Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Finding WW2 heroes

“It’s been sentimental doing this little search,” said Dube.

A few weeks ago, he uncovered a treasure in his sister’s attic.

Gathering dust for decades was a portfolio of his father’s artwork, including oil paintings watercolors and sketches.

They weren’t just any sketches; they were portraits of his father’s comrades in World War II.

“[These men] need to be remembered and honored and I just want to find them a home,” said Dube, his eyes welling up with tears.

He has safely delivered one sketch to its rightful owner, the grandson of Joseph Joner Kratky, who was killed in action in the Battle of Saipan.

“That’s why I have to do this because he’ll see what his grandfather actually look like back in 1943, a year before he passed,” he said.

On Monday, Dube was connected to the family of another, Joe Orbe.

Now, he’s looking for the families of the remaining 15 men, but he has little to go on.

“[My father] didn’t talk about World War II or the Army much,” said Dube.

4 comments:

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

I have no complaint about what the guy's doing but the news reporting could lighten up on the schmaltz.

Amartel said...

Well the site is called "Uplifting News" so that's their mission. Plus, everyone loves WWII heroes.

ndspinelli said...

Ironically, Turley, who is a military history buff, has been in the Pacific for the past week and did a report from Saipan a few days ago.

Rabel said...

Mom always said that you should write the names of the people in your pictures on the back along with the dates. In fact, at one Thanksgiving dinner she wouldn't stop saying it and I had to take her home.