“It was too much death to contemplate, too much savagery and suffering; and in August 1945 no one was counting. For those who had seen the face of battle and been in the camps and under the bombs—and had lived—there was a sense of immense relief.”

Louisiana was dotted with Army Air Fields during World War II. Most of them exist today as civilian airports, their military history long forgotten.

DiSabatino was selected by Army officers at NYU and after being interviewed was assigned to Los Alamos.

On March 6, 1945 when US forces entered Cologne, the Gothic cathedral loomed above the ruins. Army Chaplain and future Archbishop Philip Hannan soon devoted himself to protecting the cathedral.

In this column, journalist Ernie Pyle describes the bombing of London in late December 1940 as “the most hateful, most beautiful single scene” he had ever witnessed as the city was “stabbed with fire” by the German Luftwaffe.