Author: Reporter

Pat Owtram did not need to go to war. It came to her. As the Nazis took control of Germany and Austria, her father hired Jewish refugees to cook and clean at the family home in Lancashire, where the Owtram family raised pedigreed shorthorn cows and Pat rode a pony named Dolly. One refugee, Lilly Getzel, was a cultured woman from Vienna who told stories of concerts and the opera — exotic fare for Pat, who rarely left her rural home because of fuel shortages. They spoke in a combination of German, Austrian German, and English. “Wartime evenings, with...

Working alone in a tiny office in London, Christian Lamb tried to make sure British troops were in exactly the right place when they scrambled onto Normandy’s beaches under enemy fire during the D-Day landings. Referring to huge maps of the French coast on the wall in front of her, the young Women’s Royal Naval Service officer painstakingly created detailed maps to guide the crews of landing craft that ferried the men to shore. The maps “showed railways, roads, churches, castles, every possible feature that could be visible to an incoming invader and from every angle,” said Lamb, now...

Andrew “Andy” Negra Jr. of Helen, Georgia, one of a dwindling number of veterans took part in the Allies’ European war effort that led to the defeat of Nazi Germany. Born on May 28, 1924, near Avella, Pennsylvania he served in the U.S. Army’s 128th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 6th Armored Division. His unit landed on Utah Beach in Normandy on July 18, 1944, and fought in the Battle of Brest among other engagements. He later served in the Occupation of Germany, and was honorably discharged on December 17, 1945. “BECAUSE WE SAVED THE WORLD” It was 1943, and...

Taiwan tracked dozens of Chinese warplanes and navy vessels off its coast at the end of May, the latest in a series of large military exercises launched by Beijing to show its anger over the self-governing island’s inauguration of new leaders who refuse to accept its insistence that Taiwan is part of China. China issued elaborate media statements showing Taiwan being surrounded by forces from its military, the People’s Liberation Army. A new video showed animated Chinese forces approaching from all sides and Taiwan being enclosed within a circular target area while simulated missiles hit key population and military...