On 64th Anniversary, a D-Day Vet Looks Back

(NEWSER) - Even before enlisting, World War II soldiers were made great by the “deprivations and lessons of the Great Depression,” Tom Brokaw writes in the Wall Street Journal. Shared sacrifice and lack of staple goods forged the outlook of the "Greatest Generation," and made the Army almost a relief. “So many veterans told me they got their first new pairs of shoes and boots when they enlisted." More»

Protesters 68 years too late to thwart Allied invasion

(NEWSER) - The Iranians who ransacked the British embassy in Tehran last week made off with some documents labeled "Most Secret" that outlined plans for a massive invasion involving the UK and the US. The intel comes nearly 70 years too late, however: The stolen documents dated from 1943 and outlined Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France, the Guardian reports. More»

Befuddled Texas vet gets reporter to snoop online

(NEWSER) - World War II veterans are discovering mysterious postcards from China in their mailboxes. "It takes a strong man to save himself, a great man to save another," read one card, sent to a befuddled vet living near Houston. "Thank you for 1944. From China." 88-year-old veteran Ed Denzler looked into it, contacting his old volunteer unit that fought in Burma—Merrill's Marauders. They said at least four others had received cards from China, source unknown. So Denzler called up the Houston Chronicle . More»

Doctors told Albert Brown he wouldn't make it to 50

(NEWSER) - The oldest known American survivor of World War II's infamous Bataan Death March has died at the age of 105—after living 55 years longer than doctors said he could expect to. Army captain Albert "Doc" Brown was among 78,000 American and Filipinos forced to trek 65 miles to a Japanese prisoner of war camp in the Philippines, enduring brutal treatment along the way. Some 11,000 died, but Brown survived both the march and three horrific years in a labor camp afterward, AP reports. More»

95-year-old Leeland Davidson to undergo naturalization process

(NEWSER) - Leeland Davidson is a 95-year-old who fought for the US in World War II—and he's just learned that, technically, he’s not an American. He was taking a trip to the DMV to apply for an ID to visit relatives in Canada, when he got the surprising news. “We went up to get an enhanced driver’s license, and they turned me down,” Davidson told Fox News . “They said, ‘Uh, you’re Canadian.’” More»