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WWII U.S. Navy veteran John Spear tended to wounded soldiers
U.S. Navy veteran John Spear, a medic with the 1st Marine Division, was among the first ashore during invasion landings at Cape Gloucester, New Britain and Peleliu during World War II. The California...
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Veterans who left school early to fight our country’s wars receive diplomas
Veterans who received high school diplomas at the 2012 Riverside County Operation Recognition Ceremony on November 7 toss their hats in the air to celebrate. Back row: Virginia Hilligoss, accepting for...
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U.S. Coast Guard veteran served as ship’s cook during World War II
U.S. Coast Guard veteran Jack Samuels of Palm Desert U.S. Coast Guard veteran Jack Samuels joined the military when he was 17 and nearing the end of his senior year in high school. He still had...
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World War II veteran played trumpet in Glenn Miller’s band
Robert Christoferson U.S. Army Air Corps veteran Robert Christoferson played lead trumpet in one of Glenn Miller’s bands while stationed near Bedford, England during World War II. His day job was...
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George H.W. Bush, World War II naval aviator, moved out of intensive care
George H.W. Bush as a young naval aviator during World War II The recent death of World War II veteran, Medal of Honor recipient and longtime Hawaii senator Daniel Inouye got me thinking about other...
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World War II vet messed around with captain’s wife, got busted down to private
When U.S. Army Air Corps veteran Julius Hoffman was drafted in June, 1941, he thought he’d be serving just a six-month stint in the military. Then the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7 and...
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World War II weather officer gave FDR the all clear in Tripoli
U.S. Army Air Corps Veteran Owen Brough Jr. U.S. Army Air Corps veteran Owen Brough, 96, was raised on a farm in East Tremonton, Utah. At his graduation from Bear River High School in 1934 he received...
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Corsair pilot earned Navy Cross for battleship hit during WWII
Naval aviator Neil Swarthout is pictured second from left in front of F4U Corsair U.S. Naval aviator Neil Swarthout — who flew F4U Corsair fighter bombers off the aircraft carrier USS Hancock during...
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Hall of Fame outfielder Ralph Kiner flew patrol bombers during World War II
Just a few years before Hall of Fame slugger Ralph Kiner donned a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform and belted his way into the Major League Baseball record books — leading the National League in home runs...
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U.S. Marine Corps WWII vet served aboard the battleship USS South Dakota
Bill Weed was majoring in economics at the University of Montana when he joined the U.S. Navy’s V-12 college training program in March, 1942. The program was designed to increase the pool of...
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7 Medal of Honor recipients to speak at California State University, San...
MEDAL OF HONORThere are three present day variations of the Medal of Honor. (L to R above): A wreath version designed in 1904 for the U.S. Army; the original simple star shape established in 1861,...
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B-24 bomber pilot flew 40 combat missions in the Pacific during World War II
B-24 bomber pilot Robert G. “Andy” Anderson made it through World War II with nary a scratch on his aircraft. “My claim to fame is I flew 40 combat missions in the Pacific and I never had a hole in any...
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Ret. U.S. Navy Cmdr. Chuck Caldwell flew P5M Marlin seaplanes in the North...
Ret. U.S. Navy Cmdr. Chuck Caldwell had two years of college under his belt at Louisiana State University when he enlisted in the Navy cadet program on Friday, Feb. 13, 1953. He took his pre-flight...
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Gen. Patton pinned Silver Star on U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant Andy Allen
This is Part 2 of a story that ran in the March 24 edition of The Desert Sun U.S. Army 1st Lt. Andy Allen served with the 7th Armored Division during World War II. The division’s first major objective...
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British army vet survived Battle of Dunkirk, served in Commandos during World...
Frank Hunt fought in the British army, survived the Battle of Dunkirk and served in the British Commandos — an elite fighting force formed at the request of Prime Minister Winston Churchill — during...
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Cartoonist Murray Olderman served as U.S. Army officer during World War II
Most people familiar with Murray Olderman know him as an award-winning columnist and syndicated sports cartoonist whose work appeared in hundreds of newspapers for the better part of 35 years. But...
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British Army officer survived Battle of Dunkirk during World War II, later...
Edward Eveleigh joined the British Army reserves in 1936, while attending Oxford University in England. “When the war clouds gathered in 1938, I was called up, but only for six weeks,” he said. He...
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‘Wings of Freedom’ Warbirds landing in Palm Springs today
"Witchcraft," a B-24J Liberator, is displayed by The Collings Foundation in Bremerton, Wash. June 19, 2012. Witchcraft, a P-51C, and B-17 will be in Palm Springs Monday, April 22 until Wednesday, April...
View ArticleRep. Raul Ruiz will speak to Palm Springs Navy League; other vet groups set...
The Coachella Valley Airborne Association is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 6 at the American Legion Herman Granados Post 739, 44-200 Sun Gold St., Indio. The group meets the first...
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