R&R Veterans

06/06/2026

While enjoying your Freedom, never forget who gave their all so you can have the choice to choose.
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06/05/2026

In Remembrance of D-Day June 6th 1944, I put together this song in honor of the fallen Soldiers.

Listen and make your own on Suno.

05/27/2026

2026 Memorial Day Veteran dedication.

Staff Sergeant Armand D. Sullivan
United States Army Air Forces — World War II
Born: February 8, 1924
Killed in Action: February 7, 1945

Early Life & Enlistment

Staff Sergeant Armand D. Sullivan entered the service from Smith County, Mississippi, and enlisted at Camp Shelby, MS on November 23, 1943. He was just 19 years old when he raised his right hand and joined the fight in the most devastating conflict in human history. He would never see his 21st birthday — he was killed in action on February 7, 1945, one day before he would have turned 21.

Military Service

Sullivan was assigned to the 738th Bomb Squadron, 454th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force, serving as a Waist Gunner aboard a B-24J Liberator heavy bomber. His unit was part of the Allied strategic air campaign operating out of Italy.
The 454th Bombardment Group was a B-24 unit that fought with the Fifteenth Air Force in Italy, taking part in the strategic bombing campaign. The group's main role was to participate in long-range strikes against enemy oil refineries, aircraft and munition factories, industrial areas, harbors, and airfields across Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Greece.

The role of a Waist Gunner was among the most dangerous positions on a heavy bomber. Manning a side-mounted .50 caliber machine gun with little protection from the open fuselage, waist gunners were fully exposed to enemy fire, flak, and the brutal cold of high-altitude flight over enemy-held territory.

Final Mission — February 7, 1945

Sullivan was a Waist Gunner aboard B-24J Liberator #42-51959. The aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery flak and crashed 3 miles from Herzogenburg, 6 miles north of St. Pölten, Austria, while on a mission out of Italy to strike the oil refineries at Moosbierbaum, Austria.

The Moosbierbaum oil refinery was one of the most strategically vital — and heavily defended — targets in German-controlled Europe. Allied forces repeatedly targeted it because it supplied crucial fuel to the N**i war machine. The flak defenses surrounding it were formidable, and crews who flew against it knew the risks.
Five crewmembers were killed in the downing of the aircraft, and five bailed out and were taken as Prisoners of War. The crew members killed in action were: 2nd Lt. Edward C. Garvey (Pilot), T/Sgt. Edward J. Carroll (Radio Operator), T/Sgt. William R. Linch (Flight Engineer), S/Sgt. John R. Russell (Tail Gunner), and S/Sgt. Armand D. Sullivan (Waist Gunner).

Final Resting Place

Sullivan was laid to rest on June 12, 1951, at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Lemay, St. Louis County, Missouri — a fitting honor for a young man who gave everything in service to his country.

Legacy

Armand D. Sullivan was a 20-year-old young man from rural Mississippi who answered the call of duty at a time when the world desperately needed brave souls. He flew into the heart of one of the most dangerous air campaigns of the war, deep into enemy-held Europe, and gave his life alongside his crewmates in the skies over Austria — just one day before his 21st birthday.
His sacrifice, and the sacrifice of the four men who perished with him that February morning in 1945, contributed to the Allied effort to cripple N**i Germany's fuel supply and hasten the end of the war. The war in Europe would end just three months later.

We must never forget.

05/27/2026

2026 Memorial Day project dedication.

S2 Roland Joseph Sullivan
United States Navy — World War II
Born: January 13, 1923 Killed in Action: November 24, 1943 (Age 20)
Rank: Seaman Second Class (S2)
Ship: USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56)

Who He Was

Roland Joseph Sullivan was born on January 13, 1923, and was just 20 years old when he gave his life in service to his country. He enlisted in the United States Navy and was assigned to the crew of the USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56), a Casablanca-class es**rt carrier operating in the Pacific Theater during World War II. At his rank of Seaman Second Class — one of the Navy's junior enlisted ratings — he was among the thousands of young Americans who answered their nation's call in the early months after Pearl Harbor.

His Ship: USS Liscome Bay (CVE-56)

The USS Liscome Bay was a Casablanca-class es**rt carrier built by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company in Vancouver, Washington. She was laid down in December 1942, launched in April 1943, and commissioned on August 7, 1943. She was named after a bay in Alaska's Alexander Archipelago and was the second of fifty Casablanca-class es**rt carriers built for the war effort.
She carried a complement of roughly 910–916 officers and sailors, along with an embarked air squadron, and was armed with a 5-inch gun, Bofors anti-aircraft guns, and Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons, carrying 27 aircraft.

The Final Mission: Operation Galvanic

During the Gilbert Islands campaign — particularly the invasion of Makin — the Liscome Bay played a crucial role. Her aircraft provided close air support and bombed Japanese positions, significantly aiding in the capture of Makin Island. The carrier's planes logged 2,278 combat sorties as part of Operation Galvanic, which aimed to neutralize enemy airbases and support U.S. Army and Marine landings.

The Sinking — November 24, 1943

At 5:10 a.m. on November 24, 1943, Liscome Bay was part of a task group steaming 20 miles southwest of Butaritari Island at 15 knots when a lookout shouted that a torpedo was in the water heading toward the ship. Within moments, the deadly ordnance — one of a spread of torpedoes fired from the Japanese submarine I-175 — slammed into the es**rt carrier's starboard side, at the worst possible location: near the bomb magazine.
The resulting massive explosions, triggered when the bombs ignited, killed many crewmen instantly, including some pilots sitting in the cockpits of their aircraft on deck awaiting the first launch of the day.
There were only 264 survivors, with 646 men lost — tied with the USS Indianapolis for the highest loss percentage in World War II. No other single carrier in World War II, es**rt, light, or fast, suffered higher casualties — approximately 70 percent of the crew gone in only 23 minutes.
Among the dead were Rear Admiral Henry M. Mullinnix, the ship's commanding officer Captain Irving D. Wiltsie, and Ship's Cook Third Class Doris Miller — an African American who had been awarded the Navy Cross for heroic actions at Pearl Harbor aboard the battleship West Virginia.

Roland's Fate and Memorial

Seaman Second Class Roland Joseph Sullivan was among those lost when the Liscome Bay went down. The torpedo detonated the Liscome Bay's aerial bomb magazine, which caused an explosion that eventually sank the ship. Nearby vessels rescued nearly three hundred survivors, but more than six hundred crew members were lost in the sinking. His remains were never recovered.

Like his fellow crewmates lost that morning, Roland Joseph Sullivan is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific — known as the "Punchbowl" — in Honolulu, Hawaii, where the names of those who gave their lives but have no known grave are inscribed in honor.
He was 20 years and 10 months old. He had been born just over a year before the USS Liscome Bay was even laid down.

In Remembrance

Roland Joseph Sullivan answered the call of his country as a young man, served aboard one of the most active es**rt carriers in the Pacific, and perished in one of the deadliest naval losses of World War II. His name may not be widely known, but his sacrifice — shared with over 640 shipmates on that November morning in the central Pacific — is a permanent part of American history.

"They are the ones who have gone before us. The debt we owe them can never be fully repaid — only remembered."

05/25/2026

My Memorial Day activities. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

05/23/2026

We placed 375 flags at Fellowship Cemetery this morning on Veteran graves.

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05/17/2026

Recovered another lost marker. Watch the video to see how I found it.

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05/16/2026

Working today to reach the goal.

05/02/2026

Beautiful day for continuing with Operation 250!!!

04/18/2026

Good morning!!!

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