10 Year Anniversary for Black Hills Veterans Writing Group
It began ten years ago with a workshop series at the Rapid City Public Library to help veterans record their military experiences.
“What I remember should not be erased from human memory…I must write…I must write now” became their motto.
They’ve been meeting from 9-11 am on the second Saturday of each month ever since, but now at Western Dakota Technical Institute, also in Rapid City.
As their site at battlestory.org describes, the Black Hills Veterans Writing Group has already featured Afghanistan combat Brigadier General Ted Johnson at its January 10th meeting. The meetings are free and open to the public. Upcoming speakers have been announced:
On February 14 Wayne Brewster of Rapid City will recount his US Army experiences fighting across Europe, starting on Omaha Beach (first wave) then into the heavily defended Rhineland. ” I was in the invasion of Normandy on June 6th 1944, scheduled to land 20 minutes after H-Hour, who knows the exact time? I was in the combat engineers, attached to the 29th Division. Our outfit earned five battle stars. We were on the same route as Gen. LeClerc’s 2nd Army for the liberation of Paris, in August. We crossed the Rhine on a pontoon bridge near the Remagan railroad bridge about a week after it collapsed.” more
On March 14, Al Glinsmann of Hisega will talk about his experiences with the 5th Regimental Combat Team in the Korean War, from 1950-1953. His US Army artillery unit started out on the Pusan perimeter and eventually fought next to the Chinese border at the Yalu River in North Korea. After the war, he became a Lutheran minister. more
On April 11, LTC George Larson will present on his latest books on military history, including Great Plains Warriors of World War II: Air Bases and Plants Built for War. The contributions of German and Italian POWs will also be discussed. more
On May 9, Maj. Ed “Eagle Man” McGaa(USMC ret) will talk about his new book Warrior’s Odyssey: Spirit of Crazy Horse. McGaa was an F-4 Phantom fighter pilot during the Vietnam War. more
On June 13, combat artist and US Army veteran James Pollock will talk about his experiences with the Vietnam Combat Artists Program (CAT Team IV) in Vietnam in 1967. “I had a canteen, camera, sketchbook, some personal items, and a 45 caliber pistol” he says. more
I was a Marine attack pilot. I have written more than 70 stories of my life. I would be willing to share these stories with others.
Would like to visit and share with other writers.