Capt. Alex Hacker, in Belgium 1945 D Day 6 June, 1944 82 years ago Allied Forces stormed the beaches of Normandy.  Among those forces was Captain Alex Hacker, father of SKCGS member Alexis Hacker Booker.  These photos and the information with them are from Alexis and her sister Dee Jarvis. Day One, Landing Craft Dee Jarvis:  My dad was on one of the first boats [landing craft] and was pulled off for a doctor [who was senior to my father and demanded to take his place], who was shot in the landing. Daddy went on day 2, encountering gunfire and bodies.  Alexis Visits Omaha Beach Omaha Beach Division Marker Alexis Hacker Booker:  I was on Omaha Beach three years ago. I called our mother Evelyn from the beach and this is what she told me: Our father Alex was in the Corp of Engineers, and the engineers were placed on various landing craft with the Infantry. They already had orders for when they got ashore.  However, when they hit the beaches their o...

Do you have a relative’s Dog Tags in your possession? Can you read the story they tell? Four U.S. Army Dog Tag types were issued during World War II. This set belonged to my father Alex Hacker. They were found in the house of his mother Maude Mayton Hacker in Harriman, TN after she died, by Cousin Sandra “Cookie” Giles Pride. Cookie gave them to me, Alex’s daughter Alexis. Originally this second iteration of WWII U.S. Army tags carried this information: The soldier’s name Soldier’s service/serial number Soldier’s emergency contact information, usually next of kin’s name Street Address  City and state 1941 Heralded New Medical Technology & a Dog Tag Update In November of 1941, tags began including medical information. The set shown above is of this time frame. November 1941 revision tags added space after the service number to include (a) the year of the wearer’s tetanus shot plus (b) their blood type. In 2021, it’s hard for us to appreciate how innovative the inclusion of medic...

by Joy Etienne, sole niece of an 8th AA radio operator BAM.   Fire in the empty bomb bay.   BANG.   The B-24 nose turret explosion. Chaos high above Oise still enjoying the painterly French summer light made famous by Vincent Van Gogh in another era. Black, molten flak lacerates the shiny skin of the Ford-built Lib.  BOOM. The wings fly off. Thursday 7:35 pm  Sunon Square Dance goes down in flames.  The German 88 meter anti-aircraft canon in Cramoisy got the squadron  leader. My 4F uncle, Tech Sgt John Harold Leahy, who went by Bill, the radio gunner in the bomb bay, grabbed the fire extinguisher before passing out. June 27, 1944 while supporting our D-Day troops bombing German supply lines in Creil, he and   Sgt Walter Schum, left waist gunner from Altoona, PA, Lt Walter Strychasz, bombardier from Cleveland, OH and Lt Arlee Reno, navigator from New Mexico died for a righteous cause. Missing Air Crew Reports & more MACR...