Above: 9 October 1943: B-17 Bomber during the first big raid on Germany by the U.S. 8th Air Force. The raid destroyed most of the Marienburg Focke-Wulf aircraft factory. Photograph under license to War History Network. Click to enlarge.
A few weeks after the passing of his wife Donna in early 2019, Jim "Pee Wee" Martin wrote a hearfelt letter and asked for it to be posted soon after his own passing.
The letter reads:
“Friends,
At the time I am writing this I have lived more than 97 yea
If you asked me one word to describe Jim Martin, it would have to be humble.
Most of us know of Pee Wee (a nick name he proudly embraced) from the popular HBO WWII miniseries Band of Brothers. He was a member of the 506th Parachute Infantry, 101st Air
"During the Second World War, life changed dramatically for the people of Britain, including the Royal Family. On September 13, 1940, shortly after the start of Germany’s bombing campaign on the towns and cities of Britain, five high explosive bomb
Above: September 1939, somewhere over western Poland. Germany's Luftwaffe supports the 'blitzkrieg' against Poland's army and its people. Photo licensed to War History network. Click to expand.
Left: Hitler observes his Wehrmacht troops march to P
Interesting short video covering some of the history of Ron Speirs with video of him toward the end. Did you know he was Commandant of Spandau Prison for a while? Listen to what he says about Rudolph Hess.
Above: Warsaw, Poland, 6 December 2019. Monument to the Warsaw Insurgents. Monument on the square in front of the Supreme Court in Warsaw. (Click image to expand)
Right: Warsaw, Poland, September, 1944. German soldiers fighting the Polish resistanc
Right: Royal Air Force Boulton Paul Defiant Mk Is of No. 264 Squadron RAF including L7026 PS-V and N1535 PS-A based at Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire, August 1940. Photograph in the Public Domain.
The Battle of Berlin, one of the concluding significant conflicts of the Second World War, ensued as Soviet forces commenced a large-scale invasion of the German capital in late April 1945. Officially known as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operati
Above: Colditz Castle today, near Leipzig, Germany. Photograph licensed to WW2 History Network (Click to enlarge). On the site of the original 11th-century castle, Colditz Castle at times held British, U.S., French, Dutch, Polish, and Belgian office
Photo at right, from the National Archives and Public Domain: "2nd Lt. William Robertson, US Army and Lt. Alexander Sylvashko, Red Army, shown in front of sign East Meets West symbolizing the historic meeting of the Soviet and American Armies, near