World War II Database

1. Deb says:
1 Nov 2010 07:36:57 PM

My Great uncle Jim Flanagan is holding the flag! My mother recognized him in a newsreel shown at the theaters at this time. Love yu, Uncle Jim

2.  Bill says:
24 Sep 2011 01:14:32 PM

MEN OF THE 101st AIRBORNE,THOSE GIs,THEY ARE ARMED TO THE TEETH, THEY WERE THE CITIZEN SOLDIERS.
SAY WHO GOT TO KEEP THE FLAG AND HELMET? DID ALL THOSE BRAVE MEN SURVIVE WWII, TO RETURN HOME, AND LIVE LONG PEACEFUL LIVES.

3. ken cravens says:
25 May 2012 01:18:20 PM

My Dad, Second From The Right, PFC Charles Robert Cravens, Passed Away When I Was Eleven So Didnt Get To Talk Too Much About Those Times But I Am Very Proud.

4. Michelle says:
14 Sep 2013 08:55:42 PM

the gentleman in the back row on the far right is my grandfather, Samuel McClellan. He was shot three times but survived the war. He came back to the U.S. and became a preacher. He also had five children and lots of grandchildren. He finally got to walk off an airplane in 2004 when he went to Washington D.C. for a WWII memorial dedication. He unfortunately passed away in January of this year.

5. Lisa says:
17 Nov 2013 10:34:54 AM

I too know the man Michelle speaks of the was my Fathet-In-law. He was a great man!! He and his wife ran a church camp for many many years. Before his retirement. Samule gave me this picture his Mother saved with several news clipping of his brothers and himself being injured in the war. He suffered alot from knee pain due to jumping out of planes. After he retired. He helped his wife take care of her parents. I divorced thei son. After 20 years of marriage. I missed Sam very much. I eil never forget him he was a wonderful person and a brave solider!!!!! .

6. Muriel says:
15 Apr 2014 06:31:39 PM

My dad, second from the left, came home with the flag along with a german dagger. He never talked about his time in the service but he lovingly raised 4 kids and retired as a teacher for the ROTC program. He passed away in 1973. My mother saved the original magazine that the picture was in. We donated all of these items to the WWII museum in New Orlean years ago. We still miss him to this day.

7. Larry says:
30 May 2014 04:24:12 PM

My father-in-law passed away in 1996, and he would virtually never talk about the war or ever participate in any reunions. He was two months shy of his 19th birthday on D-Day and was the only one of his team that did its jump training together who survived the war. We never saw any photos or anything regarding his service. In his last few years, he would occasionally say something about Bastogne and the Bulge (and often have flashbacks) when our family was together at Christmas. For years, I have been looking for him when I saw pictures of the 101st in magazines, on TV, etc., but with no luck. One of my friends posted this photo on Facebook on Memorial Day. I think my father-in-law is on the far right of the picture. He was pretty tall (6' 3") and looked a lot like the soldier in the photo. I have never had a chance to get to Fort Campbell to talk to someone in their archives, but I would appreciate it if anyone had any ideas as to the identities of all of the soldiers pictured here. Thanks.

8. Gary Giarratano says:
2 Jun 2014 11:54:12 PM

My father, John A. Giarratano 502nd 101st Air Borne, is the man with the machete. He was interviewed by the Pueblo, CO Chieftain newspaper for the 40th anniversary of D-Day holding a copy of Newsweek and pointing to his image. A friend of the family recognized him in the news reel, after D-Day, at the local movie theater and alerted my grandfather. Story has it that my grandfather attended the movies every day to see his son. When the theater quit showing the news reel, the projectionist cut a frame out and made a large copy of the picture. I Still have it. My father passed away on 6/28/98. The Chieftain honored him with another article in the obituary section on 7/2/98. He became a sergeant on the battlefield and a machine gun squad leader. He earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart with 3 oak clusters. He participated in D-Day, Market Garden and Bastogne.

9. Karen Browning says:
16 Jul 2014 10:20:43 AM

My father told me that he is the soldier on the far right of this photo. He was wounded the next day April 9th. He took a penetrating round to the front of the head and survived. He returned to the states in August and was plagued with severe headaches and seizures due to the metal plate in his head. He, like the others, was quiet about his service until he saw this photo on the history channel. He called me to tell me that that was him. He died at the age of 79.

10. Steve C says:
22 May 2015 06:01:30 AM

My Grandfather, Leland (Leo) DuBuc, is third from the left; the man directly to the left of the flag, holding the rifle. He passed away in 2007 after a long life raising a beautiful family. We have multiple copies of this photo, discovered over the years in various media and publications. My grandfather was an OSS operative embedded with the 101st. I have much of his OSS memorabilia. He told amazing stories of his time in the OSS, living undercover as a French citizen in France prior to D-Day gathering intelligence, his post D-Day missions for the OSS, his interactions with Wild Bill Donovan. Truly a hero and an amazing man. Proud to be his grandson.

11. Anonymous says:
7 Jul 2016 01:56:05 PM

The soldier back row far right of the picture is Sam Rowland not Samuel McClellan

12. AnonymousMark O\'Brien says:
23 Oct 2018 07:24:11 PM

The soldier, fifth from the left, standing behind the RIGHT shoulder of the fellow holding the Nazi flag, is my uncle.(I wouldn't be born until 7 years later). I've verified this is Uncle Buddy by computer imaging w/ older civilian photos of him. T. Sgt. William J. Torpie jr, of Roxbury, (Mission Hill), Boston, Massachusetts. According to the official Army Records and the US Army Human Resources Command, he was killed on the actual D-Day, 6 June, 1944. His body lay where he fell until Graves Registration noted his dead body and quickly buried it where he fell. It was then dug up and re-buried at a temporary cemetery, (at Blasville, France) on July 1, 1944. His body was returned to the US in 1947, to Boston for burial in the family plot. My grandparents, William J. Torpie Sr. & Nora Jordan Torpie (their only son) and my mother, Sally Torpie O'Brien (he was her only sibling) mourned his death until the day they died. (My sympathy to all of the families of these soldiers and Honouring the dead and all of these soldiers for their Service to rid the World of Nazism.

13. Anonymous says:
13 Nov 2018 11:05:09 PM

The guy with the machete standing next to the guy with the flag is my grandmas younger brother. Jerry giarratano

14. Anonymous says:
13 Nov 2018 11:09:30 PM

My grandmas little brother Jerry giarratano is the man standing with the machete next to the man holding the nazi flag.
Was only son to go to ww2 and survived. He had 6 sisters

15. Anonymous says:
8 Jun 2019 12:43:14 PM

@Mark Obriend , but this photo was taken the 8th and its clearly some time after D-day

16. Anonymous says:
13 May 2020 06:38:16 PM

Anonymous, It was 2 days after the invasion. The paratroopers needed to join up at their respective rally points, complete and hold certain objectives like roads, bridges and causeways. Then they took the town. 2 days isn't hard to believe.

17. Anonymous says:
8 Jun 2020 11:29:37 AM

I'm wrong or these are men of the Easy company?