A 1942 photo captures a coal miner’s joy as he collects his paycheck in West Pittston, PA during World War II. Learn how miners balanced booming wartime demand with labor strikes, Federal seizure of mines, and a landmark UMWA settlement in 1943. Read the full story.
The remains of Sergeant Orlando Vincenti, a coal miner from Carbondale, PA returned home in June 1949 for a solemn military funeral after falling in his B‑17 “Aw‑R‑Go” raid over Muenster, Germany, in 1943. Read the full story.
Meet Corporal Albert Scherzinger, a Pottsville native who helped arm B-17 Flying Fortresses with 500-pound bombs in England. Read the full story.
On Thanksgiving Day 1943, as World War II raged on, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania marked the holiday with a quieter tone. Many residents continued to work in essential industries, while others gathered for church services and family reunions. Discover how the Wyoming Valley adapted to the war-time holiday and embraced the hope of victory on the horizon. Read the full story.
In November 1943, as World War II intensified, coal mines in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania were asked to remain open on Thanksgiving to meet the critical coal demands of the war effort. Despite the holiday, miners worked as a patriotic duty to keep the country powered and the effort to defeat fascism abroad moving forward. Read the full story.
Airman Joseph Acquisto found himself aiming bombs at his hometown in Sicily during the Allied invasion in July 1943.
My first trip to Germany in 2022 brought me new perspectives on the realities of air bombardment during the Second World War.
Episode 6 follows characters from 100th Bomb Group to POW camps, Flak Houses, and meetings to promote Allied cooperation.
Episode 5 takes us to the skies over Muenster, Germany where the 100th Bomb Group experiences unbearable losses.
Sergeant Orlando Vincenti was killed in a bombing raid over Munster, Germany in October 1943.