by Elaine Thomas | May 20, 2022 | Old Times, World War II
If this 80-year-old chalkware figurine of a U.S. sailor could talk, what tales it could tell. One would be the World War II saga of John Wells from San Benito, Texas, who wrote letters home to his wife, Gwen. John was a gruff, no-nonsense guy who smoked Lucky Strikes....
by Elaine Thomas | Aug 6, 2021 | Old Times, Rural Texas, Saving Stories, World War II
The lessons that Florence Hertel Farek learned at a two-room country school in Freyburg, Texas, still make her smile. In the 1930s, the Schulenburg, Texas, resident, who turns 95 tomorrow, lived on a farm in the rural South Central Texas community. Most of the kids,...
by Elaine Thomas | Nov 6, 2020 | Rural Texas, World War II
Those who live through pivotal world events rarely have the opportunity to share their firsthand experiences. Therefore, the history that’s passed down is sometimes limited. But in today’s audio program, you’ll hear the voices of eight veterans who each...
by Elaine Thomas | Jul 3, 2020 | World War II
In the summer of 1941, legendary British Prime Minister Winston Churchill shook hands with my favorite Canadian veteran, whose name was Winston Churchill Parker. Then the two had a little chat. The impromptu encounter occurred at 10 Downing Street in London,...
by Elaine Thomas | May 1, 2020 | World War II
Etched in Glenn Lacy’s memory is May 8, 1945. That’s the day World War II in Europe ended following Germany’s surrender. At the time, the 24-year-old native Texan was stationed at Lavenham Air Base in England with the U.S. Army Air Corps. Glenn recalls a huge...
by Elaine Thomas | Apr 17, 2020 | World War II
By chance, I found myself the link between a Canadian prisoner of war and a young German nurse whose lives fleetingly intersected during World War II. A shiver runs down my spine every time I retell this story. The minute I pulled into Renate’s driveway near...
