Bob CollinsThe story behind this tweet from a nursing home is the stuff of a darned good movie. To mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day we wanted to share this incredible 'then and now' photo of Bernard #Hove #DDay pic.twitter.com/pQrc1FnXFY — Gracewell Healthcare (@GracewellHealth) June 6, 2014 Bernard Jordan, 89, went missing from the nursing home Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
War
I’ve watched nearly every documentary and every movie about D-Day over my 60 years, but I am still completely incapable of wrapping my head around the magnitude of the horror of what happened on the beaches 70 years ago today.
It’s not for lack of trying, nor lack of listening to the stories of the men who were there. It’s simply something my human brain can’t comprehend, nor understand how anyone can survive that kind of horror.
Read more →
Chester Nez, who died yesterday, was the last of the original Navajo Code Talkers, who used their native language to pass information during World War II, a language that was never cracked by the Japanese.
His — and their achievements — are legend. But they didn’t stop once the war ended. Just ask the Boston Red Sox. Read more →
This week marks the 70th anniversary of D-Day, but for a Frederic, Wisconsin man — Frederick is between Pine City, MN and Spooner, WI — one of the more memorable moments in the invasion had its 70th anniversary in April.
Read more →
When the public debate turns to whether the U.S. military should reconsider its policy of leaving no soldier behind in war, you know the public debate over Bowe Bergdahl is fever fueled.
Read more →
A Pennsylvania auction company has decided not to sell the skull of a person found near a spot where a field hospital once stood on the Gettysburg battle site. Read more →
The need to exchange five allegedly dangerous detainees in exchange for Bowe Bergdahl is becoming more mysterious with each hour since the weekend exchange with the Taliban. It’s not often the yellow ribbons go up for someone being increasingly described by former colleagues as a ‘deserter.’ Read more →
This week marks the 70th anniversary of D-Day and The Guardian is providing a compelling photographic tribute to the day that marked the beginning of the end of World War II. Read more →
Next week, France will recognize the 70th anniversary of D-Day — a day when foreign troops helped saved France — and the country’s broadcasters aren’t allowing free coverage of it.
Read more →
Odin Stutrud, 94, survived the rigors of the United States Army from 1942 to 1946, including fighting the Japanese in the Aleutian Islands campaign in World War II. It’s some jerks (or jerk) in Wahpeton who have him steamed. Read more →
A post on Reddit says they were found in a Goodwill store, and now the social media site is doing what it does best: Solving mysteries.
Read more →
Unquestionably, House Republicans smell blood in the water with the Veterans Affairs scandal, but last night’s House hearing on the scandal appeared to be more than just typical political theater. Three officials of the Veterans Administration — none of them named Eric Shinseki — appeared before the House Veterans Affairs Committee last evening to answer Read more →
President Obama yesterday announced that the U.S. will leave about 10,000 troops in Afghanistan by 2016, ending the war in Afghanistan.
Is it too soon to ask who won the war? Read more →
Is there room for peace in a holiday that memorializes soldiers who died in war?
Read more →
The case of Mario Hernandez defies all logic. When he signed up to fight in Vietnam, and took his oath to uphold the Constitution, he thought he was becoming a citizen. He had a Social Security number that he got when he arrived in the United States as a child. He went on to a career as a prison guard. He voted.
He did everything a good U.S. citizen does. Then he tried to go on a cruise with his wife and when he tried to get a passport, he found out he’s not a citizen after all. Read more →