WWII Archives • Page 2 of 15 • DAVIDPDX

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ORDINARY MEN: RESERVE POLICE BATTALION 101 REVIEW

January 28, 2026 by David Gillaspie

After watching a portion of a documentary on German Reserve Police Battalion 101 I’m left with concerns. As the story is told on Netflix, ordinary men were recruited into police work. The idea of joining a police staff was better than going to the front. The guys selected got some extra training, then loaded up […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Alex pretti, America, americans, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, Constitution, Death, die, dog song, due process, education, father, fellow citizens, following, following orders, friends, government, history, holocaust, killing, learning, liberty, life, mass killing, mother, murderers, neighbors, orders, ordinary men, police battalion 101, property, sing, singing, true americans, writer, writers, writing, WWII

BEING DOG WALKED? HOW TO KNOW

January 23, 2026 by David Gillaspie

What’s it mean to be dog walked? “Time to get the leash. The slang dog walk is “to overpower” or “outsmart” someone, as if in utter control of them, as when walking a dog.” When does it happen? There are clues, such as:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: activist, America, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, common culture, culture, culture leader, dog, dog walked, dog walking, education, leadership, leadership responsibilities, learning, Love, Portland Oregon, responsibilities, right and wrong, roll over, stand guard, story, writer, writers, writing, WWII

GOLDEN SILENCE? WHAT’S THAT ALL ABOUT

January 20, 2026 by David Gillaspie

I’ve experienced golden silence? Nooooo. But I’ve come close. Like the time I woke up in a tent while spending the night on a mountain I’d climbed. So quiet, at first, then the sniffing sound. Since it was Alaska, it may have been a bear. I was silent.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: ashamed, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, Bob Dylan, education, ethnic cleansing, facebook, fighting, friendship, GUITAR, historical reminder, history, JFK, learning, military bases, modern nations, muhammad Ali, music, NW Portland, open mic, President Eisenhower, President Kennedy, profound effect, rolling stone, sing, song, story, twitter, unread blog, writer, writers, writing, WWII

POLITICAL HISTORY = HISTORY

January 18, 2026 by David Gillaspie

When you consider historical facts, when you read history, you’re reading political history. With any luck, what you read is put together by someone who has read and understands the role of politics. What is that role? Creating a just and vibrant society for the greatest number of people. But that’s just my opinion.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Army, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blind allegiance, boy scout, buzzwords, defective people, draft, draft dodgers, education, excuse, followers, full force, giving back, good times, history, learning, magna carta, modern problems, naive, Nixon, poor behavior, Portland Oregon, relatable, show it, story, tell it, travel, twitter, Vietnam War, writer, writers, writing, WWII

WHAT I WANT AND WHAT I GET

January 17, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Did I want a big fluffy dog? Noooo. But here we are and she’s the best darn dog I’ve ever known, heard of, or seen. Better than Bullet and Rin Tin Tin? Waaaaay better. She’s my dog, and just what I want. But I didn’t know that before hand.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, education, history, king, learning, majestic mountain, my kingdom, Oregon, politics, Portland, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Portland Oregon, programing, regular programing, story, what I want, WWII

LISTENING PRACTICE: START SOONER THAN LATER

January 8, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Listening practice with Ernest Hemingway: “We learn to talk by two, we learn to listen by sixty.” That he was dead at sixty-one says something about his listening skills? Nooooooo.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, be quiet, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, education, family, history, john wayne, keep quiet, learning, listening, listening practice, Love, movie business, personalities, quiet, rocket man, Show Business, television, ugly people, writer, writers, writing, WWII

HARD RAIN FALLING, GUTTERS OVERFLOWING, NOW WHAT?

January 7, 2026 by David Gillaspie

I’ve got a hard rain falling in drops you can see. Not the usual drizzle, not a sheet of water, but individual drops spaced and timed to perfection. It’s cold out, the kind of day that makes you think of other places you’ve heard about, seen on advertisements, the kind of cold and wet people […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, American Baby Boomer, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, better days, blog, blogger, Bob Dylan, boomer generation, call to action, Death, education, facebook, flood, getters, hard rain, history, hunger, Jan 6, learning, now what, Oregon, revisionist history, rewriting history, second opinion, show up, sink hole, stay warm, twitter, wife, writer, writers, writing, wrong history, WWII

ON REMEMBERING ANNIVERSARIES

January 6, 2026 by David Gillaspie

My wife is great for remembering anniversaries and birthdays. It’s an encyclopedic memory of family, friends, and pretty much anyone who has ever been born. At least that’s what it feels like in comparison to her husband, who is more selective. I remember plenty, I’m not saying I don’t, but ask me the birthday of […]

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GET TO THE WRITING POINT

December 26, 2025 by David Gillaspie

People who feel like their head might explode in the middle of the night because their brain won’t calm down need to get to the writing point. No writer has ever felt the internal pressure in their mind because they’ve already gone over things. Gone over, and over, and over, and over. Let me rewrite […]

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FAMILY TREE BRANCH OF RICHARDSONS

December 7, 2025 by David Gillaspie

As people age up and out they look for meaning in different places. Where some look to DNA, others shake the family tree. That’s what my Grandma did years ago. This is what dropped out:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: admiral, admiral richardson, Army, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, club life, December 7, education, family tree, following orders, future, general, general richardson, history, illegal orders, learning, Navy, orders, Pearl Harbor, PORTLAND BABY BOOMERS, Texas state historical association, WWII