He recorded 437 WWII Veterans' Stories & is now retiring
15 September 2019 article by Ron Devlin, Reading Eagle, Pa.
READING, Pa. -- You won't find a book entitled "The History of World War II" by Larry Miller.
But Miller, 73, a retired Reading management consultant, is every bit a historian as Tom Brokaw, author of "The Greatest Generation."
Quietly, without fanfare, Miller has interviewed 437 veterans of World War II in the last eight years.
The video-taped interviews are on file at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.
Working out of a tiny office at his north Reading home, Miller has recorded what might be called "A History of World War II From the Bottom Up."
In meticulous, first person fashion, he has crafted a vision of the war from the soldiers, sailors and Marines who fought it.
In Miller's recordings, GIs tell their stories in their own words.
"I'd tell them," he recalls, "just tell your story in a way your grandchildren can listen to."
No Heroes Present
One characteristic that all World War II vets shared, Miller found, was humility.
Even when having performed outstanding deeds, he said, they disliked being called heroes.
They were just doing their job, they'd tell him. The real heroes were the ones who didn't make it home.
"Most of them were very humble and did not want a fuss made over them," Miller said. "They almost despised the word hero."
In interviews that lasted up to two hours, Miller listened with wonder to often compelling stories of personal sacrifice. Often, he'd wonder what he would have done had he been in their shoes.
He always ended the interview the same way: "Thank you for your service."
Why We Should Always Remember the 9/11 Tragedies
Posted Monday Sept 9, 2019
The following is a story by 'Teen Kids News'
I found their perspective especially understanding when they acknowledged a deep and historically seeded understanding about 'who we are', and that was: "always remember that we were attacked not for what we do wrong but for what we do right".
The attacks of September 11, 2001, reshaped the face of the nation and the course of history. Our lives and the lives of those to come — not just here in New York or the United States, but around the globe — have changed forever.
The date, September 11, will forever evoke recollections of unimaginable tragedy, of lives callously lost and brutally cut short and of unspeakable horror and sorrow in the hearts and minds of all of us. We must never forget the depths of inhumanity to which terrorist fanatics are willing to sink in the name of their depraved cause as they seek to destroy the very principles of freedom and democracy on which this great nation was founded.
That is why each and every September 11, we as Americans pay tribute to those who lost their lives that fateful day. We gather in unity and dignity to honor the freedoms that we have fought for in the past, the freedoms our loved ones have died for, and those freedoms that we continue to fight for today.
Remembering that day is not a choice but our solemn obligation — on September 11, 2001, there were 2,749 heroes lost; seven buildings destroyed and, with their collapse, 30 million square feet of commercial office space was lost or damaged; 60,000 jobs disappeared; 65,000 commuters were dislocated by the destruction; five subway lines and 12 subway stations were affected or closed; and 1.6 million tons of smoking debris filled the World Trade Center site.
As you recall September 11, always remember that we were attacked not for what we do wrong but for what we do right. Remember the spirit of that day — the day America showed what makes us a great people and a great nation; the day the true character of our nation triumphed over unspeakable evil; the day that freedom and democracy prevailed yet again over oppression and tyranny.
By By George Pataki/ CNN
Learn More
At 8:45 a.m. on September 11, 2001, an American Airlines Boeing 767, Flight 11, collided into the World Trade Center’s north tower in New York City immediately killing hundreds of people and trapping hundreds more in the 110-story skyscraper. Only 18 minutes later, a second Boeing 767, United Airlines Flight 175, flew into the south tower. Both towers afire, burning debris covered the surrounding buildings and the streets below while hundreds jumped from the towers to their deaths in an attempt to escape. About 30 minutes later, a third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, crashed into the west side of the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. and a fourth plane, United Flight 93, crash-landed into a field in Pennsylvania killing all 40 souls onboard. Meanwhile, both World Trade Center towers collapsed into a terrifying and deadly inferno of rubble.
The Story of Rick Rescorla, Vietnam Vet and 9/11 Hero
Retired Army Reserve Col. Cyril Richard "Rick" Rescorla, credited with saving many lives during 9/11
13 September 2019,article by Richard Sisk, Military.com
The late Army Col. Rick Rescorla, a legend in Vietnam who acted heroically as a civilian in the south tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, will receive the posthumous award of the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation's second-highest civilian award after the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the president said this week.
"Rick earned the Silver Star and the Purple Heart for his service in Vietnam," President Donald Trump said at the Pentagon's 9/11 memorial ceremony Wednesday. " ... On the day of the attack, Rick died while leading countless others to safety. His selfless actions saved approximately 2,700 lives."
"Today, I am honored to announce that I will soon be awarding the late Rick Rescorla the Presidential Citizens Medal for his extraordinary sacrifice," Trump added
More about Col. Rescorla
A photo of Rescorla as a grizzled lieutenant in Vietnam, moving forward with bayonet fixed during the horrific 1965 battle of Ia Drang in Vietnam, became one of the iconic images of the war.
The photo was used on the cover of the gripping account of the battle written by veteran United Press International correspondent Joe Galloway, with Army Lt. Gen. Harold Moore, in the book "We Were Soldiers Once ... And Young."
In the prologue, Galloway wrote: "This, then, is our testament and our tribute to 234 Americans who died beside us in Landing Zone X-Ray and Landing Zone Albany in the Valley of Death, 1965."
The book was made into the movie "We Were Soldiers," starring Mel Gibson in the role of Moore. Rescorla would later say he wouldn't see it.
"All the heroes are dead," he said.
There is a life-sized monument to Rescorla, modeled after the Vietnam photo, at the National Infantry Museum's Memorial Walk of Honor near Fort Benning, Georgia.
I refuse to die in here:the marine now fighting deportation
Sat. 7 September 2019 by Sam Levin, Journalist 'The Guardian'
Jose Segovia Benitez survived two tours of duty with the US Marine Corps, a bomb blast, and a traumatic brain injury.
But the US is not helping him recover. On the contrary, the government may be leading him to his death.
Segovia is currently imprisoned at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention center in Adelanto, California where he says he is being denied critical medical and mental health care. The 38-year-old veteran is facing deportation to El Salvador, a country he left when he was three years old and where his loved ones fear he could be killed.
“I’m not going to die here. I refuse to die here,” Segovia said on a recent morning, wearing a red jail uniform and seated in a cramped room with no windows to the outside.
During his 21 months of detention in the southern California facility, Ice has failed to provide adequate care for Segovia’s serious heart condition, denied him proper treatment for his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and repeatedly placed him in isolation, according to the former marine and his lawyers. The consequences, they fear, could be fatal.
Segovia is one of fifteen current detainees who filed a federal lawsuit against Ice last month alleging medical neglect and horrific conditions that rise to the level of “torture”. He is also one of the estimated thousands of veterans who have faced deportation over the years despite their service to the country.
Life after war:'I tried to seek help'
Segovia, who became a legal permanent resident soon after arriving in the US as a child, became interested in the military at a very young age.
Raised in Long Beach, a city just south of Los Angeles, he has early memories of playing with toy soldiers. In high school, he was different from his peers and drawn to the discipline of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, a US Army program for students.
At age 18 in 1999, one week after he graduated high school, he enlisted in the marines.
“I joined not to go to war, because nobody ever signs up for that,” he said.
But then war happened.
He was deployed as part of the initial Iraq invasion in 2003, ultimately completing two tours of duty.
He volunteered for WWII so his family wouldn't be interned
Kenneth Higashi was assigned to the 442nd Combat Team
Sept.1, 2019
Jim Holland, Rapid City Journal
SPEARFISH, S.D. — Kenneth Higashi sat at attention, only his use of a wheelchair keeping him from rising to receive France’s highest civil and military distinction, the Legion of Honor, before grateful family, friends and neighbors.
Higashi, 97, a second-generation Japanese-American man from Spearfish, sat stoically as Guillaume Lacroix, consul general of France for the Midwest, pinned the Chevalier De La Legion D’Honneur on his sweater on behalf of the French Republic.
"A debt that France owes America's greatest generation for their service in World War II is a debt that the French people will never be able to repay in full," Lacroix said. "The French people will never, ever forget the sacrifice of Mr. Higashi, of all the men and women who served in Europe for their country, but also for my country."
2nd Generation Japanese-American receives Frances highest Military distinction, "Legion of Honor"
Japanese-American families, particularly those on the West Coast, were forced to uproot their lives, ordered to give up their homes and businesses, and forced into relocation centers or internment camps.Government officials also visited the Higashi family in Spearfish and ordered them to give up their shotgun and radio.
They told Kenneth and his older brother, Clarence, that their family could avoid being moved to a camp if one of them enlisted in the military.
Kenneth volunteered.
"He thought it better that his brother stay and work as a mechanic to provide for their family," Master of Ceremonies Gregory Dias said.
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Our Chairman / Founder Ronald Verini , writes 2 articles a month which are published in a regional newspaper. You can read these articles here on our Webpage just by clicking on the heading 'Veterans Articles'. This Article will be published September 15, 2019.
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The hotline’s pilot began under direction of the Veterans Experience Office on June 1, 2017, and entered phase two on October 15, 2017.
White House VA Hotline: 1-855-948-2311.
Calls are answered by a live agent 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The hotline is staffed by more than 60 agents who have had extensive training on VA programs and services. Most of these agents are a Veteran, military family member, caregiver or a survivor.
The White House VA Hotline conducts immediate warm hand offs for at-crisis risk Veterans needing the services of the Veterans Crisis Line.
Trends identified by the hotline will be used to rapidly respond to systemic inefficiencies and empower VA employees to resolve Veteran concerns quickly.
VA May Be Forced to Pay Billions in Veterans' ER Bills After Court Ruling
September 11, 2019, By Patricia Kime, Military.com
A federal court has ruled that the Department of Veterans Affairs wrongly denied reimbursements to veterans who received emergency medical care at non-VA facilities, a decision that could result in payouts to veterans totaling billions.
U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims judges wrote Monday that VA's reimbursement regulations, which were instituted in 2018, violated a law that requires VA to approve veterans' claims for emergency room expenses not covered by private insurance.
VA Puts Emphasis on Suicide Prevention
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Special Section to 'Commemorate 9/11'
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Military Working Dogs to Receive Prestigious Medals
11 September 2019 article by Richard Sisk, Military.com
The bad guys and their improvised explosive devices couldn't hide from Marine Sgt. Yeager, a Purple Heart veteran of three tours in Afghanistan.
His specialty was route clearance, and he was credited with sniffing out dozens of roadside bombs in more than 100 combat patrols for his Marine buddies.
On April 12, 2012, Yeager and his handler, Lance Cpl. Abraham Tarwoe, were hit by one of those roadside bombs while on patrol in southwestern Helmand province with a unit from the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment.
Tarwoe, originally from Liberia, perished in the blast and Yeager was hit with shrapnel and lost part of an ear.
Related: Here's How to Adopt a Military Working Dog
Yeager was one of four working dogs who received American Humane's K-9 Medal of Courage in a ceremony Tuesday at the Rayburn House Office Building.
After the 2012 IED blast, Yeager received the Purple Heart from the Marines and was retired to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where the now 13-year-old black Lab was adopted by a Marine family.
Caroline Zuendel, of Cary, North Carolina, Yeager's new best friend, called him "just a sweet dog" who dotes on her three kids. "He's like my fourth," she said.
Learn More
American Humane President Robin Ganzert said that 20 working dogs have been honored with the K-9 Medal of Courage over the past four years.
"These dogs do amazing work and give unconditional love," she said.
The awards were named for philanthropist Lois Pope, who said "there are heroes on both ends of the leash."
"Niko," a 10-year-old Dutch Shepherd, spent four years in Afghanistan working for the Defense and State Departments, the CIA, the U.S. Agency for International Development and NATO partner nations, participating in countless patrols and house-to-house sweeps, and protecting personnel at high-level meetings.
American Humane said Niko has now been adopted by a family in Alaska.
Military working dog "Emmie," a 12-year-old black Lab, was on three tours in Afghanistan from 2009-2012, and worked mainly off-leash, assisting with route clearance. She had three different handlers in Afghanistan, and the last one described her as a "high-drive dog, stubborn at times, who never stopped working," American Humane said.
After her last tour in Afghanistan, Emmie came to work at the Pentagon, where she easily adapted to working on leash in searching cars, buildings and parking lots, American Humane
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