every battle, the last one hundred yards of the fight belongs to the Infantry. Armed with rifle and bayonet, Infantrymen must face and defeat the […]
March 14, 2024

March 14, 1944 – Skirmishes increase on the Anzio front line

The countless stone houses of standard design lined the few roads across the Anzio beachhead. To the front of Dad’s units the stone farm houses were […]
October 2, 2019

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble

The Lord … cares for those who trust in him.
October 6, 2019

I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless

You must be blameless before the Lord your God. … Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.
October 13, 2019

I will be like the dew to Israel

It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
October 21, 2019

I redeemed you from the land of slavery

It was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and […]
October 30, 2019

Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness

The Lord God commanded the man, “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it […]
November 2, 2019

If you love me keep my commands

Be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience […]