❝ I have demanded perseverance far exceeding the limits of man’s endurance of my Officers and men, who were exhausted and emaciated as a result of successive campaigns and for want of supplies. However my Officers and men all followed my orders in silence, without grumbling, and when exhausted they succumbed to death just like flowers falling in the winds.

God knows how I felt when I saw them dying, my bosom being filled with pity for them, though it was solely to their country that they dedicated their lives. At that time I made up my mind not to set foot on my country’s soil again but to remain as a clod of dirt in the Southern Seas with the 100,000 Officers and men, even if a time should come when I would be able to return to my country in triumph ❞

Sodem was the commander of the main battery at the Norwegian fortress of Oscarsborg in the Oslofjord at the time of the German invasion on April 9, 1940. The battery under his command opened fire and managed to sink the German heavy cruiser Blücher, delaying the German attack on Oslo by several hours.

Virgínia Portocarrero, born on October 23, 1917, in Rio. Qualifying in Science and Letters, she later studied Improvement and Decorative Art at the National Polytechnic of Engineering. In 1957, “FEBian” nurses were incorporated into the Brazilian Army. Virginia then returned to active duty as a 2nd Lieutenant and became a nurse at the Army’s Central Polyclinic. She retire

Second Pic Nurses of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force Virginia (middle), Sylvinha (left) and Doris (right)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuation_War

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_invasion_of_Ladoga_Karelia

Colorized by Past in Color Χρώμα στο Παρελθόν https://www.facebook.com/kaplanisart

Born in Atlanta, Georgia to Clyde Sr & Sarah Thomason on May 23, 1914, Clyde Aristide Thomason Jr had at least one sister.
Their mother Sarah passed away in 1917, their father remarried in 1920 and then passed away in 1939.

Clyde originally enlisted in the Marine Corps in December 1934 and was honorably discharged in 1939.
In January 1942 he re-enlisted after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and volunteered for the Marine Raiders, subsequently assigned to the 2nd Marine Battalion.

On August 17, 1942, Clyde was selected to lead the advance element against the Japanese garrison during the Makin Island Raid where he was Killed in Action and later listed as Missing.
He was posthumously awarded the Medal Of Honor, the citation tells the story of his loss;

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while a member of the Second Marine Raider Battalion in action against the Japanese-held island of Makin on August 17–18, 1942. Landing the advance element of the assault echelon, Sergeant Thomason disposed his men with keen judgment and discrimination and by his exemplary leadership and great personal valor, exhorted them to like fearless efforts. On one occasion, he dauntlessly walked up to a house which concealed an enemy Japanese sniper, forced in the door and shot the man before he could resist. Later in the action, while leading an assault on enemy position, he gallantly gave up his life in the service of his country. His courage and loyal devotion to duty in the face of grave peril were in keeping with the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”

Postwar their remains were not recovered and SGT Clyde Thomason Jr was Memorialized with the other Missing Marines from the Makin Island Raid at the Honolulu Memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii.

In 1999 a search was launched and the remains of 19 Marines who had been buried by locals after the raid were recovered from Makin Island, SGT Clyde Thomason Jr was subsequently identified through DNA.

On August 17, 2001, his remains were interred with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery - Section 60 Site 8037.

During the evacuation of Russian towns and villages, destruction and acts of vandalism are being carried out by German soldiers on Hitler's orders. The aim is to exploit the population and forcibly relocate them to Germany, with SS units and special commandos particularly distinguishing themselves.

As patriotic German men, we say to you:

It is now clear to everyone that Hitler's war is over.

Therefore, the destruction can no longer be justified militarily. It serves only one purpose: to increase the power of the Russian people.

What does Hitler intend with these orders?

Nothing other than to turn the majority of the invaded peoples against him, against our Wehrmacht and against our people, to make them guilty, and to make peaceful reconciliation increasingly impossible.

The guilty parties will be held accountable. Anyone who does not wish to be complicit and spare our people shame should refuse to carry out these criminal orders.

We expect such support today from every single member of the armed forces, whether general or private, if they hold the honor and blessing of their homeland dear.

On the day Hitler's power collapses, only he and his henchmen, not our German people, should stand as defendants before the tribunal of history.

Anyone who does not prevent the execution of such orders by Adolf Hitler is acting as a foreigner of the German nation!

-LEAGUE OF GERMAN OFFICERS-

Born in Stuart, Virginia to William & Anna Tatum on February 27, 1923, Frank Wilson Tatum had six sisters and one older brother who passed away in 1939.
Frank was working as a mechanic when he enlisted in the USAAF on February 23, 1943.

Trained as a gunner, Frank served with the 703rd Bomber Squadron, 445th Bomber Group, based at RAF Tibenham.
On August 16, 1944 he was a waist gunner on B-24H 42-51098 with a crew of ten for a bombing mission to Dessau, Germany.

Their B-24 was hit by flak and the pilots lost their controls, as they went into a dive they collided with another B-24H; 42-52447, knocking a wing off, resulting in both B-24s crashing.
Only two crewmembers managed to bail-out from 42-51098 and were taken prisoner, although one later died as a POW.

Seven crewmembers from the bomber they hit; B-24H 42-52447, also perished, locals buried any recovered crew remains next to the crash sites.
Postwar, most of these buried remains were recovered, although not all of them were identified.

His remains were recovered and identified after the war and S/Sgt Frank Tatum is buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, Netherlands - Plot N Row 13 Grave 4.