Today I'm posting one of my favorite pictures in my grandfather's WWI collection of photos. It's not an impromptu picture--these guys had to have made plans to get together for the portrait. To me, that indicates a bit deeper connection amongst them. Their names and home, if noted are: (1) Conrad F. Swanson, 18 Pigeon Hill St., Pigeon Cove, Massachusetts (2) William Dolan, Newburg, Oregon (3) H.W. Pounds, Myrtle Creek, Oregon, and (4) E.T. Mello (1) Swanson, (2) Dolan, (3

On this, the third week of featuring WWI soldiers whose photographs are contained in my grandfather's album, I present a picture of two men. Soldier 1 is identified on the reverse of the image as "Wm Dolan, Roseburg, Oregon, 1224 Winchester St. Soldier 2 is identified as Walter Carlson, Williams, Arizona. My grandfather's name was Clarence R. Fleming and he served in the 493rd Aero Squadron from 1917 to the end of WWI. (1) William Dolan; (2) Walter Carlson Contact me at

Recently, I was looking back at photographs I scanned from my grandfather, Clarence R. Fleming's photo album. I was reminded that he had five or six photographs of fellow soldiers. On the back of the pictures he wrote the names and home towns of these fellows. I'm not sure if copies of the photos were ever shared with the subjects. In the event they were not, I will publish them here on the blog over the course of the next month in the hope they will be discovered by desc

Originally published 10 Nov 2013 Everett H. Fleming Everett H. Fleming: 1923-1995 On the eve of Veterans Day, I’d like to say a few words about my father, Everett. H. Fleming, a descendant of Nicholas Robbins, and a World War II veteran. I have thought of him a great deal lately though he’s been gone over 18 years. He could be a challenge to live with sometimes, but then, aren’t we all. And he had many admirable qualities: he built up and ran a greenhouse business for m