World War II Archives - The 91��

From Boy Scout to Soldier

Janis — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 16:31:56 +0000

Cancellation of Saturday, April 11 speaker program

WWII veteran Simon Gurdal, scheduled to speak at the Veterans History 91�� tomorrow, unfortunately had a fall last evening. He will be OK, but we must cancel his presentation for Saturday, April 11.

We will announce a new date if we can re-schedule soon.

Also, another opportunity to hear Simon is coming up June 20. He will tell his story at the Etowah Library at 11:00 AM.

You’ll see complete details here in our newsletter in early June.

Thank you for your understanding.

Simon Gurdal — WWII Belgian Brigade Piron

WWII veteran Simon Gurdal shared his story: “One time, I found myself in a foxhole with two Americans, a Canadian and a Polish soldier. I was wounded but went back into the fight.”

The war began for Gurdal’s family when he was 14 years old. He tells his story:

“The Germans came in 1940 and occupied Belgium. All we could do was hide ourselves. One day our bell rang. It was two ladies with a six-year-old Jewish girl, Annie. One lady said, ‘She’s for you.’ Annie had a piece of paper in her coat pocket which read: I am a Jewish girl. Please take me in and hide me. For four years during the occupation, we hid her in a little room in the basement. She couldn’t go outside. Poor little girl, four years in the basement.

Pictured: Simon (far right) and his Boy Scout friends in Verviers, Belgium.

Let’s Join the Army

“In 1944, I was 17. One of the Boy Scouts in my troop said, ‘Let’s join the army.’ I said, ‘Let’s go!’ Seven of us went to St. Nicolas-Waes and soon…we were in the Army!

After the war

“After the war, I worked in Africa as a fabric designer for a French textile company. Then I emigrated to Canada, got married, and moved to New York. There I owned a design business. I have been an American citizen since 1965. I’m proud to wear the badge of Belgian Brigade Piron. What I tell you comes from my memory, but most of all, from my heart.”

The new book From Boy Scout to Soldier: Simon Gurdal, WWII Belgian Brigade Piron will be available for purchase and signing by Gurdal. Proceeds from the book (on sale for $20) will support the museum’s educational programs. Please call 828-884-2141 or visit the for more information.

From Boy Scout to Soldier, by Janis Allen, will be available for purchase and signing by Simon Gurdal on April 11 at VHMC.

Top Photo: Left, 17-year old Simon Gurdal, Belgian Brigade Piron, 1944
Right, Simon Gurdal with his book, FROM BOY SCOUT TO SOLDIER, 2026

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How the American Front First Saw D-Day

Commander — Wed, 10 May 2023 13:25:01 +0000

By Mike Bazinet

Greg Wilsbacher, Ph.D., a University of South Carolina faculty librarian and curator of the famous housed there, will present a muti-media program, How the American Homefront First Saw D-Day on June 5 at 2 p.m. at the Transylvania County Library’s Rogow Community Room, 212 S. Gaston St., 91��. The program, sponsored by the 91��, is free and open to the public and is meant to commemorate the 79th anniversary of the largest amphibious assault in history.

Wilsbacher received his Ph.D. in English from Indiana University. In addition to curating the Fox Movietone News Collection, he also curates the United States Marine Corps Film Repository at USC. He writes and lectures on newsreel history, digital preservation theory, optical sound technologies and military cinematography. He is currently project lead on a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, “Virtual Bench,” that fuses artificial intelligence models with traditional methods of archival film analysis.

Greg Wilsbacher, Ph.D.,

��ܰ��Բ� World War II, Americans avidly followed the fighting around the globe by reading newspapers and listening to the radio, but in those days before television, the way they saw moving images of our soldiers, sailors and airmen in action was by going to the movies and seeing the newsreels that preceded the motion pictures of the day,” said David Morrow, 91�� Board president. “Perhaps, they were working in a defense industry. They almost certainly had loved ones fighting overseas for the future of the world. But the American home front audience knew what was at stake and was eager to see the newsreels. Dr. Wilsbacher will tell us what was involved in bringing these now historic newsreels to movie screens across the country.”

We invite you to bring your friends and join us on June 5 at 2 p.m. for a look into the homefront experience during WWII–what your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents may have seen and felt.

Guest Speaker: Greg Wilsbacher, Ph.D., a University of South Carolina faculty librarian and curator of the famous Fox Movietone News Collection

On Monday, June 5, Greg Wilsbacher will present a multi-media program, How the American Homefront First Saw D-Day.��

He will speak at 2:00 PM in the Rogow Room at Transylvania County Library at 212 South Gaston Street in 91��, NC. Admission is free, presented by the 91��.

The program, sponsored by the 91��, is free and open to the public and is meant to commemorate the 79th anniversary of the largest amphibious assault in history.

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Walk Through History Event

Commander — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 14:11:01 +0000

Walk through History With World War II with best-selling authors and actual WWII veterans who were there

The 91�� is excited to offer the A Walk through History��Event.
Be a part of history as you explore their stories.

Your Invitation to…
If you love the stories of history and like to learn about our country’s military history, this is the event for you. Combine your love of learning with one of the “Coolest Towns in America.” Enjoy all 91�� has to offer, from our quaint downtown with great shopping to a vibrant arts and culture scene. Our backyard has 250 majestic waterfalls and 100,000 acres of forest; explore and enjoy.

Great Speakers
You will hear from nationally known and best selling authors of military veterans’ history WWII veterans.

Networking
Meet people who have similar interests and enjoy learning about U.S. military history.

New People
Meet veterans who have lived through the conflicts and will be in attendance to talk about their experiences

Have Fun
91�� has great restaurants, two musuems, historical walking tours, art galleries, music, shopping, hiking, fishing and so much more.

WWII Kamikaze Survivor Chooses 91�� Visit for his “Make-a-Wish”

Commander — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 11:49:40 +0000

Joe Cooper, receives�� “Make-a-Wish”

When WWII and Korean War veteran Joe Cooper, age 100, received the “Make-a-Wish” honor at the North Carolina Veterans Home in Black Mountain and asked for his wish, he answered, “A trip back to the Veterans 91�� and a ride on a train.”

He’ll get his train ride this fall. His trip to the 91�� in 91�� will come on this year’s opening day—March 1. At 10:30 AM in the courthouse gazebo, 91�� Founder/Curator Emmett Casciato will introduce N.C. Veterans Home Administrator Kylie Conkin, 91�� Mayor Maureen Copelof, and Transylvania County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jason Chappell, who will speak to honor Cooper’s service to our country. Transylvania County Honor Guard Chaplain Craig Adams will offer the benediction.

Cooper will talk about WWII and Korean War��

Immediately after the gazebo ceremony (until 12:00 AM), Cooper will be available inside the museum to talk with visitors, tell his stories from WWII and the Korean War, and sign free copies of his complete story for visitors. Other local Korean War veterans will join him to sign the book which honors them, The Forgotten War Remembered and several WWII veterans will also be present to sign their books “We Shall Come Home Victorious.” (Books are $20, proceeds go to the museum.)

He served in the US Navy in the Pacific in WWII

Joe Dayton Cooper served in the US Navy in the Pacific in WWII. While Cooper was serving as a gunner on aircraft carrier USS Ommaney Bay in The Philippines, a Japanese kamikaze dove into the center of the ship. After initially attempting to throw ammunition overboard to avoid further explosions, the crew was ordered to abandon ship. Cooper, without a life jacket, jumped 65 feet into shark-infested water and was given a life jacket by another sailor. The ship burned and sank.

Around 297 of his shipmates were killed. 91�� five hours later, Ommaney Bay survivors were picked up and taken to safety. Cooper then served as a gunner on the USS Minneapolis for five months. He has served in the US Navy from December 27, 1941 to December 28, 1945.

When WWII ended, Cooper was honorably discharged. Back home in 91��, he wasn’t able to find a good job, so he joined the US Army. He initially served in Germany during the Berlin airlift, then volunteered for combat when the Korean War started, serving with a recon unit at Heartbreak Ridge and The Punchbowl. He served in the US Army from 1948 to 1953.

The USS Ommaney Bay blows up after being attacked by a kamikaze. Photo courtesy Joe Cooper.

Japanese Betty on fire. Photo courtesy Joe Cooper.

Back in 91�� again after the war, Cooper worked as a mechanic at Olin Corporation (later Ecusta Paper Corporation) and worked there until his retirement.

In case of inclement weather, the 10:30 ceremony will be held in the upstairs meeting room of the 91��/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce at 175 East Main Street. Signs will be posted at the museum’s front and back entrances if the ceremony is moved. Please arrive early if the weather is iffy, to allow yourself time to get over to the Chamber of Commerce.

The public is invited to celebrate the service of Joe Cooper and admission is free.

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Loyal Forces: The American Animals of World War II

Commander — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 13:20:07 +0000

October 20 Program – Loyal Forces:
The American Animals of World War II

The 91�� College History Program and the 91�� are pleased to host 91�� College alumna Toni McCourt Kiser for a discussion of her book, Loyal Forces: The American Animals of World War II on October 20 at 2:00 p.m. in Ingram Auditorium on the 91�� College campus. Kiser, pictured here, works for the National WWII 91�� in New Orleans and was a history major at the college.

“Toni had a passion for history that made her an excellent student,” says Dr. Margaret L. Brown, Coordinator of the History Program. “She wrote an outstanding senior project on the iconography of Catherine of Sienna.” Brown also recalls that she served as an organized and effective president of Pastimes, the History Club.

Toni McCourt Kiser

After 91�� College, Kiser earned a Master’s Degree in 91�� Studies in Washington D.C. She served as an intern one summer at the Biltmore Estate, working with their rare book collection, cataloging and reporting on the condition of rare 19th century works. She also worked for the Freemasons at their headquarters and official archives in Washington D.C.

Working at the National WWII 91�� in New Orleans has turned into a dream job for Kiser. “At first I really wanted to work at a historic house like the Biltmore or Allison Deaver. When the U.S. Navy stationed my husband in New Orleans, I applied for museum jobs there,” Kiser recounted. “I had an interest in World War II since my grandfather was a marine veteran of Guadalcanal.” Because of her wealth of internship experience, she got the job.

Kiser worked first as a registrar at the National WWII 91��, and today she is Senior Registrar & Director of Collections Management. “On the physical side, I am responsible for proper housing, tracking, and prepping for an exhibit, also noting what needs conservation. On the intellectual side, I make sure that donations and purchases meet all legal and ethical standards, proper cataloguing and standardized nomenclature, and setting the standards for our cataloguing manual and database.”

The idea for Loyal Forces came out of her work as a curator of exhibits. Her colleague and co-author, Lindsey Barnes, and Kiser convinced the Director to let them put together an exhibit on the service animals. Dogs served as mascots for many individual units; horses took part in the last mounted cavalry charge in U.S. Army history; and 36,000 homing pigeons helped deliver messages. The exhibit was a huge hit with visitors, and Louisiana State University press contacted Barnes and Kiser to turn their project into a book.

This free program is provided jointly by 91�� College and the 91��. It will be livestreamed on Facebook starting at 2:00 p.m. on October 20 and will be posted subsequently on YouTube. Copies of the book Loyal Forces will be available for purchase and signing by the author at the event. Students, alumni, and anyone in the community interested in the history of World War II or the important role of service animals are invited to attend. “In the frightening and uncharted world of war, servicemen and women could count on the transport given by horses and mules, the protection offered by dogs, the communication delivered by pigeons, and the solace provided by mascots and pets,” write Kiser and Barnes.

Watch the presentation by Toni McCourt

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Joe Cooper, WWII and Korean War Veteran

Commander — Wed, 18 May 2022 14:27:27 +0000

Japanese “Betty” on fire. Photo courtesy Joe Cooper.

Joe Dayton Cooper

U.S. Navy, WWII – Pacific
December 27, 1941—December 28,1945
U.S. Army, Berlin Air Lift
Korean War, 1948-1953

91�� resident Joe Cooper served in the U.S. Navy during WWII (Pacific), December 27, 1941—December 28,1945. After WWII ended, Cooper joined the U.S. Army, serving in Europe during the Berlin Air Lift and then back to the Pacific to serve in the Korean War, 1948-1953. Cooper tells his story:

Joe Cooper shares his knowledge of Japanese Samurai swords displayed in the Veterans History 91�� in 2022.

“My name is Joe Dayton Cooper. I am 99 years old. I will be 100 on July 6, 2022. I was born in Asheville, but my dad moved to 91�� when I was four years old and opened a garage. He was an auto mechanic. He served in World War One. He was an engineer. That’s where he learned his trade. He was a good dad. He was a metal smith. He could make knives, swords—you ought to see the tools—he made screwdrivers, all kind of stuff.”

��Attack on Pearl Harbor

“When the Japanese attacked , I was at Camp Straus in 91��. After that, I joined the Navy. I went in the Navy because I was too young and they wouldn’t take me in the Marine Corps. They said, ‘We don’t take kids in here. Go home and grow up.’ The Navy said, ‘We’ll feed you eggs and milk.’ I was five feet six and 110 pounds.
“I had two brothers. They were in the Navy. One worked in a shipyard, and in ’44, he went in the Navy. We grew up poor. We ate three meals a day, but it was mostly beans and cornbread and buttermilk. They fed us good in the Navy.

In the Navy

“I went to training in Norfolk, Virginia. I was in Platoon 361. I still remember that platoon. I worked up as a gunner’s mate. I went to the gunner’s school across from Pearl Harbor. We had to learn the ammunition first, how to handle ammunition. Then we learned about the guns. We shot at drones that were five feet wide and remote-controlled.

“I was shooting a 50-caliber and a 75. The highest was eight-inch. They had sixteen-inch out there, but I never did get to fire one of them. I fired the 40-millimeter twin barrel. It was a Swedish gun. I was assigned to the submarine fighter USS PC (“Peter Charley”) 477 for 17 months—Midway, Guadalcanal, New Guinea. It was built like a destroyer.”

Hunting Submarines

We hunted submarines. We took our training in the Gulf of Mexico dropping depth chargers. Later on, they put rockets on the bow—two of them—one on port and one on starboard. We’d fire, and they wouldn’t go off till they hit something under the water.

“They sent us to New Guinea, then to Cairnes, Australia. I took a train to Sydney, then went on to troop ship Mount Vernon. It was on the USS George Washington luxury liner before it was converted to the Mount Vernon troop ship. Then to San Francisco and was assigned to the USS Ommaney Bay. That was one of the escort carriers.”

I Was a Plank Owner

“I met Henry Kaiser, who built the escort carriers, during the commissioning. I got papers that showed I was a plank owner of the USS Ommaney Bay. I was one of the first crew members on the ship when it was commissioned in San Francisco. I became a twin 40-millimeter gunner on the left side.”

“We were bringing a P-61 2-wing night fighter Blackhawk to Brisbane. We made an emergency cruise to Sydney, Australia. We were testing the boiler run wide open to avoid submarines. Took some P-47 Thunderbolts to Brisbane and a P-61 back with us. The twin night fighter had radar. Then we went to Alaska and then to the Hawaiian Islands. Then we took the Army 81st Wildcat Division and went to Guadalcanal and picked up the First Marine Division. We landed in the Palau Islands, south of Leyte. Palau means ‘tall tales’ in Spanish.”

The USS Ommaney Bay blows up after being attacked by a kamikaze. Photo courtesy Joe Cooper.

CliPart two of Joe Cooper’s story will appear in a future issue.We Got All the Japanese Planes Down

“It was September 1944. We were close support. We went in 14 days before the landing craft. The cruisers and battleships bombarded, and we offered air cover for them and bombed inland. That was the first time I fired the 40-millimeter in combat. The Japanese planes were attacking.

The planes were attacking, but we got ‘em all down. They didn’t do any damage. Bill Halsey said to bypass the island because it wasn’t worth it. Admiral Nimitz overruled him and we attacked anyway. The Marines were mad about it because it cost lives.

The Battle of Leyte Gulf

“I have a picture of a Japanese ‘Betty,’ just like a B-25 and B-26. [Mitsubishi Navy Type 1 attack bomber]. We were there about a month. Then we had to go to The Philippines—Leyte, October 24. We were softening up Leyte for the invasion of The Philippines—MacArthur’s return. There the Japanese started the kamikaze—suicide bombing. And then we had that big sea battle out there, at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. They wasn’t modernized like our battleships.”

The Battle of Surigao Strait, The Philippines

“We couldn’t tell what was a bomber and what was a kamikaze. They’d come there three and four at a time and one would go back and report what they’d done. Three of them would dive on us. They dropped torpedoes. In the picture of the plane we shot, it’s on fire, it did a barrel roll and hit about 200 yards from us in the ocean. The Ommaney Bay didn’t suffer any damage during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. We stored 24 torpedoes on the bulkhead down there. That was the closest call we had, but we were lucky. A lot of ships got hit. Our destroyer escort got sunk.”

Battleship Yamoto Destroyed

“The big Japanese battleship Yamoto was destroyed—eight Jap battleships in the battle off Okinawa. The planes from our carrier were attacking it. We were attacking it. We saw it happen.
“In December of 1944, we pulled out of The Philippines, went back to Admiralty Islands and got supplies to go through the strait to Mindoro to support the Marines. That’s where we got hit. When the sun went down, we launched planes to look for submarines. We changed positions with another aircraft carrier. The aircraft motors were running—anti-submarine.”

Kamikaze Attack

“Here come the ‘Betty’ kamikaze, making an attack on us. It dove, trying to hit the island [of the ship]. It missed it and went right through the middle of the ship. One 1400-pound bomb went in the engine room and knocked the power out. The other one hit the hangar deck. It was on fire in the stern of the ship.

“I was finishing a meal when it happened. A friend of mine saved my life. He said, ‘Let’s go down to the crew compartment. We’d just got down there, and there was a big BOOM, I thought it was a torpedo. Smoke started coming out of the bulkhead and the lights went out. We went up to the hangar deck and saw a plane exploding, hitting the bulkhead. We tried to get up to where the pilots were. We heard hollering up there. The pilots must’ve been trapped. Most of the people on the hangar deck were killed. We couldn’t get through because the doors were locked. So we went back down and then back up through another hatch on the port side.”

“We started throwing ammunition off.”

“We started throwing ammunition off and everything. I saw one man laying there with his leg off. I couldn’t help him. I saw one with a hole in his throat and blood was gushing out. He was running, hollering. There were explosions happening everywhere. I knew I had to get out as quick as I could. We had a lot of ammunition and thousands of gallons of gas on that ship. I said to myself, ‘I better get off before it blows up.’

“They were passing the word to jump. They said it wasn’t no good—everybody over the side. It was about 65 feet, so I just went over the side. I wasn’t scared of heights, I just wanted to get off of there. I didn’t have a life jacket on. My life jacket was down there by my gun. I jumped off the port bow.”

Joe Cooper will be honored by the 91�� during and after 91��’s Memorial Day parade on May 30. Cooper will ride in the WWII Jeep during the parade and meet members of the public in the museum after the parade to sign free copies of his story.

Click here to read Part two of Joe Cooper’s story

Joe Cooper, WWII and Korean War Veteran
Interviewed by Andrew Biggio & Michael McCarthy
Written by Janis Allen for the Transylvania Times

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Stalin’s War – Guest Speaker:��Dr. Sean McMeekin

Commander — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 18:00:00 +0000

Stalin’s War:��A�� New History of World War II

Guest Speaker:��Dr. Sean McMeekin

Date:��Friday June 3, 2022
Time:��2:00pm
Location:��Transylvania County Elections Center
150 South Gaston Street, 91�� NC

Author of eight books, Dr. Sean McMeekin will share his discovery: “Stalin—not Hitler—was the animating force of World War II in this major new history,” based on his 2021 book of the same name as this program.

World War II endures in the popular imagination as a heroic struggle between good and evil, with villainous Hitler driving its events. But Hitler was not in power when the conflict erupted in Asia—and he was certainly dead before it ended. His armies did not fight in multiple theaters, his empire did not span the Eurasian continent, and he did not inherit any of the spoils of war. That central role belonged to Joseph Stalin. The Second World War was not Hitler’s war; it was Stalin’s war.��Read more about Dr. Sean McMeekinva

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World War II Archives - The 91����