| Tampa, FL � What you�re about to | | | | youngest of the men who were at Normandy 64 |
| read is the story of a duffle bag. It is | | | | years ago are turning 82-years-old this year. |
| also a story of ours�specifically Leo E. | | | | |
| Ours. This man carried that duffle bag on | | | | �Americans cannot forget the heroes who |
| June 6, 1944; D-Day. | | | | died on the battlefields so we must gather |
| | | | the spoken history of our service people and |
| �My father told us little about his | | | | their families to fully document the details |
| participation in the war with the 662nd | | | | of our history,� says Ours� Jr. |
| Medical Clearing Company following | | | | �I was so moved and intrigued by his |
| Patton�s 3rd Army across Europe,� | | | | stories that I felt compelled to write this |
| reveals Leo Ours, Jr., author of the new | | | | book detailing my father�s service to |
| book, �Hospital on Wheels: World War II | | | | our country.� |
| MASH.� Ours Jr. says his father would | | | | |
| occasionally speak about humorous memories of | | | | Ours Jr. realizes many men who were at D-Day |
| the war then the laughter would fade, the | | | | don�t feel comfortable talking about |
| mood would grow somber and his father would | | | | their experiences. Some are scared by the |
| drift into quiet. Like many veterans he did | | | | experiences or worried they�ll sound |
| not want to talk about his days at war. | | | | like they�re bragging. He feels that |
| | | | all veterans should try to tell their |
| That is until the duffle bag began speaking | | | | stories. All Americans should encourage WWII |
| for him. | | | | veterans to unzip their memories and share |
| | | | their oral pieces of history. |
| 54-years after Leo E. Ours� duffle bag | | | | |
| safely saw him home at the end of the war; it | | | | Leo motivationally declares, �They did |
| was re-discovered in a friend�s attic. | | | | their duty. Now we must do ours and help to |
| After the duffle bag returned to the | | | | fill-in the historical gaps; even if it means |
| father�s hands, fond memories returned | | | | retelling history one veteran at a |
| to his voice. | | | | time.� |
| | | | |
| �My father started telling all the | | | | When his father's military duffle bag showed |
| stories,� says Ours Jr. �He told me | | | | up, amazingly so did his father. The result? |
| of the day he and his duffle bag boarded the | | | | Our's Jr's new book �Hospital on |
| S.S. Eugene E. O�Lennell. He thought, | | | | Wheels: World War II MASH.� |
| �this is it, there is no turning back | | | | |
| now,� and, �my god, we are going to | | | | He doesn�t want a story of our men and |
| Normandy and the war.�� | | | | our nation to be lost to time. Normandy now |
| | | | looks like a random beach where children play |
| Leo�s father served as a medical and | | | | in the sand, women sunbathe and men swim. |
| surgical technician in World War II. He is | | | | The soldiers who were at D-Day and those who |
| one of the 3.5 million living World War II | | | | loved them are graying and dying with each |
| veterans. Many have spoken publicly about | | | | passing year. The only things not lost yet |
| their experiences, but many more have not. | | | | are the stories and the duffle bag that |
| Time is running out for this sect of | | | | brought them back to America. |
| �The Greatest Generation.� The | | | | |