A native of Salem, Virginia, Jesse Bradley joined the Navy in February 1942. Bradley served on the U.S.S. Yorktown (CV-10) as a gunner on a 40mm anti-aircraft gun. While serving in the Pacific, Bradley wrote to his wife, Lillian, almost every day. Lillian, too, was a frequent letter-writer. For the duration …
Continue ReadingSeventy-eight years ago, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. In the attack, more than 2,000 Americans were killed and more than 1,000 were wounded. Proclaimed “a date which will live in infamy” by President Roosevelt, the attack was the event that led to the United States’ formal declaration of war against …
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Our country’s Thanksgiving celebrations have been acknowledged by our leaders since the 18th century. In 1789 George Washington proclaimed a nationwide day of thanks and prayer. In 1863 Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation that the last Thursday in November would be a national day of thanksgiving. Today, we recognize the …
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Virginia is home to ninety-five counties and thirty-eight independent cities. Those cities and counties sent nearly 12,000 Virginians to war who never returned home between World War II and the Persian Gulf War. Sadly, additional service men and women have been killed in action since 2001 in the Global War …
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