On the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, we continue to share our Virtual Coffee & Conversations with you. Below and here you will learn more from Royal Schmidt, who fought in Charlie Company of the 160th Battalion in the 40th Infantry Division during action on Guadalcanal and New Britain.

Background: The war in the Pacific stretched from the Aleutian islands in the northeast (see image above) to New Guinea and Indonesia in the south west. From fierce fighting on remote jungle islands like Guadalcanal (see image below) to operations near the freezing Arctic Circle, the war in the Pacific was fought in the air, at sea, and on islands both large and small.

Take a moment today to reflect on the heroism, death, and service of the men and women who fought in World War II in the Pacific. Be sure to watch the Coffee & Conversation with your loved ones as you do.

The Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum continues to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, this time with a photo retrospective of the London Blitz.

Background:

Near the beginning of World War II, Hitler set his sights on subduing Great Britain through a series of intensive bombing raids. Between September 1940 and May 1941, it is estimated that 45,000 short tons of bombs were dropped on Britain by the Nazi Luftwaffe. Intending both to damage Britain’s wartime industrial infrastructure and its citizen’s morale, the Blitz did not ultimately succeed in breaking Great Britain.

While certainly devastating and psychologically destructive (to say nothing about the lives lost and homes shattered) the Blitz didn’t achieve Hitler’s primary objective. The Royal Air Force (RAF) and ground-based anti-aircraft guns held their own, and the citizens—despite some turmoil and often severe hardship—remained unbowed. From sending women and children to the countryside, to sheltering at night in London Underground tunnels, the citizens of Great Britain adapted to life under air raids during the nine months of the Blitz.

By spring of 1941, Hitler had shifted his attention to invading the Soviet Union with Operation Barbarossa, and the Blitz ended. As you scroll through the pictures below, reflect on how you might have responded during this time. Use historical empathy to put yourself in the shoes of the people of the past and to imagine what life might have been like 75 years ago….

This year marks 75 years since the end of World War II. The Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum continues to commemorate the end of the war by re-posting videos from past Coffee & Conversations that relate to this momentous event.

ABOUT V-E DAY: V-E Day (short for Victory in Europe) saw Nazi Germany unconditionally surrender to Allied Forces in Berlin on May 8, 1945. The surrender triggered celebrations in Allied countries across the world. Despite this huge victory, the ongoing war against Japan had not been won yet, and it would be nearly three months before the war was finally over.

Below and here you will find an embedded video of Brad Beeler’s account of his experiences in Germany in 1944 and 1945 with the 102nd Infantry Division. Beeler was awarded a Bronze Star medal for his heroism in action in Germany. He was discharged in 1945 and moved to Colorado in 1948 with his wife.

The social isolation spurred by COVID-19 has prompted many to employ the long-lost art of letter writing. Hand-written letters possess a thrill upon receipt that an email or a text cannot match. The act of opening the envelope and then holding the paper or card that your friend, relative, or lover recently touched has a visceral power and attraction.

For the men and women deployed in the military, letters have long been a vital connection to the home-front and a welcome respite from the drudgery and horror of war. In the Coffee & Conversation linked above and below from October 22, 2016, Colleen Sawyer describes the spirited love letters exchanged between her mother and father. Between the years of 1942 and 1945, her father, George Sawyer, and her mother, Jane Remer, exchanged many, many letters with each other and their discourse blossomed into love. Sawyer was deployed in North Africa and Italy during World War II, and it was clear through these letter that his relationship “on paper” with Remer was the beating heart of his persistence in the face of difficulty and boredom.

Learn more about this fascinating story and perhaps be motivated to write letters to your loved ones by watching the video linked here or above.

On the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum invites you to immerse yourself in the lives and heroism of the men and women who fought for our country.

Our first Virtual Coffee & Conversation spotlights Colorado’s 157th Infantry Regiment.

Overview:

With its advent during the earliest days of the Colorado Territory, the 157th’s predecessors battled the Confederates during the battle of Glorieta Pass in New Mexico, fought in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War, and saw action in France during World War I. 

World War II, however, would be the regiment’s defining moment. Through 511 hard days of combat in the European theater, the “Thunderbirds” made four assault landings and was credited with saving the Salerno and Anzio beachheads. 

Did you know that over 3,000 Native Americans fought as part of this Division? Or that the 157th was instrumental in the liberation of the horrific Dachau concentration camp?

Learn more about this fascinating history by checking out Flint Whitlock’s Coffee & Conversation presentation from May 12, 2018 at the video below or here.

To go even deeper, you can purchase Flint Whitlock’s book about the 45th Infantry Division, The Rock of Anzio, here.

Campaigns of the 45th Infantry Division Image Source: Allied Forces. Army Group, 12Th. Engineer Section, and 1St. Headquarters United States Army. Army Group. , HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map. [England?: Twelfth Army Group, 1944] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2004630253/>.