Dennis "Joe" Connole was an ordinary soldier. He spent four years, three months, and seventeen days in the U.S. Army during World War II. From March 1942, until December 1943, he was a member of the 26th "Yankee" Division on Coast Patrol duty in Maine. In early 1944, Joe Connole shipped out to the European Theater of Operations (ETO), where he joined the 36th "Texas" Division as a replacement: thus, a "Yankee" in the "Texas Army." In June 1944, he received a Purple Heart for shrapnel wounds inflicted in Italy. On August 25, 1944, in France, Joe Connole became a battle-fatigue casualty. After several weeks in a hospital, he recovered and returned to his unit to finish out the war. Unbeknownst to family members, he suffered from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for many years after the war. This book details how men who experience the brutal horrors of combat are forever changed. Memories of traumatic experiences in battle left deep psychological scars, resulting in years of emotional pain and suffering. The healing process for many veterans was a gradual one.Through in-depth historical research of several years, Dennis A. Connole recaptures his father's military experiences in order to understand his dad as a father and as a person, and how he became the man he was after the war.

Dennis 'Joe' Connole was an ordinary soldier. He spent four years, three months, and seventeen days in the U.S. Army during World War II. From March 1942, until December 1943, he was a member of the 26th 'Yankee' Division on Coast Patrol duty in Maine. In early 1944, Joe Connole shipped out to the European Theater of Operations (ETO), where he joined the 36th 'Texas' Division as a replacement: thus, a 'Yankee' in the 'Texas Army.' In June 1944, he received a Purple Heart for shrapnel wounds inflicted in Italy. On August 25, 1944, in France, Joe Connole became a battle-fatigue casualty. After several weeks in a hospital, he recovered and returned to his unit to finish out the war. Unbeknownst to family members, he suffered from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for many years after the war. This book details how men who experience the brutal horrors of combat are forever changed. Memories of traumatic experiences in battle left deep psychological scars, resulting in years of emotional pain and suffering. The healing process for many veterans was a gradual one.Through in-depth historical research of several years, Dennis A. Connole recaptures his father's military experiences in order to understand his dad as a father and as a person, and how he became the man he was after the war.

The North American Indian group known as the Nipmucks was situated in south-central New England and, during the early years of Puritan colonization, remained on the fringes of the expanding white settlements. It was not until their involvement in King Philip's War (1675-1676) that the Nipmucks were forced to flee their homes, their lands to be redistributed among the settlers. This group, which actually includes four tribes or bands - the Nipmucks, Nashaways, Quabaugs, and Wabaquassets - has been enmeshed in myth and mystery for hundreds of years. This is the first comprehensive history of their way of life and its transformation with the advent of white settlement in New England. Spanning the years between the Nipmucks' first encounters with whites until the final disposal of their lands, this history focuses on Indian-white relations, the position or status of the Nipmucks relative to the other major New England tribes, and their social and political alliances. Settlement patterns, population densities, tribal limits, and land transactions are also analyzed as part of the tribe's historical geography. A bibliography allows for further research on this mysterious and often misunderstood people group.

This work provides an account detailing the important part played by made by immigrant soldiers in the First World War. Included is their valuable contribution to the eventual Allied victory. The story centers on my Great Uncle Matthew Guerra who immigrated to America from Monte Sant Angelo, Italy, at approximately age 12. He joined his sister Lucia (my grandmother) and her husband Antonio Palumbo in Worcester, MA, where he attended a school for recent immigrants. At about age 20 or 21, Matthew relocated to the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he found employment at the Remington Arms/Union Metallic Cartridge Company (U.M.C.) Remington was a major manufacturer of cartridge ammunition for the war. Guerra was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1918. He completed his basic training at Camp Devens in Ayer, MA, before shipping out overseas to France. There he joined the 58th Infantry Regiment of 4th "Ivy" Division. He participated in the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensives. Wounded by shrapnel in the Bois de Fays (woods) on October 4, 1918, Matteo passed away in a field hospital on the 7th from complications due to uncontrolled infection. He was 22 years old. Unable to contact the family, he was laid to rest in the Meuse Argonne American Cemetery in France.

With the unexpected Japanese strike against Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declaration of war, the United States military sprang into action, combating, among other things, the possibility of a German invasion on American soil. Under the jurisdiction of the 1st Coast Artillery District and a branch of the U.S. Army known as the Coast Artillery Corps, the 26th ""Yankee"" Division was assigned to patrol, first, the New England coast and, eventually, the entire eastern seaboard. This volume follows the 26th Infantry Division of the Massachusetts National Guard from their prewar activation on January 16, 1941, through basic and advance infantry training, chronicling their buildup to full war strength. The main focus of the book, is the unit's time spent on homeland coastal patrol from January 1942 through November 1943. Their actions during various Nazi incursions including the famous incidents at Amagansett on Long Island and at Ponte Vedra near Jacksonville, Florida, are discussed. Firsthand accounts gathered from division and regimental publications as well as extensive interviews and correspondence with veterans of the 26th division provide a day-to-day look at the men who made up this impressive unit. Appendices contain an organizational list of the 1939 Massachusetts National Guard; a 1941 organizational list and brief history of the 181st Infantry Regiment; a station list of the 181st Infantry combat team; and a resume of regimental activities. Period photographs complete the history of this previously underrecognized division.