Private detective Leonard C.M. Johnson had a career that could fill countless crime thrillers. Working the streets of Chicago since 1919, he was at the […]
Beating out the Nazis in Mechernich, Germany, 1945
March 15, 1945. The war in Europe is coming to an end. Although Germany’s surrender is just weeks away, its troops continue to put up […]
You sunk my ship! One Kentucky school’s WWII Naval guns
In the town of Lancaster inside Kentucky’s Bluegrass region, lies a veteran’s memorial outside of Lancaster Elementary School. It consists of two large naval guns. […]
Leader of war-torn Poland speaks at Chicago’s Soldier Field, 1941
On a brisk Sunday afternoon, April 20, 1941, the roar of 75,000 voices filled Chicago’s Soldier Field- not for a game, but a wartime rally. […]
Rolling up the reunion flag of a Civil War regiment, the 116th U.S. Colored Troops
What makes a retired 48-star American flag even more special? A story that goes along with it! In the case of one flag in the […]
Coming onboard with National Park Service in a hiring freeze
On Monday January 27, 2025, I checked into work at Camp Nelson National Monument, in Nicholasville, Kentucky, starting a new season with the National Park […]
Gold Star mother reunited with son’s lost military medals
On the afternoon of Sunday, December 15, 2024, Chicago’s Polish Army Veteran’s Association Post 90, in conjunction with the Chicagoland Combined Veterans Museum, conducted a […]
Curating a special display of war trophies from the war in Ukraine
In November, a new display debuted at the Chicagoland Combined Veterans Museum, Library & Honor Wall in River Grove, Illinois. It features twenty-two objects from […]
Celebrating Polish Armed Forces Day at the American Czestochowa, 2024
On the morning of August 18, the grounds of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, in Doylestown, PA, teemed with life. A throng […]
Uncrating a WWII veteran’s war trophies from the Pacific
Working estate sales, I often come across military memorabilia. Most times it is simply a uniform, a photo album, or some other odds and ends. […]
Reporting to the National Park Service on Staten Island
Late last year I began hunting for jobs. I sent out dozens of applications in different industries, looking for something that would stick. It was […]
Poland decorates a 102-year-old World War II veteran in Chicago
On the morning of Friday, March 8, 2024, the Polish Consul General in Chicago visited the home of local resident Zofia Biernadska. The 102-year-old veteran […]
Giving a living history presentation to Polish school students in Des Plaines
On a Saturday morning, students at General Wladyslaw Anders Polish School in Des Plaines received a special treat. Visiting them was a group of Polish […]
Target Des Plaines: Local Police Hunt Down Wartime “Saboteurs,” 1943
On the dark and stormy night of August 2, 1943, the Des Plaines police department prowled the city’s dimly lit streets. Their mission: stop three […]
Hidden in plain sight: German prisoners buried at Fort Sheridan
Buried at Fort Sheridan National Cemetery, in Lake Forest, Illinois, are over 2,300 veterans. Their presence represents more than 150 years of American military history, […]
The Last Survivor: meeting Col. Cieszkowski, a Polish WWII veteran of the Battle of France
On a recent education course in Poland, I became friends with a teacher who offered me the opportunity of a lifetime. He asked if I […]
Archaeologists uncover relics from Camp Pine, a WWII prisoner of war camp near Des Plaines
In May 2019, a team of archaeologists and volunteers met in Camp Pine Woods, near the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines. Their mission: survey a […]
The time an airplane nose stuck out from a Downtown Chicago skyscraper
In July 1944, a curious sight greeted pedestrians at the corner of State and Madison streets in Downtown Chicago. Sticking out from the Mandel Brothers […]
Workplace discoveries (#6): a pennant signed by players from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball LeagueÂ
The pennant hung on the wall above the bed in a plastic sleeve. Its colors somewhat faded from exposure to the sun. Still, both the […]
Jewish boys and German PoWs: the curious history of a WWII farm labor camp near Des Plaines
Camp Pine Woods is a part of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPDCC), located north of Des Plaines. The entrance is on Lake […]
Adam Wolanin: Chicago’s Polish immigrant at the 1950 FIFA World Cup
At the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the United States national team carried out one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history- defeating […]
Workplace discoveries (#5): the tale of two wartime light devices
Two light sources sit idle side-by-side. In appearance they are dissimilar, in utility they had different functions, and in origin, produced in separate countries. What […]
War memorial in my father’s village of Niedzieliska
Two rows of neatly trimmed hedges run alongside a gray cobblestone path leading towards the entrance. Beyond a pair of wrought iron gates lay scores […]
Competing at Thunder on the Tundra 2022, my first ever shooting event!
On the first and second of this month, October 2022, I participated at Thunder on the Tundra- a charity shooting competition. It was a spontaneous […]
Celebrating Polish Armed Forces Day 2022 in Niles
On 14 August 2022, in celebration of Poland’s Armed Forces Day, the Polish Consulate General in Chicago headed a series of ceremonies all across the […]
Soldiers learn important lesson in backpacking at Harms Woods
Once the soldiers from Camp Skokie Valley arrived at Harms Woods in Glenview, they quickly set to task pitching up tents and preparing for a […]
An unexpected surprise in the mail from a customer
This past Wednesday I came home from running errands to find a package sticking out from my mailbox. I was not expecting anything, but it […]
A serendipitous photo-taking trip to Fort Sheridan on Lake Michigan
After a long week at work, I decided to go up to Fort Sheridan to take some photos on my day off. I set out […]
Workplace discoveries (#4): need a tissue? A strange Army reunion souvenir
The only things left in the estate to identify the former homeowner as a military veteran were several patches, an Army reunion brochure, and something […]
A good boy that served: Pal, the Jefferson Park war dog who returned home
All his family knew was that he spent thirty-one months overseas. When he returned to his Jefferson Park home in early 1946, the army veteran […]