The Missing Shoe by Connie L. Rogalsky Every family is occasionally inconvenienced by losing something, even if they seem to be perfectly neat to outside observers. Our very imperfect, not-so-neat family has developed the talent of losing things into a fine art. We have the normal trouble with socks, pencils, homework, library books and keys, but our specialty is losing one shoe out of a pair—especially if it's a brand new pair. I have devised a plan for finding shoes. I'm good at … [Read more...] about Writer Connie Rogalsky
US Navy
Researching Robert
Home at Last by Jim Potter Robert Parks was honorably discharged from the US Navy in 1919 just in time to enjoy Christmas with his parents, Henry and Lydia Parks, living in McPherson County, Kansas. Fighting in the World War was over for more than a year when Robert was discharged. His extended service time was due to the monumental operation of clearing tens of thousands of mines in the North Sea between Scotland and Norway, while assigned to the USS Heron (AM-10), a minesweeper … [Read more...] about Researching Robert
Researching Robert
Minesweeper USS Heron By Jim Potter During the Armistice of 1918, while two million doughboys and bluejackets were anxious to return to the United States from Europe and to be demobilized, Robert Parks was preparing to help clear a portion of the North Sea Mine Barrage, an area 240-mile-long and of an average width of twenty-five miles, or over 6,000 square miles. Withn this area were concealed a chain of 70,263 naval mines between Scotland and Norway completed by Great Britain's Royal … [Read more...] about Researching Robert
Researching Robert
A Letter Home from New London by Jim Potter Thanks to a McPherson, Kansas, newspaper article published in June 1918, researchers can read a personal letter from Robert Parks. The correspondence gives the viewer an exceptional glimpse at a moment in Robert’s life while he was training in the United States Navy, at New London, Connecticut. Prior to Parks' arrival at the United States Receiving Barracks, State Pier, New London, he had already attained a rating of Electrician Third … [Read more...] about Researching Robert
Robert E. Enders, Part 2
(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) Robert E. Enders and the USS Bountiful In the first part of this true story, titled Robert E. Enders: Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class, https://jimpotterauthor.com/robert-e-enders/ we learned how eighteen year-old Bob Enders joined the U.S Navy in 1942. He traveled from his home town of Lyons, Kansas to Farragut, Idaho for boot camp. At the Farragut Naval Training Station he also graduated from the Hospital Corps … [Read more...] about Robert E. Enders, Part 2
Robert E. Enders
(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) Robert E. Enders: Pharmacist's Mate Third Class Last week, I was a guest speaker at a club meeting talking about my reward postcard collection. Prior to the actual start of the meeting I was visiting with a few of the club members when in walked an elderly gentleman wearing a World War II Veteran ball cap. I introduced myself to him and we started discussing his military service in the U. S. Navy during … [Read more...] about Robert E. Enders
