Sunday, September 11, 2022
Friday, January 21, 2022
Two Medics of Normandy & The Church of Angoville au Plain | History Trav...
Such an incredibly touching and beautiful story, in the middle of so much violence and death... Just trying to imagine the love that these 2 men had for their fellow man, regardless of the side they fought for, brings tears to my eyes. Thank you JD, Paul, Erik, and everyone working behind the camera/scenes with the 3 of you, for bringing this story to us today as well as all of the other stories and places that you have talked about and brought to our attention during this video series in Normandy... all so that the stories and sacrifices made by those who fought in this awful war will live on in perpetuity. God Bless. 
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Clemson Ring Story: Col. Ben Skardon
In 2006, at the age of 88, Skardon became the only survivor to walk in the annual Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. He walked more than eight miles and returned to walk 12 more times.
The legendary Beverly "Ben" Skardon passed away Monday. He was 104.
Just this past weekend it was announced that Skardon, a graduate of Clemson in 1938, will be promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Army. Skardon, a World War II veteran, was notified last week of the approval of the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense following nomination and advocacy by U.S. Representative Jeff Duncan.
According to the school, Skardon served 23 years in the US Army following his graduation from Clemson in 1938. He served in World War II as the commander of Company A of the 92nd Infantry Regiment PA (Philippine Army), a battalion of Filipino Army recruits on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. He led his troops through some of the fiercest fighting of the conflict, earning two Silver Stars, a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart during the first four months of the war.
On April 9, 1942, he became a prisoner of war when American troops were forced to surrender to the Japanese. He then endured one of the most notorious war crimes in history: The Bataan Death March.
Skardon survived the march and more than three years as a POW, despite becoming deathly ill. Two fellow Clemson alumni, Henry Leitner and Otis Morgan, kept him alive by spoon-feeding him and eventually trading his gold Clemson ring — which he had managed to keep hidden — for food. Leitner and Morgan did not survive the war. Their story is now told at every Clemson Ring Ceremony.
As WWII came to an end, Skardon also survived the sinking of two unmarked Japanese transport ships carrying him and other POWs to mainland Japan. Russian units finally freed him in August 1945.
He went on to serve in Korea from 1951-52 and retired from the Army at the rank of colonel in 1962.
In 1964 he returned to his alma mater, joining the Clemson faculty in the Department of English, where he taught for more than 20 years until his retirement in 1985.
In 2006, at the age of 88, Skardon became the only survivor to walk in the annual Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. He walked more than eight miles and returned to walk 12 more times.
Sunday, July 25, 2021
Friday, August 23, 2019
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
(I know of a WW2 vet, just turned 100. He flew P47 then a P51 in the pacific theatre.
(I know of a WW2 vet, just turned 100, April 3. He flew P47 then a P51 in the pacific theatre. He was there thru the end, flew over Hiroshima after the bomb. He’s in Minnesota. Born in North Dakota, family of farmers. You could interview him thru his daughter, his hearing is bad—mind is sharp tho! Interested?) to help me ask questions, thanks, Ron]
First LT. Kermit BJORLIE (Army Air Corps) joined after grad. North Dakota State.
IN LAST YEAR OF WAR GOT TO New Guinea in early1945, saw a brother pilot go down in the ocean shooting at boats. Island hopped up to Okinawa, where there was lots of action, then hopped over to the Phillipines after MacArhur's invasion force. From there, they switched to P-51's which he did not like as well. Flew over Nagasaki and Hiroshima seeing ships turned over in the bay, and only two buildings left standing. He remained as occupying force in Japan for 3 months, then shipped home.
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II era fighter aircraft produced by the United States from 1941 through 1945. Its primary armament was eight .50-caliber machine guns and in the fighter-bomber ground-attack role it could carry five-inch rockets or a bomb load of 2,500 pounds
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts.
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