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World at War

A Collection of World War Newspaper and Magazine Articles

W. T. Block enlisted in the army shortly after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. His oldest brother Albert Block fought in World War I and his other brothers Everett Staffen and Laurence Otis Block fought in World War II.

Over the course of his career, WT authored numerous articles about the wars including his own experiences, experiences of local veterans he interviewed, and a cross section of other topics regarding the wars.

The first four chapters are from WT's own memoirs which were first published in his autobiography "To Betsie with Love." The remaining articles are in alphabetical order by their titles.

The original articles did not contain photographs, but, when possible, I included photographs related to the articles. I especially wanted to include photographs of the veterans WT interviewed.

WTBLOCK.ORG has worked to preserve WT's work and this is the 25th book in that effort.

William T. Block, III
W. T. Block's son

Link to Book on Amazon

This book was recently published on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4WTN9RV 

Table of Contents

Table of Figures 5
Introduction 7
An Enlisted Man's World War II Experiences 8
  World War II Years, 1941-1945 8
  Christmas Week in Simmerath 97
  Army of Occupation, 1946-1947 125
  Life as a War Department Civilian 170
A Monument for Private Ryan 196
Adm. Mendenhall had an Illustrious Naval Career 198
Afro-American Merchant Sailors in Wartime 202
'Air Force' Suffered Many Crashes During Infancy 204
Alban L. Birdwell 214
Alex Pellerin, Sr. 216
All Quiet on the Roer River 218
Arthur Perry McGown 220
Barney Bryan Tarver 223
Beatrice K. Davis 226
Big Factory in Lammersdorf, Germany 228
Burton F. Humphreys 230
Charles A. Smith, Jr. 232
Common Louse was German Ally in World War I 234
Cooper Hawthorne 236
Don C. Miller 238
Dorothy Becker 240
Dynamite Caps and Rattlesnakes 242
Edwin Norris of Port Arthur is D-Day Veteran 245
Foxy Advice on Gambling Serves Well 247
Gen. Patton Cut His Combat Eye Teeth in Mexico 249
German U-Boat 166 is Sunk South of New Orleans 252
Girl with the Flaming Red Hair 255
Gordon C. Kimbrough 259
Harold Placette 261
I Remember 'The Lucky Stiffs' 264
James E. White 266
Joe Lee McKinley 268
John Naumczik 270
Joseph C. Kiker 272
Lee Marvin 278
Lili Marlene's Entertainment Parlor 281
Limestone Caverns of Limburg, Holland 283
Many Hispanic-Americans Won Medal of Honor 286
Many World War II Casualties were Torpedoed Seamen 290
Marion A. Beall, Jr. 292
My First Combat Fatality Still Haunts Me 295
My 'Impractical' Zip-Code Suggestion 297
Our World War I Fleet Lies Submerged in Rivers 299
Paul Hempel 301
Rayford Guzardo 303
Returning Combat Veterans Needed 'Detraining' 306
S. F. Cody and S. P. Langley 308
Sgt. Matsuoka's Eyes were Slanted 312
Sorry, Sarge, You’ll Have To Take My Heart 314
Staff Sgt. Talmadge D. Lively 316
Submarine Factory in Lammersdorf 318
That Other 'Gulf' War 320
Those Offshore Blimps 324
V-1 'Buzz Bomb' Rocket 327
Voyage of Tugboat Intent Helped Save North Africa 331
Walter Don Stukey 333
Walter K. Haynie 335
Walter Paul Forsythe 337
War Documentary was Excellent Propaganda Ploy 339
'Waste No Bullets' Mentality Governed Early Army Brass 342
William F. North III 347
William Joseph Deevy 349
Willis Pellerin 351
Worst Marine Disasters of World War II 354
Index 356

Table of Figures

Figure 1-Remagen Bridge 81
Figure 2-Bronze Plaque at Remagen 96
Figure 3-78th Signal Radio Team 100
Figure 4-Sgt. W. T. Block 103
Figure 5-Bronze Plaque at Kesternich 124
Figure 6-T/Sergeant Everett A. Staffen 127
Figure 7-Staff Sergeant W. T. Block 132
Figure 8-Schloss Friedrichstein 134
Figure 9-War Department Civilian W. T. Block 183
Figure 10-Maria Elisabeth and W. T. Block 193
Figure 11-Maria and W. T. Honeymoon 194
Figure 12-Rear Adm. Corwin Guy Mendenhall 200
Figure 13-Lt. Thomas Etholen Selfridge 205
Figure 14-Lt. Frank Purdy Lahm 206
Figure 15-Lt. Leighton Wilson Hazelhurst Jr. 207
Figure 16-Lt. Lewis Cassidy Rockwell 208
Figure 17-Cpl. Frank S. Scott 209
Figure 18-Lt. Townsend Foster Dodd 210
Figure 19-Call Field at Wichita Falls 211
Figure 20-Dallas Love Field 212
Figure 21-Ellington Field 213
Figure 22-Arthur Perry McGown 221
Figure 23-Barney Bryan Tarver 224
Figure 24-Gen. George S. Patton 250
Figure 25-German U-Boat 166 252
Figure 26-The Dunes at Bloemendaal 257
Figure 27-American Cemetery in Margraten 258
Figure 28-Harold Placette 262
Figure 29-Alfred Joyce Kilmer 275
Figure 30-"Trees" by Joyce Kilmer 277
Figure 31-Lee Marvin 279
Figure 32-Limestone Caverns of Limburg 284
Figure 33-Staff Sergeant Lucian Adams 287
Figure 34-Staff Sergeant Marcario Garcia 288
Figure 35-Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez 289
Figure 36-Marion A. Beall, Jr. 293
Figure 37-Rayford Guzardo 304
Figure 38-Samuel Franklin Cody 309
Figure 39-Samuel Pierpont Langley 310
Figure 40-Port Arthur's tanker Rawleigh Warner 321
Figure 41-Seamen's Memorial Equatorial Sundial 323
Figure 42-M-class Blimp 325
Figure 43-V-1 'Buzz Bomb' Rocket 328
Figure 44-Werner Von Braun 329
Figure 45-Ludendorf Bridge 339
Figure 46-Sergeant Alvin Cullum York 342
Figure 47-Hiram Stevens Maxim 344
Figure 48-John Moses Browning 345

Index

A
Abbott, R. S. 203
Adams, Lucian 286, 287
Anderson, D. 290
Anderson, W. D. 290, 321
Arnold, Capt. H. Hap 211
Arsement, Ella 220
Atwater, D. H. 203
Austell, St. 260
B
Bannahan, Jane Claire 236
Beal, Pauline 267
Beall, Jesse Earl 292
Beall, Jr., Marion A. 292, 293
Beall, Jr., Marion Adam 292
Beall, Marion A. 292, 293
Beall, Sadie 292
Becker, Dorothy 240, 241
Becker, Matthew 240, 241
Bell, Alexander Graham 204
Benavidez, Roy P. 289
Bernadette, Folke 355
Bienfang, Woody 285
Birdwell, Alban L. 214
Block III, William T. 1
Block, Albert 7
Block, Betty 12
Block, Laurence Otis 7
Block, W. T. 1, 7, 103, 132, 183, 193, 228
Borgnine, Earnest 278
Boutte, Virginia 305
Bradley, Omar 249
Brandsma, Dr. Titus 255
Brewster, Robert 285
Brown, Capt. Edison D. 331
Burford, William 291
Burns, Sarah Ann 217
C
Cardenas, Julio 251
Carroll, W. M. 290
Carter, Lee 338
Carver, George W. 202
Catherine, St. 263, 351
Chapelle, Henri 265, 284, 285, 296, 306
Clinton, William 203
Clowers, Betty 348
Cody, Bill 308
Cody, S. F. 308
Cody, Samuel Franklin 308, 309
Cornelius, Vera 260
Covell, John 276
Cowdery, Franklin S. 308
Cox, William 203
Crockett, David 292
Crosby, Bing 16, 349
D
Davis, Bea 226, 227
Davis, Beatrice K. 226
Deevy, Mary W. 349
Deevy, William Joseph 349
Dempsey, G. H. 290
Dodd, Townsend Foster 210
Domingue, Gloria 263
Donovan, Major William 276
Doolittle, Jimmy 268
Dorcy, Biddle 332
Douglas, Frederick 202
Douglass, Melvin 278
Doyle, Tom 34, 38, 48, 49, 92, 98, 108, 115, 116, 117, 121, 218, 228
Duffy, Fr. F. P. 274
Dunbar, Paul Lawrence 202
Dupuis, Enola 222
E
Easley, Claud 317
Edison, Thomas 337
Edwards, St. 233
Eisenhower, Dwight 238
Ellington, Eric Lamar 209
Emerson, Ralph 274
Enge, Marilyn 239
F
Fanning, H. 291
Farben, I. G. 185, 191
Feeley, Pamela 280
Fitzjohn, Doris Jane 334
Forsythe, Walter Paul 337
Furth, Matt 140
Furth, Mrs. 140
G
Gable, Clark 278
Gaioch, Joseph 184, 192
Garcia, Marcario 287, 288
Gatling, Dr. Richard 343
Gittens, B. T. 203
Gleason, Robert 90, 128
Godfrey, John 202
Goebbels, Joseph 340
Goering, Herman 216
Goodman, Benny 40
Greenberg, Siggy 19, 22
Greenberg, Sigmund 325
Gustloff, Wilhelm 354
Guzardo, Louise Champagne 303
Guzardo, Rayford 303, 304
H
Hahn, C. E. 290
Haizlip, Bill 17
Hart, Dorothy 316
Hawthorne, Cooper 236
Haynie, Walter 336
Haynie, Walter K. 335
Hazelhurst Jr., Leighton Wilson 207
Hemmingway, Earnest 215
Hempel, Paul 301, 302
Hill, Henry 343
Hill, Juan 343
Hilton, Wilma Lee 294
Hintze, Fritz 13
Hintze, Mrs. 13
Hintze, Mrs. Georg 12
Hitler, Adolf 159
Houston, Sam 14, 174, 175, 178, 206, 210, 220, 222, 226, 232, 260, 312, 347
Huddleston, Jarret L. 24
Huecker, R. E. 291
Humphreys, Burton 231
Humphreys, Burton F. 230
Humphreys, David C. 230
Humphreys, Maudie Hamilton 230
Hutton, W. E. 290, 321
I
Isaac, Dr. Paul 54
Isaac, Paul 54
Isley, Henry 115
J
Jefferson, Thomas 337
Johnson, J. W. 203
Jones, Bonnie Loucille 233
Jones, Dorothy 240
Jones, Woodrow 283
Jordahn, Capt. Olaf 291
Jr, Leighton Wilson Hazelhurst 207
K
Kellogg, M. W. 349, 350
Kelly, G. 206
Kiker, Joseph C. 272
Kilmer, Alfred Joyce 274, 275
Kilmer, Joyce 174, 276, 277
Kimbrough, Gordon C. 259
Kimbrough, Gordon Chester 259
Kimbrough, Margie 217
Kimbrough, Velma 259
Kimbrough, Vera 260
King, Dana 196
Kirtland, Roy C. 209
Kothe, Christel 136
Kothe, Conrad 140
Kothe, Eleonore 136
Kothe, Georg 138, 139, 140, 150
Kothe, Maria Elisabeth 136
Kuhlmann, Hans Gunther 253
L
Lafitte, Jean 25, 247, 300
Lahm, Frank 204
Lahm, Frank Purdy 206
Lanahan, Larry 284
Langley, S. P. 308
Langley, Samuel Pierpont 309, 310
Lastic, Clifton 202
Lawson, G. A. 203
Lee, Robert E. 253
Lee, Willie 259
LeMay, Curtis 186
Levingston, Capt. J. H. 291
Lew, William 203
Lindbergh, Charles 270
Lively, Talmadge D. 316
Locke, Lina 225
Louis, Joe 159
Louis, St. 179, 334
Lyons, James 97
M
Mahe, John 34, 101, 109, 111, 122, 228
Mahe, T5s John 218
Manley, Charles 311
Marlene, Lili 281, 282
Marvin, Courtenay 278
Marvin, Lee 278, 279, 280
Mary, St. 261
Maxim, Hiram Stevens 344, 345
Mayfield, Marilee 348
McElroy, Debra 246
McFarland, C. H. 291
McGown, Arthur Perry 220, 221
McGown, Vivian 220
McKinley, Joe Lee 268
Mendenhall, Corwin Guy 198, 200
Mendenhall, Eula Gripon 198
Mendenhall, Guy 198
Merrick, John 203
Miller, Don 239
Miller, Don C. 238
Miller, Fred 238
Miller, Glenn 243, 278
Miller, Richard 50
Moses, John 345, 346
Mowat, David 115
Mulcare, Dorothy Ann 350
Mulzac, Hugh 202
Murphy, Audie 278
Murphy, J. H. 203
Murray, Aline 274
N
Naumczik, George 270
Naumczik, John 270
Naumczik, Ruth 271
Nazaire, St. 354
Nelson, W. D. 291
Norris, Edwin 245
North III, William F. 347
Novy, George 34, 97, 218, 228
O
Obispo, Luis 231
O'Donnell, James P. 350
Olsen, Capt. Karl 290
P
Parker, Linda 352
Parsons, Mr. Bill 281
Patterson, Capt. T. A. 290
Patton, George 67
Patton, George S. 249, 250
Paul VI, Pope 350
Pellerin, Alex 216, 217
Pellerin, Louis 351
Pellerin, Mildred 217
Pellerin, Sr., Alex 216
Pellerin, Willis 351
Penrod, Clyde 122
Pershing, John J. 249
Peter, St. 255, 283, 303
Placette, Harold 261, 262, 263
Poe, Edgar A. 274
Prokopiev, Tatiana 270
Pyle, Ernie 215
R
Ray, Bonnie 317
Reagan, Ronald 286
Reinke, Capt. Helmut 193
Reisman, Major 280
Renooij, Dr. Willem 283
Reyneau, Betsy 203
Richardson, A. T. 202
Rickenbacker, Capt. Eddie 211
Rockwell, Lewis Cassidy 207, 208
Rogers, Harry 19, 22, 325
Rommel, Erwin 331
Roosevelt, Franklin 350
Rose, Wilma L. 351
Rowley, H. M. 331
Roy, Richard 291, 320
S
Sanford, Ms. Maggie 269
Savoy, E. A. 203
Scales, Mildred 217
Scales, Willie 217
Schaft, Hannie 255, 256
Schiller, Merrell 152
Schmelling, Max 159
Scott, Frank S. 207, 209
Scott, George C. 251
Seely, Martha 215
Seims, W. 283
Selfridge, Thomas Etholen 204, 205
Shannon, Ray 350
Simon, St. 290
Skorzeny, Otto 63
Smith III, Charles A. Buzz 233
Smith Sr., C. A. 232
Smith, Blaine 233
Smith, Bonnie 233
Smith, Charles A. 232
Smith, Jr., Charles A. 232
Smith, Stanley Kurt 233
Smith, Travis Dane 233
Smith, Walter B. 220
Smith, Willie Mae McDonald 232
Soutendijk, Renee 256
Spaatz, Carl 211
Staffen, Everett 7, 34, 177
Staffen, Everett A. 125
Staffen, T/Sergeant Everett A. 127
Staffen, Uncle John 177
Steiner, Robert 285
Stewart, Jimmy 278
Stimson, Henry L. 37
Stokley, Major Paul 108
Strauss, Dorothy 302
Stukey, Deroy Clark 333
Stukey, Doris 334
Stukey, Ethel Stanley 333
Stukey, Walter Don 333
T
Tarver, Barney Bryan 223, 224
Tarver, Lina 225
Taylor, Harry 223
Trahan, Simonia 351
Triola, Michelle 280
Tropez, St. 221, 286
Tubman, Harriet 202
V
Vanderveen, Gerrit 255
Vann, R. L. 203
Vaughan, C. 15
Villa, Pancho 249, 266
Vith, St. 246, 302, 347
W
Wageman, Roy 338
Walker, J. K. 203
Warner, Rawleigh 253, 291, 320, 321
Washington, B. T. 202
Washington, Booker T. 202
Wayne, John 196
Weedin, Ann 198
Weeke, Dini 136
Weeke, Dini Kothe 34
Weeke, Gunter 133
Weldon, Arthur 203
Whisman, Billie Mae 273
White, James E. 266
White, James E. Jim 266
White, Jim 267
Whitman, Walt 274
Wiersema, Ed 285
Willemse, Rik 283
Williams, Bert 203
Williford, Elmer 8
Wilson, Woodrow 249, 337
Wree, Gertrude 253
Wright, Orville 204
Y
Yates, Charles 122
Yates, Pappy 122
York, Alvin Cullum 342

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