Black Hands and a Surprising Discovery

Hello friends,
I have been slow in getting out this update and realized I should get this blog updated before Herb got back from the Galapagos and yelled at me. Then again, he might have gotten so entranced by bizarre bird species that he has no interest in this history stuff now anymore.

THings have been busy since the last blog. Shortly after posting last time I hosted a group of high school kids from Virginia on a tour of Boston. THey came up Patriot's day weekend so were able to see all of the festivities that are such a big part of life here in NE. When the group arrived in Boston, their first stop was at the Green Dragon Tavern. Headquarters for Revere's sons of liberty group, I figured it was a pretty good place to start a tour of Boston and discuss the coming of the revolution-the Guiness is pretty good there as well.

Saturday we were off to Lexington and Concord to watch the annual ceremony and re-enactment. It was quite interesting to have some kids who had never seen it before there. Growing up in NE it is quite the annual event and something I remember quite well from my childhood. Best of all was that we were joined by John Primerano, a veteran of the 101st's 501st PIR. John grew up in the area and remembers the ceremonies quite well from his own childhood. Having him along really helped me make the point about the continuation of history and that events are not isolated from one another.
Sunday we were back in Boston for a walking tour of Boston with Gary Gallagher from Lessons on Liberty. Gary's tour was great. We saw all the historic sites and along the way had a chance to meet with some of Boston's more colorful characters. The kids were pretty tired so we got them to the hotel a little early that evening.
Monday was there last day in Boston. We started with a private tour of the Old North Church, which was really fascinating. We got the kids up into the famous steeple where the lanterns that Paul Revere ordered hung were put up and then went down to the crypt underneath the chapel. I'm being boastful I know, but my favorite bit was having Madeleine along and reciting "Listen my children and you shall here...." over and over again and lecturing the kids. We finished up the day-and the trip-with a visit to Bunker HIll. I hope the kids enjoyed themselves. I know I did.

One of the things we saw during their stay was Gary Gallagher operating his vintage printing press. As many of you know I have a bit of a "book thing" so I loved Gary's presentation so much that I volunteered myself to be his apprentice. A couple of weeks later, I had the honor to help Gary out at a program at the historic Old State House (the building where the Royal Governor ran the colony of Mass and where the Boston Massacre happened). We were upstairs and Gary had his portable printing press set up. We were running off copies of Revere's famous Boston MAssacre print, which I know that several historians have called the greatest piece of political propaganda in American history. The plate was taken off of Revere's original plate and I helped ink up the plate, roll the press, etc. etc. It was a real thrill for me to create the prints. Each was unique and I really felt a connection to history. Inspired, I now hope to help Gary out whenever time permits.

For memorial day Madeleine and I went out to Minuteman National Park to volunteer for a program talking about life in Colonial times. I thought it was important to get Madeleine thinking about where it all began and to have an appreciation for the sacrifices of our forefathers. We're now working on thank you notes to some of my vet friends-a little late for Memorial day, but Madeleine often does not write as fast as her mom and dad would like.

A couple of items in World War II news.
First, for those of you who have always wondered where I get all that historical trivia on my tours, I wanted you to know that now you can find out for yourself. I've donated my 101st Archives to the museum down in Toccoa. I figured it would be a good way to help them get a good 101st Archives up and running and, hopefully, make better use of some of the material I'd gathered over the years than I ever did. All the photos, interviews, official paperwork etc. that I had concerning the 506 and 101 are now safely down in Toccoa. If you are interested in having a look, contact Brenda down at the CUrahee Military Museum. Tell her I sent you.

More importantly, I wanted to let you know about a startling discovery. Many of you are familiar with my good friend Cess Jansen. Cess is a member of the screaming ducs re-enactment group in Holland, which is always so friendly to my groups on my tours of the island. Recently, while metal detecting with some friends, Cess and his buddies discovered the remains of an unidentified 82nd Airborne Trooper near the drop zone at Groosbeek. We don't know the identity of the trooper yet, Cess said that after they found the remains the authorities were contacted and a graves registration team came out to collect the body .It is now in Pearl Harbor where forensics specialists are working to identify the trooper. If I find out anything more about this I'll post it asap.

Other than the above, I'm working hard on grad school aps, working out some details on a potential tour of Normandy and Bastogne for September and enjoying my time with the family. My very best to you all and a special hello and thanks to all my friends who have worn our nation's uniform over the years.

God Bless,
Chris