Good morning,

Before we get started a quick request, if you are a veteran and have a great story which you won’t mind featuring in this newsletter, then I would love to read about it. Just click on the link and hopefully it will be shared soon.

I only noticed that I missed out our normal weekly feature ‘On this day’ until I had sent the email last week. Sorry about that. So, to make sure I don’t do the same this week I will dive straight in…

On this day in 1944

The USAAF conducted its first major raid against Berlin on March 6, 1944 when 672 heavy bombers struck the city and 69 were shot down.

If you were on that mission that’s a 10% chance you wouldn’t make it.

In todays newsletter we honor….

Bradford Freeman

He was the last surviving member of Easy Company, the famed 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, portrayed in the book, and Steven Spielberg's HBO miniseries 'Band of Brothers' until he sadly passed away last year. What a life he led ⬇️

Assigned to a mortar squad in Easy Company, Second Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, Bradford Freeman was a private first class who took part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

Landing in a pasture with cows, he helped a fellow soldier with a broken leg, before joining his squad, and carrying an 18-pound mortar plate on his chest.

Freeman fought alongside “Easy Company” in various battles against the Germans in France. Including the parachute drops into the German-occupied Netherlands, and the Battle of the Bulge, enduring harsh conditions of bitter cold and snow.

While he was unharmed during the fighting in the strategic town of Bastogne in Belgium, he was wounded in nearby Noville in mid-January 1945 by a "Screaming Mimi," the devastating multiple rocket launchers used by the Germans.

Despite the injury, Freeman returned to Easy Company in April 1945 and participated in the occupation of Berchtesgaden, Hitler's abandoned mountain retreat near the Austrian border, and in the occupation of Austria.

In an interview with the American Veterans Center in 2018, he recounted his experience of being hit by the rocket and how he rejoined his unit to serve until the end of the war.

He died July 3rd 2022 may he RIP.

Celebrities that served

Clint Eastwood was drafted into the US Army in 1951 and posted to Fort Ord where he became a lifeguard.

He was a passenger on a Navy AD-1Q torpedo bomber that developed engine problems and crashed off the California coast near Point Reyes, not far from San Francisco. He and the pilot swam to shore which was said to be two miles away, with aid of a life raft in the frigid water.

Thanks for your service Clint.

Best Friends Since WWII

Len Messineo and Morrie Bishoff have been best friends since returning home 78 years ago.

Len (left), served with the 20th Armored Division and assisted with the liberation of Dachau Concentration Camp.

Morrie (right), served with the 104th Infantry Division “Timberwolves”. The two have been best friends since 1945.

Source: The Rife Facebook Group

From our YouTube Channel

Check out our YouTube Channel which tells the story about a previous featured Navy SEAL.

In the news this week

So each week I share news stories that I found interesting and I hope you do to.

• Army artillery officer dies during assignment in Thailand

• WWII soldier, taken prisoner in the Phillippines, accounted for

• Pearl Harbor survivor Jack Holder dies in Arizona at age 101

Did you know?

During World War II, the United States Army recruited a group of Native American soldiers, known as the Navajo Code Talkers, to create a code based on their native language that could not be broken by the enemy.

The code was used to send sensitive and classified messages on the battlefield, and it is credited with helping the United States win several key battles in the Pacific Theater.

The code was so successful that it was used in subsequent conflicts, and the Navajo Code Talkers are considered to have played a significant role in the outcome of World War II.

Meme of the Week

Sponsor this newsletter

If your business or company is interested in reaching an audience of veterans, serving military personnel, or supporters of our brave men and women who keep us safe, you may want to advertise with us.

If you have any comments or feedback, just respond to this email! Would love to know your thoughts or stories that you wish to share.

Thanks for reading,

Rob 🫡