These days I find myself reflecting more than ever on people who have lived through war. 

I learn how to be a better human through their stories. 

Because of the work that I do, nothing encapsulates this on a collective level more than my work with those who lived and died during World War II. The scope of tragedy and loss is simply crushing.  

The spectrum of altruism and courage is proportionally heartsoaring. The relationship between the two is why I study this war. Maybe that’s why other historians do, too. 

My roots run deep in Southern California.

In this case, that’s damn near literal.

Many moons ago my grandfather planted these trees that sit along a main artery near Laguna Beach.

I just found out about them.

Recently, I made a remarkable discovery about my ancestry: I am a direct descendant of Rollo, the legendary Viking warrior who became the first ruler of Normandy*.

Rollo's life was marked by courage, determination, and a relentless pursuit of adventure. I can’t help but wonder how much of that trickled down into his countless number of descendants - to include his great great grandson William the Conqueror.

Around the same time I went on my own adventure in his footsteps, to Paris and Rouen in France. Paris is the site of the famous Viking sacking, and Rouen is believed to be the final resting place of Rollo.

What an absolute honor to receive an Amber Grant from Women’s Net for my non-profit organization Stories of War. Below is an interview with the organization, and stay tuned for the amazing work that this generous grant will facilitate.

With a humble heart I offer huge thanks to this wonderful organization who bring so much goodness into the lives of women who dream big!

In late May of 1942, Reinhard Heydrich, the highest-ranking police and security official in the Reich, subordinate only to Himmler and Hitler, was assasinated in Prague.

He died as a result of an attack by a group of Czechoslovakian soldiers—referred to commonly these days as “the parachutists,” a reference that originated with German propaganda and has trickled down to be widely accepted in the popular vernacular.

The hush in this hall and in its numerous cells is, quite frankly, not hushed at all. While at Dachau last month I spent some time in the Bunker, or prison. It was just a few minutes before closing, and I was completely alone in this overwhelming building. I thought mostly of Noor Inayat Khan, SOE spy, Sufi mystic, and princess by lineage. She was executed here at Dachau after a long and horrendous captivity in various locations. Despite brutal torture, she kept her silence and did not verbally betray her network.

A Thunderbird to the left and a Rainbowman to the right. Pinch me! These days it’s quite literally a small miracle to have the opportunity to sit with a WWII combat veteran and hear their stories.In this case it’s a whopper.

This was a moment I will treasure forever.

Bud Gahs and I are standing in front of the home in Schweighouse sur Moder, France where a fierce battle took place between Germans and Americans in 1945.

Terezín has two parts: the prison and the ghetto. In 1940, the Germans took possession of the centuries-old former fortress and prison located just down the way from this little town. In 1941, they forced out the seven thousand Czechoslovakian inhabitants of the town of Terezín, or Theresienstadt, as they called it. Jews were moved in, and Terezín became a ghetto and concentration camp rolled into one, a transport center and holding spot for mostly Jewish prisoners doomed to the camps in the east.

Last month I was truly honored to accompany Bud to the 78th commemoration of the liberation of Dachau Concentration Camp.

Honestly, it is always *the most rich* experience to immerse into history. I am super blessed to have this experience often, and sharing these moments with Bud is a privilege of a lifetime. And, what a humbling moment to stand among these great men!

Three men, bound by fate and reunited 78 years later in the very place that binds them together. Dan Dougherty of the 45th ‘Thunderbird’ Division, Bud Gahs of the 42nd ‘Rainbow’ Division, and Leslie Rosenthal, born and liberated in a sub-camp of Dachau. Bearing witness to moments like this is everything. Bearing witness to two men who made it through the hell of combat, and one man whose life thrives against all odds is even more than that.

It’s been an eventful and emotional weekend in Dachau. The memorial staff outdid themselves to welcome Bud Gahs, and we were so honored to also hear the stories of the eighteen survivors who attended the commemoration events.

It’s that time of year again! Today is Lee Miller’s birthday. She would be 116 years old.Her life was exceptional. She took risks, refused to conform to the cookie cutter, and she left an amazing body of work that resulted from her bold choices.

People often ask: what is your interest / motivation / dedication in researching and storytelling war?

It’s my own family who started it.

This is my dad. He is a Vietnam veteran. He wasn’t wounded over there - physically - and he doesn’t carry scars you can see with your eyes.

His father fought on Attu and Kwajalein.

My other grandfather served in Europe, then again in Korea.

It is so fun to listen to this audio of SSG Bob Swanson and PFC John Brown, received from Swanson’s family last week. What a treasure.

Lidice was a sleepy little village outside Prague until June 10, 1942. That’s when the Nazis rolled through town armed with a taste for revenge and orders from the top: wipe Lidice off the map.

The men were rounded up and shot on the spot, on the grounds of Horák’s farm. The women were taken to Ravensbrück, and the children were gassed at Chelmno, with the exception of the handful taken for adoption into German families.

Captain William Arthur ‘Art’ Reynolds was KIA on 02 November 1944 while flying on a bombing mission over Merseberg, Germany. He was assigned to the 711th Bomber Squadron, 447th Bombardment Group, Heavy.

What you see here all started with a German pilot strafing Bud’s company - then crashing into them - in Bavaria in 1945.

After multiple (and I mean multiple) efforts to solve the mystery of exactly where this crash occurred via the internet’s copious resources (and minus the division reports which were locked up in the National Archives for two years due to the pandemic), it was time to attack this mystery head-on.

The incredibly emotional moment we surprised Bud with the Legion of Honor medal in France just a few months ago. Working closely with our good friends on the ground in the village of Schweighouse-sur-Moder, we had a ceremony in the courtyard of the house where Bud and his seven comrades fought off a company of Fallschirmjager. Bud was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor for his actions that day in 1945, and watched his buddy PFC Wayne Cruse get hit by a sniper.

Day 5 of Bud’s return to his battlefields:

We visited the somber beauty of Epinal American Cemetery, and experienced the tremendous blessing of a moving ceremony to honor two heroes.

It is in this cemetery that two of Bud’s friends rest:

PFC Wayne Charles Cruse, and PFC Barney Howard Parrish.

Both men were killed in a fierce firefight in the town of Schweighausen, now Schweighouse sur Moder, France.