American Legacies Organization, Inc.

Left to right: Grandpa Wilson (Achus), Francis Wilson, Achus Wilson, Jr. and Grandma Wilson in front of the boat they owned and used for carrying wheat up and down the Erie Canal.

By Susan James

The second time I ever flew in an airplane, I jumped out of it. I was a 25-year-old surgical intern when World War II broke out; convinced that there would be more romance in Europe than in the Pacific theater, I volunteered as a battalion surgeon to join parachute regiment 506 of the 101st Airborne Division, also known as the "Screaming Eagles."

"Nobody could ever agree on my birthdate, so I just picked one," my grandmother always told us. In turn-of-the-century Seattle, fires were frequent and all records of her birth were destroyed. She chose June 14, Flag Day, as a tribute to the adopted country of her parents, who had fled Soviet persecution a few short years before.

Remember this?

The following were some comments made in the year 1955:

"I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, its going to be impossible to buy a weeks groceries for $20.00."

"Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long until $3000 will only buy a used one."

"If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous!!!!!

"Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?"

He knelt in front of me, took my tiny right hand in both of his, and rubbed the two ugly warts that had suddenly appeared on my index finger the previous week. He closed his eyes as he massaged my hand and his lips moved wordlessly to some ancient chant.

On June 8, 2000, Clement F. Marley, former Motor Machinist’s Mate, was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal for retrieving a telephone cable that had been lost in deep ocean water at Green Island in the Solomons 56 Years after the Fact.

While I know much about the men on the maternal side of my family, their history is easily traced. Documents are easily found, birth certificates, their names listed as having fought during the civil war. The men have been traced and places to find their heritage listed by family members.

I remember going into a tavern, and there was a bunch of German soldiers sitting at the bar. We almost started shooting, but then we realized they were already dead. Someone went up to them and shoved the soldier at the end of the bar, and they all fell over like bowling pins! There wasn’t a mark on them. They were killed from the concussion of the shells exploding all around them.”

A Cowboys Guide To Life:

Don't squat with your spurs on.

Don't interfere with something that ain't botherin you none.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

The easiest way to eat crow is while its still warm.

My life was rough. As a little child I worked long hours on the farm, hanging tobacco to dry. My mother had tried to teach me to work with the animals, but after she forced me to kill a chicken, I became incapacitated whenever I went near that part of the farm. Against my struggling, fighting and tears, Momma made me cut that chickens head of with an axe.