Children in old JerusalemPeople in the Jewish QuarterMerchant in the old cityChildren in Beth-ShanTwo men having a spirited discussion in old JerusalemGirls serve in the Israeli army two years, boys for threeThe Jewish QuarterPrayers at the Wailing WallIsraeli soldiers taking a breakShoppers in the old cityOverlooking the temple mountSoldiers at the wailing wallPlaying tunes by the Eagles and other 80's bands
MY FATHER
My father's 141st Infantry Regiment took part in the liberation of Dachau Concentration Camp in April 1945 providing medical care and freeing thousands of Jews they found there.The Men of the 36th Texas Infantry division, battle hardened veterans of the war were shocked at the conditions they found there.My father never spoke about this time, and I only found out about this history recently researching his regiment on ChatGPT A.I. These must have been difficult memories for him.The 36th Texas Infantry Division fought 9 continuous weeks of combat in the Vosges Mountains campaign in eastern France in brutal winter conditions. Some nights it was 17 below 0.The 38th Texas Infantry Division fought a largely forgotten battle called Operation Nordwind, a German surprise attack, said by both sides as one of the most desperate battles of the war. Fighting was house to house and towns changed hands several times. They and several other units fought the 21st SS Panzer Division and the 6th SS Mountain Division from January 1st to the 28th, 1945.My Dad's division suffered 19,466 dead, wounded and missing during the war. Picture of my father Clyde Godwin, Sergeant of Company G, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division in Germany, doing occupation duty after the war. He came home in 1946.
