On Monday, May 26 the World War 2 Guys were a part of a very special event at Omaha's Memorial Park to celebrate and honor our nation's fallen heroes. The event was organized and hosted by Bill Williams and Patriotic Productions and it was outstanding! Event goers were served up free pancakes and sausages by Congressman Don Bacon and Senator Pete Ricketts. The American flag was flown in by a parachute demonstration team. The highlight of the event was a ceremony to recognize local servicemen and women throughout the decades who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for America. Members of our group dressed in period correct uniforms to portray famous Omahans or individuals associated with Nebraska. For World War I, Will portrayed 1st Lt. Jarvis Offutt and Heather Hill portrayed nurse Marion Crandell. For World War II, Cody portrayed Flight Officer Martin P. Schmitt, Jr. and Matt portrayed Lt. Col. Alfred Thomsen. For the Korean War, Deqlan portrayed Pfc. Charles Vorel, Jr. and Bryson portrayed Pfc. Edward "Babe" Gomez. For the Vietnam War, Eric portrayed Major Michael Bosiljevac and Rhys portrayed Pfc. Stephen Cole. And for the War on Terror, Davan portrayed Cpl. Matthew Henderson. It was a very moving ceremony with each of us reading aloud a brief biography of each hero. We very much hope to be involved with more ceremonies like this in the coming years. Later in the day, I visited the graves of two of our honorees, Lt. Col. Thomsen and Major Bosiljevac.

On Thursday, June 6, the World War 2 Guys were honored to be involved with a ceremony to mark and remember the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. The event was quickly put together by Bill Williams of Patriotic Productions the week before the anniversary. Former Omaha mayor, Hal Daub, served as the MC of the early morning event. Four paratroopers jumped on Memorial Park which is always an awe-inspiring experience. World War 2 Guys unit commander, Eric Krelle, served as the keynote speaker and delivered a heart-felt speech about the ways in which D-Day has intersected with his life over the past four decades. It was a beautiful morning and all of us felt very happy to be able to remember the men who jumped from the skies and stormed the beaches 80 years ago on this date.

On Saturday, April 23, the World War 2 Guys  were excited and honored to be a part of a ceremony remembering the 51 members of the 73rd Cavalry Regiment who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the Global War on Terror. The event took place at Omaha's beautiful Memorial Park near the Airborne Memorial. 51 new bricks were unveiled directly behind the Airborne trooper statue in a moving ceremony. To assist with the unveiling were Jerrimy representing a World War II paratrooper of the 82nd Airborne Division, Eric representing an 82nd trooper from 1965 in the Dominican Republic, and Joe representing an 82nd trooper from 1983 in Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. It was a great event to be associated with and a pleasure to help recognize and remember those who have given their lives in the service of our country.

On Tuesday, March 29, Eric and Joe attended the official groundbreaking ceremony for the new Nebraska Vietnam Veterans Memorial at the Sumtur Amphitheater in Papillion, Nebraska. Eric was representing a US Marine from 1965 in his OG-107 utility uniform and Joe was representing a US Army soldier for the late war period in his ERDL jungle fatigues. In attendance were hundreds of local Vietnam veterans accompanied by their loved ones. It was truly impressive seeing so many Vietnam veterans gathered together at one time! Nebraska Governor, Pete Ricketts, gave an inspired opening speech and then former US Senator and former US Defense Secretary, Chuck Hagel, gave the keynote address. Hagel and his brother, Tom, served together in the 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam. The future memorial will sit atop the hill which overlooks the Sumtur Amphitheater. If all goes as planned, the memorial will be dedicated on March 29, 2023 which is designated as National Vietnam War Veterans Day across the nation.

The highlight of my Memorial Day was finding and cleaning the gravesite of Lt. Col. Alfred Thomsen of Omaha. He was the 3rd Battalion commander of the 134th Infantry Regiment, a Nebraska National Guard unit that made the Cornhusker state proud during World War II. The 134th took Hill 122 on July 15 and was "officially" the first unit to enter St. Lo. Thomsen was wounded by German artillery on July 30 and died a few weeks later when a blog clot reached his brain. The Big Colonel or "Tommy" as he was known was a larger than life personality and a legend in Nebraska's military ranks. He's buried in Westlawn-Hillcrest cemetery, and surprisingly he's only 50 yards or so away from my parents' burial site! His marker is right at base of an ancient tree and near the Westlawn Singing Tower which has watched over him for many, many years. I read aloud excerpts from 'Biography of a Battalion' and some of author James A. Huston's recollections of his friend and the leader of so many Nebraska boys. Lt. Col. Thomsen has been a hero of mine for over 20 years now when I first started learning actual WWII stories from WWII veterans, so it was nice to finally slow down, sit with him, and share some French Calvados at long last.

On May 25, the World War 2 Guys visited St. Mary's Cemetery for our annual cleaning of the Furmanski brothers' gravesites. It's always amazing at how overgrown a headstone can get in one year's time. This year at St. Mary's we thoroughly cleaned and trimmed around headstones for Privates First Class Floyd and Aloysius Furmanski, Flight Officer Martin P. Schmitt, Jr. and Sergeant James P. McNeil. Afterwards we went to Omaha Central and laid flowers at the Central High School Vietnam Memorial.  We then went on to spend some time at Omaha's Memorial Park where we were able to see the relocated Airborne Memorial and the Victory '95 Memorial which both looked outstanding in their new home.

On Monday, May 28, the World War 2 Guys gathered for our annual Memorial Day visit to St. Mary's Cemetery in South Omaha to once again honor Floyd and Aloysius Furmanski.  Cody, Jon, Eric and Grant spent time cleaning the grave markers of the two brothers both killed in the summer of 1944. We held a silent vigil and played Taps to honor the incredible sevice and sacrifice of Floyd and Aloysius and all of our fallen military heroes.  Afterwards, we visited Omaha's Central High School and laid flowers at their Vietnam War Memorial erected to honor the Central High students who gave their lives for their comrades and their country in Vietnam.  It was a great day to get out and honor those who gave all so that we could have today.

On Saturday, May 20, the World War 2 Guys put on another great display at the La Vista Cabela's annual Armed Force Day celebration.  The festivities kicked off with the Quilts of Valor Foundation presenting their custom designed and hand-stitched quilts to eight local veterans.  The quilts were amazing this year and the veterans were very appreciative.  For our military display, Jeff presented an assortment of U.S. Navy and U.S. Army uniforms and equipment.  Jon was our 507th Parachute Infantry representative and primarily presented a medical and Airborne display.  Eric was representing the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War.  A special sign was created to honor Pfc. Edward "Babe" Gomez from Omaha who was killed in action on September 14, 1951 and posthumously received the Medal of Honor.  In addition, Eric also created a sign to remember the 69 men from Omaha, Nebraska who gave the ultimate sacrifice during the Korean War.  Cabela's was once again a wonderful host and we were so appreciative to get the chance to interact and teach dozens of visitors throughout the day.

On Saturday, May 21, I presented a Vietnam themed display at the annual Cabela's Armed Forces Day event.  The day began with a flag raising ceremony and a presentation by the ladies of the Quilts of Valor Foundation to eight local veterans.  All of the veterans were very appreciative of the quilts that had been uniquely designed and hand-stitched for them.  For my display this year I chose to represent the men of Alpha Company, 4/47th Infantry of the 9th Division.  My display was dedicated to Sergeant Daniel Joseph Sandstedt of Omaha who was with A Co. when he was killed in action on June 19, 1967.  I got to speak with a Vietnam vet who actually knew Dan Sandstedt which was quite a treat.  The men of the 2nd Infantry Division Living History Association put on a fine World War II display and Erik Muttersbough did an excellent early WWII cavalry display with his horse, Sunny.  It was another wonderful event at Cabela's with a lot of visitors to our displays and some truly spectacular weather.

The World War 2 Guys were given the privilege of taking part in Christ Community Church's "America" celebration the evening of Sunday, June 28.  We had great unit participation for the event with Will honoring the US Army Air Corps, Matt the 8th Infantry Division, Bob and Luke the 101st Airborne Division, Eli the 2nd Infantry Division, Cody the US Army Medics, Jeff the US Navy, and Eric the US Marine Corps.  Turnout for the event was impressive with hundreds of visitors talking with us about our World War II themed display.  The night kicked-off with a patriotic concert honoring our nation's veterans both past and present, followed by an ice cream social and an awesome fireworks display.  The highlight of the night was when Technical Sergeant Paul Andreas stopped by our tables.  A veteran of the 28th Infantry Division and the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest, Paul was a Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient who was captured by the Germans as a POW.  He's quite a guy and it was great to have him talk with us for a few minutes.  This was a great summertime event and one we'll hopefully be back for next year!