“Wild Bill“ Donovan had many fascinating friends, including Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond – the fictional, globe-trotting superspy. Donovan’s real-life feats, however, surpassed even Bond’s wildest exploits. Perhaps no other Irish American served his country more daringly, yet Donovan’s largely clandestine service to America is still greatly under-appreciated. Born in … [Read more...] about “Wild Bill” Donovan: Irish-American War Hero and Superspy
Normandy
“Irish Dave” and the Yanks
Who Liberated Normandy
Belfast native David Ashe retired to Normandy, France, and became a champion for visiting GIs who had liberated his adopted homeland during World War II.
In September 2011, Guy Whidden, a World War II veteran from Frederick, Maryland, peeled off his 101st Airborne Division jump jacket in the men’s room of the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville, France. Whidden next … [Read more...] about “Irish Dave” and the Yanks
Who Liberated Normandy
Normandy
An Irish American takes a family trip to Normandy’s WWII battle site. June marks the anniversary of the D-Day landings when the United States and her allies, primarily Britain and Canada, launched the air and sea assault on Nazi-occupied France that marked the beginning of the long eastward march to Berlin and the end of the Second World War. Starting on June 6, 1944, thousands … [Read more...] about Normandy