(READ PART 1) By: Ted Tripp – May, 2006 METHUEN – As 85-year-old Luther McIlwain slowly walks around the kitchen table in his Pleasant Valley home, it is obvious that this Tuskegee Airman has a lot more story to tell about his military experience during World War II. Each little parcel of information he shares […]
Read PART II By: Ted Tripp – April, 2006 METHUEN – Everyone meeting Luther McIlwain for the first time immediately realizes there is something special in the air. Even a short conversation with the 85 year-old veteran of World War II causes you to think about the greater social and political issues of our time. Every […]
By: Ted Tripp – March, 2006 NORTH ANDOVER- An electrical short circuit had forced early termination of the dive of the Navy’s Deep Submergence Research Vehicle, Turtle. As the Turtle returned to its support ship and was loaded on board, the electrical problem turned into a raging fire that threatened the sub, the support ship […]
By: Tom Duggan -January, 2006 NORTH ANDOVER – Lawrence native Bill Callahan served his country in two wars, World War II and the Korean War. After completing his military service, he has also spent decades volunteering in the community and working to help others. When Bill Callahan graduated from Lawrence High School in 1945, the […]
By Dr. Charles Ormsby – December 6, 2005 ANDOVER, MA – John Doherty had a lot of family history to uphold. His family had lived in Andover for over 150 years and the Doherty Elementary School is named after his uncle, Bill Doherty, after he served 39 years on the Andover School Committee. John’s […]
By: Dr. Charles Ormsby – November, 2005 Harvey Gibeau was born in Lawrence in 1923 and after high school he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in the late 1930s. He vividly remembers the ever-present sense of patriotism that prevailed. Patriotism was a common household word and was an expected personal trait in his family. In […]
By: Charles Ormsby – October, 2005 Frank Shimko, E-4 Communications Specialist Frank Shimko didn’t think his future lay in Nebraska, so at 19 he enlisted in the Army. It was the summer of 1965. Not long afterwards, he found himself on the other side of the world and in harm’s way. Frank was born […]
By: Charles Ormsby – September, 2005 NORTH ANDOVER – Alexander Milne rarely speaks of his wartime experiences, even with fellow veterans. Such conversations were uncommon even with his brother, Donald, who served on the Battleship Texas at Normandy, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and who passed away two years ago. Alex found it difficult to […]
By Dr. Charles Ormsby – August, 2005 Bound, blindfolded and badly injured, Captain Jim Mulligan was led through the angry crowd of Vietnamese peasants. They screamed in Vietnamese while striking him with sticks and pelting him with stones. He was then placed on a mound of freshly dug earth while a man made a loud and […]
By: Charles Ormsby – July, 2005 Charles Bruderer of Methuen is just wrapping up his military career. He will be leaving the National Guard after 33 years of service to our country and a record that recently won him the Meritorious Service Medal. Born in Ogden, Utah and raised in Brigham City, Charles found himself between jobs […]
By: Dr. Charles Ormsby – May, 2005 Andover, Mass. – “I was furious at what they did,” said Ted Cole, recalling his emotions after hearing about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Less than 24 hours later he and his two brothers were in line at the recruiting station in Lawrence. “The line was out the […]
By: Dr. Charled Ormsby – April, 2005 HAVERHILL, Mass. – Shortly after his 22nd birthday and nine months before Pearl Harbor, Michael Buglione went to his draft board and requested to be taken in the next round. Heck, he thought, it’s just “Goodbye dear, I’ll be back in a year.” Well, it was over […]
By: Chuck Ormsby – March, 2005 NORTH ANDOVER-The Eaton family has a proud history of serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. When Ted Eaton was in his early teens, he had three brothers who signed up for duty in WW II (John and Lindy in the Army, and Frank in the Navy). In the summer […]
By: Tom Duggan: February, 2005 Cpl. Uliano can still hear General George C. Patton telling the troops not to worry about going into combat. Patton told them, “First, the enemy fires and you duck. Then, you fire and the enemy ducks.” This quote seemed humorous when Sy Uliano relayed the story, but I’m sure it […]
By: Hartley Pleshaw – January, 2005 If American radio can be said to have had a post-World War II Golden Age, it manifested itself in Boston from the mid-1960’s to December 9th, 2004. It was the age of Jerry Williams, Charles Laquidara, Danny Schechter, Eddie Andelman and Gene Burns, among others. These talents, and others like […]