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