Welcome to the very FIRST post for my page! For those who share my passion and fascination with World War II, I hope you will follow me here as I share my many decades of study, collecting, and travel, dedicated to the greatest conflict in history. My content will include events, places, people, and artifacts…
Hello, and Happy Holidays to you all! Thank you for visiting. There are countless collectible items from World War II. One of the most interesting, and personal items are German “Death Cards” or Death Notices. The idea of these cards goes way beyond Germany, and far predate WWII. The German pieces are, however, uniquely collectible…
Many bizarre events and stories came out of the Second World War. Some are known, and some not, but the story of Hiroo Onoda is one of the most incredible. Onoda was a Japanese soldier and officer who was sent to the island of Lubang in the Phillipines on December 26th, 1944. He and his…
The Third Reich (Empire) that Adolf Hitler created was, according to him, to be the “Thousand Year Reich”. Fortunately for the world it lasted only 12 years, ending with his death in 1945 and the end of World War II in Europe. While the Third Reich is synonymous with the Nazis and WWII, what were…
Australian Armour and Artillery Museum Annual AusArmourfest 2023 Hello Everyone! Finally posting some great content from others that I follow. Starting with today’s post. With the broad appeal of WWII armored vehicles, and the recent holding of AusArmourfest 2023 in Australia, this is perfect timing for this edition. To be clear, I did not attend,…
The Second World War saw military technology advance at a rate never seen before. Many of the developments of the time not only remain today (in more refined forms) but are taken for granted. The term “precision guided munitions” can be found regularly in newscasts or online news outlets. The very concept no longer surprises…
Hello again and thanks for visiting. We just returned from an amazing trip to central Europe. Within my itinerary was a detour to the very north of Poland, to the Eastern Front Headquarters of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. In the Masurian Woods, near the East Prussian town of Ketrzyn (called Rastenburg by the Germans)…
Hello again and thank you for visiting. Among my favorite items from WWII to see and collect are individually personal things that remind us that the combatants are people. With their deeply held religious beliefs and dedication to the Emperor, the Japanese soldiers, sailors, and airmen left behind some of the most interesting historical pieces….
Of all the American heroes of World War II, one is recognized as the most decorated. Audie Murphy earned every award for valor the US Army had to offer. He was rejected for military service being underage and underweight. With a falsified letter from his older sister stating he was of age, he finally was…
Today’s post features the Nazi German Volksempfanger (People’s Radio). Joseph Goebbels, the brilliant and twisted Reich Minister of Propaganda, was a master of his trade. He realized early that he had a big challenge-propaganda doesn’t work if it cannot be easily disseminated. In the early 1930’s, a radio was a relatively new luxury many could…
Hi everyone, if you were surprised by the Soviet Russian glass canteens in my last post, this one may seem as bizarre. The Japanese Type 4 grenade, a ceramic pottery weapon was a reality in the final phases of the war! The Type 4 is a classic example of “last ditch” weaponry, desperate measures employed…
