It seems appropriate
With World War II veterans leaving the scene at the rate of more than 1,000 a day, and their remaining days few, and with the Iraq war drawing to an end, more combat veterans are added to the thinning ranks of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.
The people who fought in all our nation's wars must be remembered, especially those who died for the cause of freedom. S/Sgt Bill Fulkerson of Marion was one of those men. He went down with his B-17 Flying Fortress Boeing bomber on Thanksgiving day 1944. Veterans of the 491st Bomb Group, 2nd Air Division of the 8th U.S. Air Force, lost 15 bombers that day
The bomber "Blue Circle" was downed by Nazi fighters and crashed near the home of a Dutch lad near Apeldoorn in The Netherlands. John Meurs now lives in Switzerland, but is keenly interested in the story and continues to conduct research.
Just prior to Memorial Day, nearly 60 years later, it seems appropriate to publish the story of "young Bill" Fulkerson as prepared by his niece, June Rasmussen.
The editor
