German WWII POW Camps of Chicago

Niles favorite and university lecturer in anthropology, James Meierhoff, discusses the various barracks built in Des Plaines, Skokie and 4 four other locations at the Niles Historical and Cultural Center, 8970 N. Milwaukee Avenue, on Sunday, February 26, at 2pm.

Additional Oral History Collections at National World War II Museum and Pritzker Military Museum and Library

In addition to the Veterans History Project, coordinated nationally by the Library of Congress, the National World War II Museum in New Orleans and the Pritzker Military Museum and Library in Chicago are also very active in compiling and maintaining memoirs and recollections of America's citizen soldiers. Their collections are independent of the 80,000 oral  histories available through the American Folklife Center. The Niles Public Library is a founding, cooperating  partner with the Library of Congress in their national effort.

 The  National World War II Museum is creating an online collection of 9,000 oral and written histories.

The museum's success  was described in an Associated Press article written by Janet McConnaughey which appeared in the Chicago Tribune.

Chicago's  Pritzker Military Museum and Library launched the Holt Oral History Program and now has more than 200 personal memoirs. Sponsored by the Seedlings Foundation and in memory of Tuskegee Airman Coleman Thompson Holt, the Holt Oral History Program is dedicated to conserving the unique Stories of Service of the Citizen Soldier. Thomas Webb is the Oral History Coordinator for the PMML.   Mr Holt's  photograph appears below.

American Doughboys in the First World War

is the title of Robert Mueller's presentation on Wednesday, March 29, at 7pm at the Niles Public Library. Mr.  Mueller, a member of the Military Writers Society of America and author of Fields of War: Fifty Key Battlefields in France and Belgium presents a slide-lecture on the 100^th anniversary of America’s sending troops “over there.”

America formally entered the war on April 6, 1917, when  the U.S. House of Representatives endorsed the decision by a vote of 373 to 50, two days after the U.S. Senate voted 82 to 6 to declare war against Germany.

Asiatic-Pacific Theatre Campaign Medal for World War II

Follower of this blog provided the image below and accompanying  information to help descendants of  the Greatest Generation who served in the Pacific  understand their family war records and medals earned. Gentleman's father served aboard the USS  Sims  DD-409, a destroyer.

Rounded bronze medal; scene depicts US Marines having landed on a beach at foreground with palm trees behind them; behind the men and to the left of the palm tree is an aircraft carrier an submarine; to the right of the scene is a battleship and transport aircraft (three aircraft of varying perception depth); the upper half of the medal edges is covered with the text "Asiatic Pacific Campaign"; REVERSE: American Eagle proudly stands on an outcrop of rock; to the left of the eagle are the dates "1941" and "1945" on two lines of text; to the upper right of the eagle are the words "United States of America" on three lines of text.

Award Criteria:

Awarded to service personnel having conducted actions within the Asiatic-Pacific Theater between December 7th, 1941 and March 2nd, 1946.