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September 18, 2013
5-day Forecast Tulsa World  
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13 killed in Washington shooting rampage

A defense contractor employee went on a shooting rampage Monday inside a building at the heavily secured Washington Navy Yard, spraying bullets in the hallways and firing from a balcony onto office workers in an atrium below, authorities and witnesses said. Thirteen people were killed, including the gunman.

 
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OSU will investigate claims made in Sports Illustrated series

Citing a strong appetite for its "Dirty Game" series on Oklahoma State football, Sports Illustrated released the fifth and final chapter a day earlier than originally announced.

 
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BNSF to invest $125 million in state projects

BNSF Railway Co. announced Monday it is spending $125 million to expand and improve its system in Oklahoma. Projects will include a new bypass connection at the Cherokee rail yard in west Tulsa and extending a siding area on the carrier's tracks near Mannford.

 
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Shooting At Navy Yard

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Albums of autumn: 22 new and upcoming music releases to get excited about

As summer fades, so do the songs and sounds of summer. But that gives way to a fall music bonanza.

 
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World War II Veterans



Overview: It’s been almost 68 years since the war ended and the Greatest Generation returned home from World War II, but their memories still survive. This page will be the home for all stories about Oklahoma's Greatest Generation.

  The Tulsa World spoke to four area World War II veterans and hear their stories of death and destruction, hope and redemption. Below are the vignettes of each veteran.



 Bill Caldwell, 90, had to stretch his age the first time he joined the military.
 The youngest of seven children, including five boys, he wanted to experience what his brothers were doing, and get the $1 for signing up. So at 14 in 1936, Caldwell said he signed up for the Oklahoma National Guard.
 “I was wanting to get that dollar,” he said. “I wasn’t making a career.”
  Click here to read the full vignette by Jerry Wofford, World Staff Writer.



  War had already started when Clarence Pleake, 92, was living in Kansas City with his wife and children. He hadn’t been drafted, but seeing the young men around him leaving for war he felt he had to contribute.
 “All my friends were being drafted and going into the service and I just couldn’t stand it,” Pleake said. “It wasn’t good to see all those guys going off and here I’m sitting there making money and a good living and they’re out there fighting for us.”
 He enlisted in the Marine Corps and was sent west to the Pacific Theater. He was assigned to the 5th Division after boot camp. After more training in Hawaii, he went to Guam then on to the siege of Iwo Jima.
  Click here to read the full vignette by Jerry Wofford, World Staff Writer.



 About a week after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Leland Turley, 91, married his high school sweetheart and they had started their life on a farm near Nowata. But they would barely have time together before his number came up.
  “Well, in March of ‘42 I got a letter from Roosevelt that said ‘Greetings!’” Turley said.
 It was his draft letter, and at 21, he was headed to war.
  Click here to read the full vignette by Jerry Wofford, World Staff Writer.



 After an unsuccessful attempt to enlist in the Marine Corps with his friend, Lester Clark, 88, went to sign up for the Navy with his cousin. They took them both, and sent them to opposite coasts.
 “I never saw him until the war was over,” Clark said.
 He went to San Diego in 1943 and was assigned to a Landing Craft Support ship in Hawaii. His first mission with the ship took them to the South Pacific.
  Click here to read the full vignette by Jerry Wofford, World Staff Writer.
HEADLINES
Tulsa veteran named knight of French Legion of Honor

Tulsa veteran named knight of French Legion of Honor   8/8/2013

World War II veteran Paul Andert was named a chevalier, or knight, of the French Legion of Honor at a Tulsa ceremony Thursday.
1944 D-Day invasion led to key victories in WWII, dwindling veterans remember

1944 D-Day invasion led to key victories in WWII, dwindling veterans remember   6/6/2013

Both Price and Andert were involved in the Normandy invasion, but the number of men who participated is dwindling, with about 1,000 U.S. World War II veterans dying every day.

CONTINUING COVERAGE: Read stories about Oklahoma’s World War II veterans from the Tulsa World.

Native American vets push for recognition   5/26/2013

A grassroots effort is brewing among tribes across the country for a memorial honoring American Indian veterans.
Sunday: Mystery surrounds hatbox full of WWII letters

Sunday: Mystery surrounds hatbox full of WWII letters   5/4/2013

A hatbox bought at an estate sale was actually filled with letters from an Oklahoma soldier in WWII.
Honor Flights takes Tulsa-area war veterans on journey of a lifetime

Honor Flights takes Tulsa-area war veterans on journey of a lifetime   4/19/2013

For B.T. McFadden and his son, Grady McFadden, Wednesday began like any other day, with one major exception.
Veterans visit D.C. memorials on Oklahoma Honor Flight trip

Veterans visit D.C. memorials on Oklahoma Honor Flight trip   4/18/2013

The Oklahoma Honor Flights program takes Oklahoma veterans on one-day trips to the nation's capital to visit the memorials that honor their service and sacrifice.
Twin Sapulpa veterans will see WWII memorial as everything else - together

Twin Sapulpa veterans will see WWII memorial as everything else - together   4/17/2013

The training officers just called twins Don and Clyde McMasters both 'Mac' while they trained to be Navy aviators in World War II.
'In the Footsteps of Valor,' by Henry Bodden of Owasso, revisits WWII battlefields, tells veterans' stories

'In the Footsteps of Valor,' by Henry Bodden of Owasso, revisits WWII battlefields, tells veterans' stories   2/20/2013

As Henry Bodden walked down the beach of Iwo Jima, the stories he had heard about the death and hardships of the ferocious battle there became real.
Tulsa Pearl Harbor survivors' stories to be reprinted

Tulsa Pearl Harbor survivors' stories to be reprinted   12/8/2012

The six men who lived through the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had a wide range of experience from that day, including raising the flag on the sunken USS West Virginia and shooting down Japanese planes from a garage pit.
WWII Navy veteran Lonnie Cook tells Pearl Harbor story

WWII Navy veteran Lonnie Cook tells Pearl Harbor story   12/7/2012

The locker shook as Lonnie Cook got dressed aboard the USS Arizona and prepared to spend the day on leave celebrating a successful dice game the night before.
Thousands watch Veterans Day Parade in downtown Tulsa

Thousands watch Veterans Day Parade in downtown Tulsa   11/13/2012

Vicki Jones was in uniform as she waited for a train on a crowded subway platform when someone kept nudging her.
Tulsa's 94th Veterans Day parade today

Tulsa's 94th Veterans Day parade today   11/12/2012

Tulsans will line the streets of downtown Monday to honor veterans who served and sacrificed for their country.
Four Tulsa-area veterans of WWII share their stories

Four Tulsa-area veterans of WWII share their stories   11/11/2012

The number of surviving veterans who served in World War II shrinks more each day, their stories and experiences of the bloodiest global war lost with them.
Leland Turley, 91, of Tulsa

Leland Turley, 91, of Tulsa   11/11/2012

About a week after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Leland Turley married his high school sweetheart, and they started their life on a farm near Nowata.
Lester Clark, 88 of Sapulpa

Lester Clark, 88 of Sapulpa   11/11/2012

After an unsuccessful attempt to enlist in the Marine Corps with his friend, Lester Clark went to sign up for the Navy with his cousin. They took them both and sent them to opposite coasts.
Bill Caldwell, 90, of Sand Springs

Bill Caldwell, 90, of Sand Springs   11/11/2012

Bill Caldwell had to stretch his age the first time he joined the military.
Clarence Pleake, 92 of Tulsa

Clarence Pleake, 92 of Tulsa   11/11/2012

It didn't seem fair to Clarence Pleake to be living and working with his wife and children in Kansas City as young men all around him were heading to war.
WWII veterans share experiences of war at symposium

WWII veterans share experiences of war at symposium   10/8/2012

Ed Vezey took his new, brilliantly white Navy uniform cap off and sat it in the corner, placed his pistol on top of it and jumped off the USS Oklahoma.
Soldier behind 'Dirty Dozen' gets French Legion of Honor

Soldier behind 'Dirty Dozen' gets French Legion of Honor   9/27/2012

James 'Jake' McNiece, the leader of World War II's 'Dirty Dozen,' accepted France's most prestigious decoration Wednesday, nearly 70 years after he led a squad of paratroopers behind enemy lines to support the D-Day invasion.
Oklahoma Honor Flight takes 103 World War II veterans to memorial

Oklahoma Honor Flight takes 103 World War II veterans to memorial   9/26/2012

The Japanese pilot meant to crash his airplane into Alvis Holloway's U.S. Navy destroyer, but he missed his target, and the plane crashed into the water.
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STATS


The number of surviving veterans who served in World War II shrinks more each day, their stories and experiences of the bloodiest global war lost with them. The Department of Veteran’s Affairs estimates that the veterans who served in World War II will be gone in at least 20 years, which makes it important to record their stories from the sources.

>>> 16.5 million Americans served in WWII. 416,000 died in the conflict

>>> About 26,000 WWII veterans currently living in Oklahoma, about 2 million veterans living nationwide.

>>> About 1,000 WWII veterans die every day.

>>> It's expected that all WWII veterans will be gone by 2030.
VIDEOS
Oklahoma World War II Stories: OETA-The Oklahoma Network presents the personal, compelling and emotional stories of courage and sacrifice from Oklahomas World War II veterans. Part one of four.



Oklahoma World War II Stories: Part two of four.



Oklahoma World War II Stories: Part three of four.


Oklahoma World War II Stories: Part four of four.
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USS Batfish reunion
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