PFC Oscar B. Oakman: The Last Man to Die in the 94th Armored Field Artillery Battalion
(PFC Oscar B. Oakman, 4th Armored Division, U.S. Third Army) A famous photograph in the May 14, 1945, issue of Life magazine shows a soldier killed in Leipzig, described as “the last man to die in the war in Europe.” But there never seems to be a last man to die in a war. There ...
The 4th Armored Division: The Spearhead of Patton’s Third Army
Activated in April 1941 at Pine Camp, New York, the 4th Armored Division began with only a handful of soldiers and grew quickly as America prepared for war. After completing large-scale maneuvers in Tennessee and advanced desert training in California, the division sailed for England in early 1944 as part of General George S. Patton’s ...
Captain Norman L. Aigner: An Ordinary Guy
If you’ve been reading my blog with any regularity, you have probably come across more than one article about an “ordinary guy” who was completely extraordinary in battle. This article is about one such man. There is a recurrent theme pointing to Norman Aigner being quite an average guy. Don’t get me wrong: Speaking from ...
Tomas Garza’s Daughter – “Now I Don’t Feel Empty”
Like most children of World War II veterans, Anna Bowen knew very little about her father’s experiences in the war. She knew that as Private First Class (PFC) Tomas Garza, her dad had been wounded in the leg – she had seen the scar where a bullet or shrapnel had gone through. But as with ...
Hometown Heroes – Fresno Unveils New Veterans Memorial
On Friday, November 8, 2019, the City of Fresno unveiled a brand-new memorial honoring 464 local heroes who died in battle in wars ranging from World War I to Afghanistan and Iraq. Earlier this year, the City of Fresno contacted me, seeking to confirm names of four Fresno citizens who had died in battle in ...
Parker Fondren’s Daughter
Clients come to me from many places and for many reasons. Some come from universities or towns, hoping to learn about the WW2 military service of their students or citizens. Some are from overseas, hoping to find out the story of a particular American serviceman who died in the liberation of their nation. Many are ...
“He’s definitely our young soldier” – Remembering 2nd Lt Donald I. Gunn
In the course of nearly two decades of researching World War II veterans’ service records and casualties, I have been privileged to work with dozens of clients in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, along with more than a thousand clients in the US. For several months, I have been working with a Scottish client ...
PRESS RELEASE: UCLA Alumni Assoc. Honors World War II Casualties in Veterans Day Event, Beigel to Speak
Press Release: WWII Researcher and Historian Bill Beigel Presents Research of 273 UCLA Bruins Killed in World War II Click here to reserve your tickets for the event. Click here for complete event information.
Remembering the Fallen: WWII Veterans of UCLA, Major Robert C. Maze
Rosemarie and Robert Maze are the only military couple included in my Veterans Day speech for the UCLA Alumni Association on November 9. Please join me at UCLA if you’re in Los Angeles that day. Pictured: Rosemarie Maze, US Navy, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross on behalf of her husband, Marine Major Robert C. Maze. ...
Remembering Jerry Angelich on Pearl Harbor Day
December 7, 2016 marks the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In honor of this anniversary, I’d like to remember one of the heroes of that day. Sources differ as to where he was born. Some reports state that he was born in the gritty southern California harbor town of Wilmington, on ...
“Lessons From a Corporate Dropout
Professional researcher and World War II historian Bill Beigel presented a keynote address at the 2016 Professional Management Conference, hosted by the Association of Professional Genealogists. The conference was held at the beautiful Allan County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Beigel addressed attendees of one of the nation’s leading genealogy industry conferences on Saturday,...
Workshop Presentation: “Researching World War II Military Files”
On September 22, 2016, WW2 Researcher and Historian Bill Beigel presented a two-hour workshop titled, “Researching World War II Military Files.” The session was presented to professional researchers at the 2016 Professional Management Conference hosted by the Association of Professional Genealogists at the Allen County Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Beigel presented an advanced-level,...
