Ep. 28 - Donald Chase - The Poet Warrior who turned down Million Dollar Wounds in WW 2 and Korea

Ep. 28 - Donald Chase - The Poet Warrior who turned down Million Dollar Wounds in WW 2 and Korea

Donald Chase understood that freedom isn’t free.  He defended his country in two wars, WW II and the Korean war, and in doing so received 4 purple hears and 2 bronze stars.  In both wars, soldiers often wished to receive a “million dollar wound” – a battlefield injury that would send the soldier back home away from fighting, but not one that was bad enough to kill them or leave them permanently maimed.  Chase received at least two million dollar wounds, but each time he begged his commanding officers to send him back to the front.  As an infantryman, he was fiercely loyal to the men he served with and couldn’t leave their side as long as they were in danger.  After the war, Chase found it easier to share his painful memories in poems.  This podcast tells the story of Chase’s service in two cataclysmic wars. Young Donald Chase Donald Chase in uniform Donald Chase in his later years Korean War Our podcast has been selected by MillionPodcasts as one of the Top 100 World War II Podcasts on the web.  We now have over 1,000 listeners! https://www.millionpodcasts.com/world-war-ii-podcasts/ [https://public.millionpodcasts.com/v1/public/tk/GEbRwF8a5e0Y6t0REvpeDewi%2FPSiWSbwFOAoXBvDUwIbTv3vnFkiGkgSJFkXw0kIHBEL76BVF%2BNcEiMSDf4TCR5G9%2BGhXSblJCYlUgMIVQ4hRfm9oVYnJgsmJVIDAkv9GFcBvXQbEhtSEhpRygpaBg5FA%2B6iTiEqIiUWUhQBRw0UQfasWl0sJkru8UsTAVIIJlcErFpWIhpK7vEX]

Ep. 27 - Richard V. Morgan - A Leatherneck Recalls the Forgotten Hell of Tarawa, Saipan, and Tinian Islands

A star athlete first at Aspinwall High School then at Waynesburg College in Pennsylvania, Richard V. Morgan felt the call to duty when his country was attacked at Pearl Harbor and joined the Marines.  Morgan fought in some of the Pacific’s bloodiest battles at Tarawa, Saipan, and Tinian Islands.  AT Tarawa he fought alongside Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Alexander Bonnyman Jr. supplying him with demolition charges as they took a large Japanese bunker filled with 200-300 Imperial soldiers.  At Saipan Morgan narrowly survived a 15 hour last ditch Banzai charge of 3,000 Japanese soldiers.  At Tinian Island Morgan spent weeks trying to clear out Japanese resistance from the island’s high caves.  Selected for officer school, Morgan’s days were brightened by his morning encounters with one of the most celebrated figures of the 20th century.  This is Richard V. Morgan’s WW 2 story.  Richard V. Morgan at the train station Young Richard V. Morgan Richard V. Morgan in his later years Tarawa Saipan Tinian Island

Ep. 26 - Hattie Brantley - The Angel of Corregidor

Hattie Brantley never stopped tending to wounded GIs whether in the jungles of the Bataan peninsula, in the tunnels of Corregidor, or during her long imprisonment at the Santo Tomas Internment Camp.  As a POW for nearly three years, she didn’t let starvation, disease, lack of medical supplies, or the brutal treatment she received from Japanese guards stop her in caring for the young GI casualties under her care.  Today’s podcast tells the story of Hattie Brantley, better known as the Angel of Bataan.  Special thanks to my wife, Christina Diane Ulferts, who will give voice to Hattie’s quotes in this episode. Young Hattie Brantley  Hattie Brantley speaking to veterans Hattie Brantley's grave Hattie had a great sense of humor

Ep 25 - Edgar Kuhlow: He is Going to Stay Laying Here in Germany

Sick with malaria, on a 150-200 mile, three week forced march from one German POW camp to another, Edgar Kuhlow heard one German guard talking about him to another guard - Daah blibt heea in Deutschland leigen (He is going to stay laying here in Germany).  Having already survived brutal combat at Anzio and in southern France, as well as seven months of incarceration as a POW, Edgar Kuhlow was determined to survive and prove the German guard wrong.  This podcast tells Edgar Kuhlow’s harrowing story. Edgar Kuhlow and John Ulferts Battle of Anzio - Trench warfare Battle of Anzio - Wounded GI The Battle of Anzio claimed 43,000 Allied and 40,000 German casualties  Stalag II-D  Stargard  Memorial to 65,000 prisoners of war who died at Stalag II B at Hammerstein Sick American prisoner of war at Stalag XIIA Limburg GIs sharing a blanket

Ep 24 Part Two: Jim Dorris - A Light in the Darkness of WW II

Jim Dorris displayed an equal measure of courage and compassion in WW 2.  His deep Catholic faith provided him with a moral compass that guided him through combat at the Battle of the Bulge, Ingolsheim, Wurzburg, Schweinfurt, and Furth.  He was a true light in the darkness of WW 2 resisting senseless cruelty whenever he saw it regardless of which side – be it the Nazis or the US GIs – who committed it.  Nearly six months of combat wasn’t enough to prepare Dorris for the hell he witnessed when he walked through the gates of Dachau concentration camp to liberate it.  Still, his deep faith guided him even there, and enabled him to find a sign of God’s love in the darkest of places.  I am thrilled that Jim’s son and my good friend, Stephen Dorris, is joining us for these two episodes.  Stephen will give voice to all of Jim Dorris’s quotes in both episodes.  Jim Dorris autobiography My View of WW 2 Jim in basic training - a photograph sent to his mother Jim Dorris in the service Jim and Charlotte Dorris Jim and Charlotte Dorris outside their home Jim and Charlotte with all of their grandchildren Jim Dorris, John Ulferts, and John's daughter, Ashley, during their visit in 2019