Honoring Pete (And Dad)

While the events in this post happened at the end of 2019, I’m just now sharing them here on my blog.

Most people who knew my dad knew that he had a whole room in our old house in Hanover dedicated to his great uncle, Captain James “Pete” Stepro, who died in WWII in Africa in 1943. (I have previously blogged about Pete here.) Dad became the caretaker of many of Pete’s personal effects/letters/photos/pre-Army documentation from the late 30s/etc. in the early 80s, having received them from Pete’s widow. He then contacted as many people as he could who served with Pete and knew Pete in his Army days to gather as many stories as he could, and that resulted in Dad writing a book about him called Captain Pete.

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Journey to Tunisia blog active again!

For those of you interested in World War II, my Journey to Tunisia blog is active again.  I let it go dormant after our initial plan to visit my great-great uncle’s grave in Tunisia fell through, but I’m now back at it as a way to honor this man who gave his life fighting the Germans in Africa. Please check it out.  There’s a lot more to come, as I’m going to start putting up Pete’s writings and letters, as well as more pictures. I have so many of his things and they need to be shared!

The 70th Anniversary of D-Day – a powerful monologue

Bob Hope was not only an entertainer but a passionate supporter of the troops both during World War II and after.  The night of D-Day, June 6, 1944, Americans were tuned to their radios, eager for any invasion news updates that they could get.  Most shows were pre-empted for news broadcasts, but Bob Hope went on the air at 10:15pm on NBC.  Instead of his normal antics, he began his show with this sober and reverent monologue that withstands 70 years of time.

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