Story Archives of 'World War II'

This week, Roger Aldrich received medals for his service in World War II.

It’s taken the Army six decades to get the veteran his decorations because a fire wiped out his records years ago.

But New Hampshire Public Radio’s Dan Gorenstein reports the 86 year old knows those decorations won’t prove his sacrifice.

That proof lies elsewhere.

Milan’s Lilly and Don Rich stopped by, just short of their 64th wedding anniversary. They met in 1944 and decided to get married, but a few things got in their way.

Statistics show that a thousand World War II veterans are dying off every day. In New Hampshire, two authors set out to find WWII veterans living in the Granite State. “We Went to War” profiles the personal stories of thirty seven men and women who fought in and lived through the war. Their poignant stories help us remember an era that time is slowly blurring from our minds.

Guests

• Michael Pride, former editor of the Concord Monitor and co-author of We Went To War: New Hampshire Remembers
• Meg Heckman, reporter for the Concord Monitor and co-author of We Went To War: New Hampshire Remembers

Douglas Van Weelden was a pilot in World War II, when he was shot down over Germany, captured and sent to a prisoner of war camp. His daughter, Kathy, asks him about his time there.

On April 9th, 1942, about 75,000 Filipino and American soldiers were ordered by Japanese guards to march more than 60 miles to a prison camp in the Philippines. As many as ten thousand men died in the process. We're going to talk with Concord Monitor editor Mike Pride about the march and his connection to WWII vet Steve Raymond. Now in his 90's, Raymond survived both the Bataan Death march and 3 1/2 years of hellish captivity. Mike's book about Steve's experiences is Too Dead to Die: A Memoir of Bataan and Beyond.