Reading's Boys in World War II

Hi everyone!

This summer I've been working on a series of articles for my local newspaper following the young men from my town, Reading, Massachusetts, through their service in the Second World War. I thought my articles might be of interest to you all. I will include links to all the articles thus far and will add new links as articles come out.

#1: https://thereadingpost.com/2020/07/08/readings-boys-1-june-july-1943/

#2: https://thereadingpost.com/2020/07/15/readings-boys-2-august-september-1943/

#3: https://thereadingpost.com/2020/07/21/readings-boys-3-october-november-1943/

#4: https://thereadingpost.com/2020/07/28/readings-boys-4-december-1943-january-1944/

#5: https://thereadingpost.com/2020/08/03/readings-boys-5-february-march-1944/

#6: https://thereadingpost.com/2020/08/10/readings-boys-6-april-may-1944/

Special Edition #1: https://thereadingpost.com/2020/08/...dition-1-james-francis-arsenault-is-captured/

#7, Part 1: https://thereadingpost.com/2020/08/14/readings-boys-7-june-july-1944-part-1/

#7, Part 2: https://thereadingpost.com/2020/08/17/readings-boys-7-june-july-1944-part-2/

 

Looking forward to reading your articles. It is good to read short stories such as these, along with personal info and activities of the participants.

 

Welcome as well! Glad Jeff recommend your articles. You are quite a fine writer. words well-chosen, clear as to meaning, stories are insightful and succinct, and prolific! Not many young people have such an interest in the past. WW2 affected every town in America for 5 years. We are all excited about Corvid 19 today but that generation really knew what hardship was.

It is rather wonderful that you are keeping the lives of all these veterans alive by telling their stories. Thank you for giving us this material to read. I think you will have a good future and hope it included writing, you do it with such grace and ease.....but we all know it is earned
with warm regards,
Gaines.

 

Excellent work Autumn. I am looking forward to reading more of your articles.

 

I won't fault you for writing about the wrong Reading.

Excellent and informative articles. Keep posting your works here.

and Greetings from Reading, Pennsylvania.

 

So good to hear the "cold facts" brought to life...

I clicked on the very first story and got excited...I'm from Darwin. It mentions the Spitfires chasing the Japanese bombers...my avatar is Clive Caldwell:

During 1942, Australia came under increasing pressure from Japanese forces, and Caldwell was recalled by the RAAF, to serve as the wing leader of No. 1 (Fighter) Wing, comprising No. 54 Squadron RAF, No. 452 Squadron RAAF and No. 457 Squadron RAAF. The wing was equipped with the Supermarine Spitfire and in early 1943 was posted to Darwin, to defend it against Japanese air raids - Wiki
He claimed 6.5 Japanese destroyed (with 28 including German and Italian aircraft)

Fenton Airstrip: I've said a while ago that Darwin teenagers used to learn to drive on the WW2 airstrips beside the Stuart Highway - I don't think so anymore for various reasons. But Fenton is still there:
Fenton Airfield was a World War II military airfield in the Northern Territory of Australia located at Tipperary Station in what is now the locality of Douglas-Daly and named after flight lieutenant Clyde Fenton.[1]

Abandoned since 1945, the site is one of three surviving World War II-era heavy bomber airfields in the Katherine–Darwin region. The airfield is open to the public, and the main runway, taxiways and hardstands are accessible. Remnants of the control tower remain and aircraft wreckage can be found in the area. - Wiki

I think this could be the damaged aircraft Gus's Bus

 

That is so amazing! Yes, I do know the field is still there. I've been creating a Google Map tracking all of the boys' movements and ended up researching the current state of Fenton Field on the process. They definitely saw a lot of things there. Unfortunately, Frederick, who was the man stationed there, would be killed in action in January 1944.

 

Newest article in the Reading's Boys series, following the story of Edward Wallace Palmer and his time on the USS Massachusetts: https://thereadingpost.com/2020/08/21/readings-boys-special-edition-2-edward-wallace-palmer/

 

Hi Autumn,
Finally managed to read those articles. Very interesting and well-researched, looking forward to further instalments.

 

Newest article is the last part of my June-July 1944 issues. In this one, we see a Reading boy survive a ship sinking and another Reading boy landing British troops on D-Day.
http://thereadingpost.com/2020/08/22/readings-boys-7-june-july-1944-part-3/

 

Autumn, I am impressed with the articles you have written. Anyone who can make the information on the back of a draft registration card interesting to read about is a very gifted writer! I have researched and written about the WWII service of several family members so I understand that it is not easy to write about so many different servicemen and branches of service.

I really like how you are telling their stories. Rather than writing about one serviceman's entire service in each article, you are telling multiple stories in chronological installments. It's a good way of keeping your readers interested by creating a bit of suspense in the individual stories. It also provides a sense of the global scope of the War with each article covering multiple geographic locations. Nicely done.

Thank you for honoring the WWII veterans of your hometown by telling their stories. Their service and sacrifice should never be forgotten.

 

Here is the next installment of Reading's Boys, detailing the capture of Herbert Stark as well as the first mission for Paul Connelly and his crew!

https://thereadingpost.com/2020/08/25/readings-boys-8-august-september-1944-part-1/

 

So I've got two new issues. The first one is part 2 of August-September 1944 and it was absolutely heartwrenching to write for me. The second one is equally emotional, though.

https://thereadingpost.com/2020/08/29/readings-boys-8-august-september-1944-part-2/
https://thereadingpost.com/2020/09/07/readings-boys-9-october-november-1944/