You can count on me For Polish. I've learnt Polish in Polish Embassy in Iran. (But, comparing to natives, i'm very weak in Speaking, cause there is no one that i speak with him or her, here in Iran, Unless Polish Tourists.)
You need to do them (our Civil War battlefields) still our cosliest war by a wide margin. I live right outside Chickamauga battlefield (the oldest and largest), go hiking there all the time with the dogs. I've been to most of them, most several times, but you need to do the big three; Antietam/Sharpsburg the bloodiest day, Chickamauga bloodiest two days and largest battle in the west, Gettysburg largest and bloodiest battle and turning point of the war. Battle of Chickamauga 19-20 September 1863 Union-64,500 troops, 170 artillery pieces Confederate-71,500, 200 artillery pieces (Longstreet and a portion of his Corps from the ANV did not arrive until the night following the first days fighting) Casualties Union-16,170 25.06% Confederate-18,454 25.80% Totals: 136,000 engaged, 34,624 casualties I also live within 15-20 minutes from where the battles of Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Orchard Knob, Brown's Ferry and Ringgold gap occurred. The Battle of Resaca took place about 30 minutes away and Kennesaw Mountain about an hour as is Mufreesboro/Stones River and Franklin.
I unfortunately don't have the luxury of being next to major battle sites in American history. There was a small Civil War skirmish here in Arizona at Picacho pass in 1862, and I've hiked to the battle site, not much too see, as only 3 were killed and 5 wounded on both sides. I've been to Tombstone, and rode a bike 50 miles on the Mormon Battalion trail. That's about all the military/historical sites I've visited in my life time.
You have lots of time to do same thing. But, as an advise, it would be good to start a YT channel and a Patron account. I can't send you money, but i promise to watch all your videos.
Thanks Tirdad, I appreciate the advice and support. I will definitely be making a trip in my life time to the East coast, as to when that might be, I have no clue.
Welcome to this forum. In Holland were several Concentration camps ; Vugt : Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught | HERDENKEN IS NADENKEN Amersfoort : Home - Kamp Amersfoort Westerbork : Vakantie of weekendje weg in Drenthe Schoorl : Kamp Schoorl The Canadians Liberated The Netherlands.Ofcourse British and Americans also,but the Canadians for whole Holland. Iam to old for your music-style. Our neighbor-boy loves Ramstein,Iam going for The Eagles. Good luck with your research and probably you can tell your grandfathers name. Best regards from Holland, Jaap
Been to Tombstone as well, cool little town in the middle of freakin' nowhere. We spent a day there and enjoyed it immensely. You need to plan a trip back east. Plan on having sufficient time, but I'd do San Antonio (the Alamo and River Walk), then head over to Red Stick (Baton Rouge) and check out the USS Kidd, (DD-661 is a Fletcher class destroyer and the only preserved destroyer to retain it's WWII configuration and appearance). Then head south an hour and half or so to Nawlins (New Orleans) and check out the D-Day Museum, and spend the evening in the French Quarter. Then go to Mobile spend half a day at the BB-60 USS Alabama, continue east and stay in Pensacola and spend the rest of the day at the Naval Air Museum there. One of the best/nicest museums in the country, been there more than a dozen times. If you can spend two days in Mobile/Pensacola check out Ft. Pickens (Geronimo was held there as a prisoner and the Fort never fell to the south) and the beautiful beaches of Santa Rosa Island. Then to Atlanta for the Cyclorama and the Great Locomotive Chase engine "Texas", then Kennesaw for the "General" from the same chase, and the Kennesaw Mountain battlefield. Then a little over an hour north to Chickamauga battlefield, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. Go to the National Cemetery in Chattanooga to see where the first "Medal of Honor" recipients, Andrew's Raiders are buried (under a monument topped by "the General" from the Great Locomotive Chase. Now the hard part, continue north to check out Stones River and Franklin or my recommendation head southeast. It's a little over a five hour drive from Chattanooga, but I'd do Savannah, Ft. Pulaski and Ft. Jackson, have dinner and a grog at the Pirate's House restaurant, built in 1734 it's the oldest standing building in Georgia and real pirates used to hang out and drink there. Then head north, stop at Parris Island and go to the nice little museum there, eat lunch, watch recruits being abused and have your picture taken by the "Iron Mike" statue. Continue north and you come to Charleston. Great town. Stay at least a couple days if you can, be sure to visit the The market and the battery. Then hit Ft. Sumter, Ft. Moultrie and Patriots Point naval museum. Patriots Point has the USS Yorktown, second of the Essex class carriers and the subject of the 1944 documentary "The Fighting Lady". Also at Patriots Point is the USS Laffey, DD-724 a Sumner class destroyer and the only preserved destroyer to have served in the Atlantic in WWII. She was at D-Day off Utah beach. She also survived one of the most intense kamikaze attacks of the war off Okinawa and earned the sobriquet, "The ship that would not die". She was hit by four bombs and crashed by six kamikazes during the attack.
I knew about Westerbork and Amersfoort but not the other two, so thanks a lot! I'll read about them on the bus ride on my way to work (sweet sweet overtime money). When I think about the involvement of Canada in the Netherlands, the first name that comes to mind is Leo Major. What a hero, liberating the city of Zwolle all by himself. Oh and my grandfather's name is Ludovic Rousseau. I just got back his Soldier's Pay Books, so now I can start researching a bit about him. What a shame I never met him, he died a few days after my birth, right in the same hospital a few floors down.
I don't know if it's still true or not but I was told at one point that if you had the time a cheap and interesting way to cross the pond was as a passenger on a freighter. Most apparently had (have?) room for about a dozen passengers. Service aren't up to what you would get on a liner but apparently the food is usually pretty good and the price is a lot lower. That info may be out of date by a decade or two though. Welcome aboard by the way.
And the € is expensif for American and Canadian people. Shipping is 7 days to Europe, swimming is much longer but cheaper. So I would stay in Michigan.