#2
My mother's first husband, Ernst Fuchs (pronounced Foox, so stop giggling, dear Reader), was an only child and had heart damage from childhood due to scarlet fever or something. Plus he was a pacifist. At any rate, he got his parents out of Nazi Germany to Australia, where he volunteered for the US Navy as a medic so that his parents could moved to America, while he served all the up the Pacific to Japan. His mother was cousins with one of the wives of the New York Times family, and corresponded with her throughout this ordeal. Nonetheless, they got no help from that quarter, either during their trek or after they settled in Manhattan.
After Ernst was demobbed, he went to college to get a degree in occupational therapy, which is where he met my mother. After they both got their degrees, they were hired by the VA to set up OT departments, first in upstate New York, then in the brand new VA hospital in Buffalo. Unfortunately, his heart started giving out at that point, so his last months were spent in a bed in the cardiac ward, where Mama would join him for discussions at the end of the day of what she’d done and work out treatment modalities for the patients and next steps for the department. They only had three years together before he died, but Mama corresponded with her mother-in-law for the rest of the lady’s life.
#3
My Uncle Harold B Johnson (now Fernley, NV Vets Memorial urn resident) served USMC in the Pacific War, but wouldn't talk about it til I visited one summer driving a Datsun 510
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/11/2025 13:13 Comments ||
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#4
My Uncle Bob was captured during the early days of the Battle of the Bulge, and spent the rest of the war in a German POW Camp. He was a healthy 18yo, 6'1 and played linebacker in High School. He never talked about the war, but my Mother remembered the notification of his capture at Christmas, and was at Waler Reed Army Hospital when he arrived after being returned, by ship, right after the German surrender. He weighted 108 pounds, and that after the Navy keeping the mess deck open 24/7 for the returning POW's the entire trip.
He never missed a meal the rest of his life, but after he died my cousin found his Red Cross bible from the POW period. Every page was covered on the margins with meals, food descriptions, and restaurants to be visited. He was always cheerful but hated everything German with a passion that never ended!
#5
My godfather, James Wickham, served in the Battle of the Bulge at age 18. He dropped out of high school to enlist. He then served as part of the occupation forces.
I always bring this up whenever I hear about some college students today who need safe spaces and puppies whenever somebody says something they don't like.
#6
My Dad was a navigator on a B-24, flying 28 missions after D-Day. His squadron got separated on Christmas Day, 1944 and was attacked by 25 FW-190s, losing three aircraft in twenty seconds. Dad's tail gunner shot down the only attacker. Flak was common, sometimes nasty, but he only saw the one fighter attack, because of the group defense, and the P-51s. My middle name is in honor of his pilot, who died in a B-29 crash, after the war, before I was born.
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/11/2025 14:53 Comments ||
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#7
Damn good stuff Bobby, Rambler, NoMo, Frank and TW. Thanks for the remembrances and thanks for sharing.
#8
During WWI my grandfather served aboard a battleship shoveling coal. During WWII my dad served aboard a carrier as a gunner's mate in the pacific. He didn't talk about it much until about a month before he passed. I spent a career in the largely peacetime navy.
Posted by: Difar Dave ||
11/11/2025 15:50 Comments ||
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#9
My grandfather was in the 97th 'Trident' infantry division which was supposed to be the reserve division for the invasion of Japan. The Battle of the Bulge caused the division to be sent to Europe and it remained there until the end of the war. After the war in Europe ended, he was given leave and the entire division went to Japan for occupation duties.
My grandfather died before I was born, but father said he didn't talk much about WWII. The 97th did liberate at least one concentration camp and it's likely my grandfather saw at least some of the survivors.
#10
By the way, my father was a B-24 mechanic stationed in England. As a child, I once criticized him because he "didn't fight" like his brother, my godfather. Much later, I realized how utterly vital the support troops were - if they didn't do their jobs, the planes didn't fly. (The same applies to all the support types - supply clerks, mess cooks, etc.)
#11
My father was 1st Generation America, born Chicopee Mass. His Pole/Solvak parents were sold to a Chicopee mill owner's brother and held as indentured servants for 10+ years. They lived on ## Bell St. there.
He was a member of US Army Yankee Div. (26th Infantry Division) during WWII. He did the Bulge and was assign duties regarding the St.Vick (sp) massacre. He took part in the Gusen concentration camp liberation.
YD was deactivated, and he was xfered to another Army group, then ended up being sent to Japan for occupational duty in 1947-1950.
When the Korean War broke out, he was part of the initial combat troops sent in. The unit he was assigned to fought their way up to the Lincoln Line in Korea.
He then ended up in Camp Gordon, Ga. 1953'ish married my mom, and I was his 1st born.
He was then sent to Ft. Benning (signal related) then "unofficially" did Nam in 1959, an again in 1962 and 1968.
Over his career he was awarded the Bronze Star and 4 Oak Leaf clusters, and 3 purple hearts and few other combat related medals.
He was part of the original group selected for the New Rank called Command Sgt. Major (CSM) in 1967 while stationed at the Q-Talk site Kilborne Cancern (sp).
He returned to the US and was the US Army HQ Signal School CSM (Ft. Gordon) in 1968-1969. Then as a reward for 27 years of top service, the DOD sent him to Nam (Phu Bai) FB-Eagle area where he earned his last Purple Heart.
#14
William Davis Seabee during Korea, then 173rd, later 101st, I never asked his rank. Multiple tours in Vietnam retired 1972, loved the Army, only left because of moral. Did not talk about much when i was younger, despite my prying. with time he would drop things briefly. Survived multiple tours but not the VA. Patty Davis, who endured his career, 6 kids and supported him through it all. Happily, still with us with too many grand kids to count.
Video is featured on V Kontakte (In Russian, with Russian subtitles available):
[ColonelCassad] A documentary film, "Witnesses," was released about the June 2, 2014, air raid on Luhansk and the attack on the local administration building.
For me, the footage from the scene of the attack is imprinted on my memory, especially the dying woman with her body torn apart.
And then I remember a lot of conscious foolishness about blown-up air conditioners. So, when someone from Ukraine hypocritically screams about "bombs and missiles," it doesn't bother me at all. It's all deserved a thousand times over.
Abstract:
You know, when you take on something like this, a story of pain, evidence of despair, it's hard to find the words. But we can't remain silent. And I'll probably never be able to fully understand what these people went through.
"WITNESSES" isn't just a project; it's a cry from the heart. We reconstructed each event as if from ashes, gathering fragments of memory and footage. Every interview is like a blow to the heart.
I understand that many have their own truth. But we can't turn a blind eye to what happened (and is happening) to these people. Our task is to debunk the lies that have been spread for years, to show the real picture of the tragedy in Donbas, no matter how much some would like to keep it quiet.
Vittorio Rangeloni is an outsider, a foreigner, but he felt this land, this pain. He didn't come here for a sensation—he could report from anywhere, believe me. He wants to tell the truth so the world can hear those who have lost everything.
The "WITNESSES" project is our shared memory and, perhaps painfully, a necessary first step toward justice. Personally, I can say it's difficult to watch, but it's important to see. We must not allow the tragedy of Donbas to be forgotten.
Yes, the map and accompanying percentages in the X post are largely correct. They are based on the Pew Research Center's 2017 report *Europe's Growing Muslim Population*, specifically the "high migration" scenario, which assumes a continuation of elevated refugee inflows from Muslim-majority countries (similar to 2014–2016 levels) through 2050, plus regular migration. This scenario projects the Muslim share of Europe's total population rising to 14% by 2050 (from 4.9% in 2016), with significant variation by country due to differences in current Muslim populations, migration patterns, and demographic trends. The post's figures align closely with Pew's country-level estimates under this scenario (minor rounding differences aside):
These projections remain a common reference point as of late 2025, though real-world migration has fluctuated (e.g., post-2016 restrictions in many EU countries reduced inflows compared to the "high" assumption). More recent analyses, such as those from 2025, still cite Pew's framework without major revisions to these figures.
Yes, the projections explicitly account for differences in the number of children between Muslim and non-Muslim populations. Pew's model incorporates:
- **Higher fertility rates among Muslims**: The total fertility rate (TFR) for Muslim women in Europe was estimated at 2.6 children per woman (2015–2020), compared to 1.6 for non-Muslims—a gap of about one child per woman. This exceeds the replacement level (2.1) for Muslims while falling short for non-Muslims, driving natural population growth for the former even absent migration. The model assumes this gap narrows over time (to 0.7 children by 2045–2050) as second- and third-generation Muslims converge toward host-country norms.
- **Younger age structure amplifying child-bearing**: Muslims in Europe have a median age of 30.4 (vs. 43.8 for non-Muslims), with 27% under age 15 (vs. 15%) and far fewer elderly. This means a larger proportion of Muslims are in prime reproductive years, boosting the impact of higher fertility on overall growth.
- **Integration of these factors**: Projections use cohort-component modeling, tracking births, deaths, and migration by age and religion, with fertility applied differentially by group. New migrants are assumed to adopt the fertility patterns of existing Muslim residents in the destination country.
2:39 AM · Nov 9, 2025
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
