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Sentimental Journey Continued
Sept. 16th to the 25th 1945
On board the Mexican on the Atlantic Ocean
Our horse crew of 40 had 3 foremen, 2 cooks, 2 guards, and one Veterinarian— Dr. MacDonald. The Mexican had about 100 horses on a smaller top deck, and about 290 on each of two lower decks. Five of us, including a new friend, Dave Miller, w . . .

Sentimental Journey Continued
Thursday, Sept 27th 1945
Rotterdam Harbor -- The Netherlands
Though rather inaccessible, Bremen is the only German Atlantic sea port. In September of 1945 the Nuremberg trials were looming in the coming year and Rotterdam, Holland had become the most convenient sea port for the panicky Nazi hierarchy to flee from Europe. The r . . .

Sentimental Journey Consummated
October 3, 1945–April 16, 1946
Manchester, Lancashire, Great Britain
The Batavia II docked at Gravesend, and via London, I took the train to Manchester. Joan and I must have met again as strangers; I don’t recall. The Doe home had a bedroom for me.
Less than four months post-WWII, Manchester was an uninviting city. As an industrial city, a co . . .

The Dieppe Raid
There had been a report in early 1942 that Stalin was attempting to end the war by making peace with Hitler. It is important to grasp the concept that the Allies viewed the loss of the Russian Military as losing the best weapon the Allies had.
The Dieppe Raid was already planned, but in the summer of 1942, with considerable effort and courage, Winston Churchill flew to Moscow to make a p . . .

MIPUGU — The Ogre of War
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was the supreme commander of the Allied Forces that defeated Hitler’s Nazi regime. His masterful grasp of the myriad of details involved was unlimited. In his book Crusade in Europe he speaks of his 1945 visit to a “horror camp near the town of Gotha.” The “indisputable evidence of the Nazi brutality and reckless disregard of every sense of decency, . . .
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David Meakes
David Meakes is a Canadian-born World War II veteran. He is ninety-five years old and a retired podiatris... read more