Aaron Elson's Blog, page 8
March 7, 2020
The Man Who Wasn't There
Yesterday upon the stair
I saw a man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today
I wish I wish he'd go away
So begins the poem Antigonish by William Hughes Mearns, about a ghost in a village in Nova Scotia. According to theghoststory.com, it's the most famous ghost poem of all time. Who knew. Glenn Miller even performed it. In episode 32, I included audio from the driver, the assistant driver, the lieutenant and the loader of a tank that was knocked out in the Battle of the Bulge. Stanley Klapkowski, the gunner, is the man who wasn't there. This is his story, and a wild one it is. Warning: Graphic content.
March 2, 2020
Once Upon a Tank in the Bulge
At the 1992 reunion of the 712th Tank Battalion, I sat at a table in the hospitality room with four veterans -- Jim Gifford, Ed Spahr, Bob Rossi and Tony D'Arpino -- whose Sherman tank was knocked out on January 10, 1945. They reconstructed the details of that day, and spoke about other events in the war. There is some graphic content in this episode of the War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It podcast.
February 23, 2020
"What Do You Want, To Live Forever?"
In this episode of War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It, Lieutenant Jim Gifford touches upon some of the major events in the history of the 712th Tank Battalion. These include the hedgerows of Normandy, the moonlight battle with the 106th German Panzer Brigade, and the taking of Maizieres les Metz.
February 15, 2020
The Road to Falaise
The independent 712th Tank Battalion spent 311 days in combat from Normandy to Czechoslovakia, and earned a reputation as the "armored fist" of the 90th Infantry Division. This episode of War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It follows Lieutenant Jim Gifford of C Company from his arrival as a replacement in Normandy to the Falaise Gap on August 18-19, 1944. Warning: This episode contains some graphic descriptions.
February 5, 2020
Valentine's Day
Sometimes a veteran's wife would sit in on an interview, or I'd be chatting with a couple at a reunion of my father's tank battalion, and it was only natural at some point to ask the couple how they met. These are their stories.
January 19, 2020
Lieutenant Warfield's Widow
Before Harry and Meghan, as royal scandals go, there was Princess Diana, and before Diana, there was Wallis Warfield Simpson, for whom King Edward VIII abdicated the throne. All the fuss about Meghxit got me to thinking about Lieutenant Marshall Warfield, who was a cousin of Wallis Warfield Simpson. This episode largely departs from the stories of combat and contains excerpts of my interview with Lieutenant Warfield's widow, Olga.
December 25, 2019
Hill 122 Part 9: The Turning Plow
In this episode, which concludes the series on Hill 122, Lieutenant Jim Flowers is reunited at the 1995 reunion of the 90th "Texas-Oklahoma" Infantry Division with Claude Lovett, who led the platoon that rescued him and Jim Rothschadl; and Dr. William McConahey, who treated their wounds and later wrote about Flowers in his book "Battalion Surgeon."
December 15, 2019
Hill 122 Part 8: "It says here hand to hand combat ... that's me."
Many podcasts have background music. In this and a couple of other episodes, the background music is provided by a radio or TV playing in the next room. It's annoying, but only a minor distraction from the compelling events being described. In Part 8 of the Hill 122 series, you'll hear from Michael Vona, Clarence Morrison and Kenneth Titman, whose tank was one of four that were knocked out in the battle. Vona gives a chilling account of hand to hand combat. For more about Hill 122, go to the Audio Books aisle of the WW2 Oral History Store at aaronelson.com and click on "The Middle of Hell."
November 17, 2019
Hill 122, Part 7: A Side Trip to Anzio
When Myron Kiballa received the letter from his family telling him his brother Jerry was killed, he had just gotten out of the hospital after being wounded at Anzio. Reading the letter, he said, was like entering the Twilight Zone. For more of the story of Hill 122, visit aaronelson.com/the-middle-of-hell. There will be more about Hill 122 in the next few podcast episodes. First, though, let's hear about Anzio.
November 10, 2019
Hill 122, Part 6: No Man's Land
In this episode Lieutenant Jim Flowers and his gunner describe the two days and nights they spent in no man's land waiting to be rescued and fearing they wouldn't. But first, we solve the mystery of how a fellow named Rothschadl grew up on an Anishanaabe Indian reservation in Minnesota. For more on the battle of Hill 122 involving the first platoon, Company C, of the 712th Tank Battalion, check out They Were All Young Kids in print or for Kindle at amazon, or order the audio epic "The Middle of Hell" in the ecommerce section of aaronelson.com.
