Sgt. Lawrence Gilbert stateside with the National Guard during summer maneuvers. Photo provided by Lawrence Gilbert
Sgt. Lawrence Gilbert of North Port, Fla. was a member of the 1st Ranger Battalion attached to the 1st Division, part of Gen. George Patton’s 7th Army that landed in Sicily on July 10, 1943 during the middle of World War II. Read the rest of this entry »
Chief Tom Edwards stands beside his torpedo rescue boat shortly before he retired in Key West at age 39. Photo provided
Tom Edwards of Deep Creek, Fla. was a Navy man through and through. He joined the Navy when he was 17 on Nov. 25, 1940 — his birthday — and made it his life for 22 years . Read the rest of this entry »
Dick Henry of Foxwood subdivision in Englewood, Fla. is pictured as a teenage sailor in World War II. He skippered a “Higgins Boat” in six of the major invasions in the Pacific during the war. Photo provided
Dick Henry of Foxwood subdivision in Englewood piloted a “Higgins Boat,” a plywood landing craft, in six major invasions during World War II. However, the closest he came to being killed during the war was in a typhoon one night off Okinawa. Read the rest of this entry »
Earl Swillum of Port Charlotte, Fla. holds a letter he received from the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal thanking him for his service in World War II. Sun photo by Don Moore
Earl Swillum went aboard an LST as a “90-Day Wonder” third officer and sailed into the war zone at the Battle for Saipan. Before the fighting in the Pacific was over he and the LSTH-121, which also served as ahospital ship, took part in three other major battles during World War II.
This picture was taken in 1946 when George Sheldon was a corporal getting out of the Army after serving three years in the South Pacific with Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Photo provided
A year after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, dragging the United States into World War II, George Sheldon, who grew up in Haverhill, Mass., joined the Army and eventually ended up in an amphibious brigade.
This is how Cpl. John Seelie of Englewood looked after returning from the Pacific Theatre of Operations during World War II. He served in the 25th Infantry Division at Guadalcanal and New Georgia after surviving the attack on Pearl Harbor. Photo provided
John Seelie of Englewood, Fla. was supposed to box the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. He was a champion welterweight who just joined the 25th Infantry Division stationed at Schofield Barracks outside of Honolulu, Hawaii. Read the rest of this entry »
