Column: Tom McDade, a Park Forest developer, landed on Utah Beach on D-Day
As in past years, there will be few if any public memorials commemorating the events that took place that day 81 years ago. It was only one of numerous historic events that took place in four-plus years of worldwide conflict
Casualties were high. Some 2,501 Americans were killed and allied forces suffered about 10,000 casualties. Estimates show some 5,000 Allied troops were wounded with German casualties to have been between 4,000 and 9,000.
There are, however, strong links between the fighting on the beaches that day in June and the development of Park Forest, a 'G.I. Town' built to house returning veterans from the war.
One is the story of Tom McDade. The other two are the vial of sand I see every day and the flag honoring the man.
No one knows how many D-Day veterans lived in Park Forest, but one who did, Tom McDade helped forge an unbreakable connection between those two points on the map.
McDade was born in Scotland, and along with his family emigrated to Hillsboro, Illinois when he was 5 years old. He was 29 when Pearl Harbor was bombed Dec. 7, 1941.
He was part of the 4th Infantry Division which landed on Utah Beach in Normandy on D-Day. After the war he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina, did graduate work at the University of Chicago and worked for the Chicago Housing Authority before joining Urban Investments and Development.
The company was headed by Philip Klutznick, the man who helped reshape an old golf course and vacant farmland into a new kind of community called Park Forest.
McDade was a jack-of-all-trades, including taking charge of all the rental units. Trying to keep tenants happy was never an easy task. Klutznick wrote in his book, 'Angles of Vision,' that Tom invested himself in the village, living in the young community while at the same time in charge of planning and development both as a trouble shooter for the company and as a social conscience. He often directed funds from the company to worthy organizations and corporations.
He may not have been the only D-Day veteran who came to Park Forest, but once said that no matter where he lived, his heart never left the community.
Later in life, Tom and his second wife, Mignon, lived in a Lake Shore Drive apartment overlooking Lake Michigan. But when he retired in 1985, he moved back to a more modest abode in Park Forest, moving into a house on Lakewood Boulevard when its former owner, Mayor Mayer Singerman, left town.
He was never a company man. He was always a local in his heart.
Never one to test the water temperature with his toes, McDade jumped headfirst into the pool of community life. It was as if he never left town as he renewed his interest in all phases of village life, including a stint on the board of the Park Forest Historical Society.
When he was inducted into the Park Forest Hall of Fame three years after his death in 1992, his widow said, 'you could take him out of Park Forest, but not Park Forest out of him.'
We made the trip to the Normandy beaches nearly 30 years ago and came home with a lasting memory.
This was a time before our cameras were part of our cellphones, and when people needed to load film in their cameras in order to snap a photograph. On my desk, there sits a plastic container which once stored such a film roll. Inside there are a few thousand grains of sand from Omaha Beach.
I see it every day. It sits in front of a folded flag given to his wife, my wife's mother. I see both and I remember.
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
I toured the USS Silversides, a World War II submarine that sank 23 enemy vessels and earned 12 battle stars. Take a look inside.
The USS Silversides submarine sank 23 ships and earned 12 battle stars during World War II. Visitors can tour the vessel at the USS Silversides Submarine Museum in Muskegon, Michigan. The submarine was the site of a successful emergency appendectomy in enemy waters in 1942. Christmas Eve, 1942. The USS Silversides, a US Navy submarine, is surrounded by Japanese warships on a covert patrol in enemy-controlled waters. And George Platter's appendix is about to burst. Platter, a crew member on the USS Silversides, will die if he doesn't get surgery immediately. When the commanding officer gives the order, crew members spring into action. They fashion surgical tools out of utensils from the galley. They find an ironing board to prop up Platter's feet since the table in the wardroom is too short to lie him flat. They submerge beneath the waves to create more stability for the operation, even though the submarine's batteries are only partially charged. The pharmacist's mate, Thomas Moore, has never performed the surgery before. He keeps a medical textbook open next to him the whole time. Platter wakes up during the surgery when the local anesthetic wears off, so they sedate him with ether. It leaks into the rest of the submarine and sedates some of the crew, as well. After four hours, against all odds, the surgery is successful. Platter makes a full recovery and is back on watch six days later. It's extraordinary stories such as this one that are preserved at the USS Silversides Submarine Museum in Muskegon, Michigan. Visitors can climb aboard the historic submarine, which was awarded 12 battle stars for its service in World War II, and explore its battle stations, cramped bunks, and even the operating table where Platter received his appendectomy. I toured the USS Silversides in May. Here's what I saw. Commissioned in 1941, the USS Silversides sank 23 ships over its 14 war patrols, making it one of the most successful American submarines from World War II. The Gato-class submarine measures 312 feet long and weighs 2,410 tons while submerged. Its standard crew consisted of eight officers and 72 enlisted men. After it was decommissioned in 1946, the USS Silversides was used as a teaching submarine and became a National Historic Landmark. From 1947 to 1969, the USS Silversides was used as a training vessel for the Ninth Naval District in Chicago. It was then moved to the Naval Armory and Navy Pier before arriving in Muskegon to serve as a museum in 1987. It was also used as a movie set for the 2002 film "Below." The submarine is now the star attraction at the USS Silversides Museum in Muskegon. The USS Silversides Submarine Museum is open seven days a week from April through December and operates Thursday through Monday in the winter months of January, February, and March. An all-inclusive ticket to the museum costs $17.50 for adults, $15 for veterans, and is free of charge for active-duty service members. Tickets can be purchased on the museum's website. Like the USS Cobia in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the museum also offers visitors the chance to spend a night on the submarine. The USS Silversides is docked outside the museum in the Muskegon Lake Channel, which leads into Lake Michigan. The Lake Express ferry passes by the USS Silversides Submarine Museum on its route between Muskegon and Milwaukee. As I began my tour of the submarine, the ferry honked its horn as passengers waved at me from the upper deck. The deck featured weapons such as a 4-inch, 50-caliber deck gun, a 40-millimeter antiaircraft gun, and a 20-millimeter surface-to-surface gun. The 40-millimeter antiaircraft gun had the longest range, capable of shooting targets up to 22,800 feet away. A plaque on the deck memorialized the crew member Mike Harbin, who was killed by enemy fire while manning the deck gun. Harbin was 19 years old when he was shot in battle on May 10, 1942. He was buried at sea. The torpedo loading ramp was made of a wood called lignum vitae, which gets slippery when wet. Lignum vitae is Latin for "wood of life." The rest of the deck was made of teakwood, which is impervious to water, fire, and termites. It also doesn't float, which was crucial to maintain the submarine's covert operations if a piece broke off. Decals on the side of the submarine indicated its many wartime accomplishments. The USS Silversides featured stickers showing it sank 30 ships, but that number has since been amended to 23, Bethann Egan, the museum's executive director, told Business Insider. The USS Silversides also damaged 14 ships, cleared 16 enemy mines, and rescued two American paratroopers. The first stop on my tour was the forward torpedo room, where crew members loaded torpedoes into the six torpedo tubes. The room slept 16 crew members on bunks that unfolded alongside the torpedoes, which measured 22 feet long and weighed 3,000 pounds. Lockers above the bunks were used to store personal possessions. All of a crew member's personal items had to fit into one small locker. Colored lights were used to help crew members' eyes adjust to the dark to prevent night blindness. If the submarine was too bright inside, crew members wouldn't be able to see in the dark if they went up onto the deck at night during an attack. The lights used to be blue and then switched to red, which is why the light fixture said "blue" on it even though the light bulb was red. The shower and bathroom in the forward torpedo room were used by the officers, whose bunks were down the hall. Flushing the toilet on the USS Silversides was a 12-step process. One wrong move would cause the toilet's contents to shoot back out. Meals were plated and reheated in the officers' pantry. Officers ate the same meals as the rest of the crew but dined in the privacy of the wardroom instead of the crew's mess. The pantry also stocked snacks and coffee. The table on display in the wardroom was the original table where George Platter's successful appendectomy took place in 1942. "The pharmacist's mate who actually performed it did not technically have permission from all the way up, but the commander made the decision that this needed to happen or else the sailor was going to die," Egan said. "So he stood up for him and made sure that he was not court-martialed after." The wardroom also served as the officers' dining room and lounge. The higher an officer's rank, the fewer people he had to share a room with. Junior and senior officers served as administrators on the submarine, while the executive officer, known as the "XO," was second-in-command to the commanding officer. Officers' quarters included foldout desks and sinks. The rooms also came with storage areas where they could hang their uniforms. The commanding officer enjoyed the only private room on the submarine. His stateroom featured a depth gauge and a compass above the bed so that he could tell how deep the submarine was and which way it was facing at all times. Chief petty officers slept in a room nicknamed the "goat locker." According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, the nickname dates back to the 1890s, when chief petty officers took care of the goats kept on ships for fresh milk. Another explanation is that chief petty officers served in the Navy for more than a decade to reach their positions and were known as "old goats." In the yeoman's shack, the yeoman handled the submarine's paperwork. In addition to managing personnel records, the yeoman also kept logs of the submarine's changes in direction, speed, and depth. In the control room, crew members managed the USS Silversides' vital functions with numerous technical instruments. The bow and stern plane wheels pictured above controlled the submarine's depth and angle. The commanding officer would give commands such as "2 degrees right rudder," which the crew would repeat and execute. The ship's inclinometer worked like a carpenter's level to show if the submarine was tilting to one side or the other. Keith Gill, the museum's director of curatorial services, told BI that staff members use this inclinometer "every day" to check on the submarine. "It's almost never centered, and that's because we have some leaks in some tanks that we're monitoring and adjusting air pressure to keep water out," Gill said. The hull opening indicator light panel was known as the "Christmas tree" for its red and green lights. A green light indicated that a vent or hatch was closed, while red meant it was open. The submarine could only submerge when the board was fully lit up in green. The helmsman's wheel steered the submarine. On some World War II submarines, such as the USS Becuna, the main helm was in the conning tower above the control room. On the USS Silversides, the main helm was in the control room itself. The control room also housed the compressed air manifold and trim manifold. The compressed air manifold distributed compressed air throughout the submarine, which was used to start the engines, fire torpedoes, and surface the vessel. The trim manifold showed how much weight was in different tanks on the submarine and moved water between them to maintain the ship's balance as it used up fuel or fired weapons. In the radio room, crew members could communicate with vessels up to 12,000 miles away. Most communications happened in code. Cooks prepared all of the crew's meals in the galley. Cooks were also trained to operate the deck guns and perform other technical tasks around the submarine. Gill noted that during World War II, Black crew members were often relegated to roles in the kitchen and weren't allowed to advance beyond serving as stewards because of the Navy's segregation policies. "One of the negative sides of our past is how we treated African American citizens," he said. "They were in the military, but they were segregated somewhat. On a Navy ship, on a sub, you really can't segregate, but you can control what they're doing." The kitchen featured a piece of equipment I'd never seen on a submarine before: a soft-serve ice cream machine. The kitchen also included a deep fryer. Crew members ate meals in three shifts in the crew's mess. Submarines were known for doing some of the most dangerous work and having some of the most difficult living conditions in the military, but the Navy ensured they received the best food. Submariners also received hazard pay, the highest in the Navy. The enlisted men also slept in shifts in the crew's quarters. Newer crew members slept on the bottom bunks, which could also occasionally be used as food storage early on in a patrol. "Supposedly, they called this the honeymoon suite on top," Egan said. "I don't know if that's 100% accurate." The mattresses in the two middle bunks were placed so close together that they essentially functioned as one bed. Regular crew members showered only every 13 to 15 days in the crew's washroom. Officers showered every three to five days, while the cooks showered every day since they were handling food. The forward and after engine rooms each contained two 1,600-horsepower diesel engines manufactured by Fairbanks-Morse. At top speed, the USS Silversides could travel at 21 knots, or about 24 miles an hour. The forward engine room also contained two evaporators that distilled ocean water into fresh water. The engines are still operational. The USS Silversides' insignia was painted on one of the aft engines. The logo depicts a silverside fish smoking a cigar and holding a torpedo. The maneuvering room was crewed by two electricians who controlled the propulsion of the submarine. At full power, the USS Silversides used 4 million watts of electricity. The last stop on the tour was the aft torpedo room in the back of the submarine. The aft torpedo room was smaller than the forward torpedo room, with four torpedo tubes and room for eight torpedoes. The room displayed a real demilitarized Mark 18 electric torpedo. Electric torpedoes such as the Mark 18 didn't leave a wake, or trail of waves, behind them, making them more difficult to detect. After I finished my tour of the submarine, I visited the museum itself, which featured photos and artifacts from World War II and beyond. I particularly enjoyed an exhibit about the appendectomy that took place in the wardroom, featuring photos from the procedure. Preserving the aging submarine is no small task, but the USS Silversides remains a fascinating testament to the dedication of American service members in World War II. After running its engines in an annual Memorial Day tribute, the museum hopes to give the USS Silversides its first oil change since the 1950s this summer. Eventually, the entire vessel will have to be removed from the water and dry-docked because of leaks in its tanks. The museum applied for federal funding through the Save America's Treasures grant program, but Egan said during my May visit that they might not end up receiving it because of sweeping cuts made by the White House DOGE office. "They have not officially cut that funding source yet, but it's not looking good," Egan said. When the submarine was on active duty, the entire 80-person crew worked tirelessly to maintain the ship, and the Navy financed all necessary repairs and upgrades. The USS Silversides Submarine Museum's preservation efforts, however, are privately funded and largely volunteer-driven. "We're just poor museum people who are trying to honor the commitment that these guys made over 14 war patrols to protect our country," Gill said. Read the original article on Business Insider
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Free lunch? Nope — but 53% off a Bentgo Box on Amazon might be even better
New York Post may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you click or buy through our links. Featured pricing is subject to change. Maybe it's impossible to get something for nothing. But if back-to-school is on the radar, this single purchase could get you pretty close. The uber-trendy, practical, and parent-approved Bentgo Leak-Proof Lunch Box is offiacally 53% off on Amazon, right in time for the start of the school year. At just under $20, deals like this don't happen every day — especially with back-to-school costs on the rise. A late July survey from U.S. News found that 85% of Americans are concerned about the cost of supplies, as the National Retail Federation reports that spending is expected to average around $858 per household in 2025. Back-to-school season may be far from free, but if you're ready to ditch disposable bags and keep your kid's lunch fresh enough to finish, Bentgo might be the upgrade you've been looking for. Did we mention it's also PFAS and BPA-Free? A win for your wallet, your kid's lunch, and the planet, too. Thousands of parents have grabbed a Bentgo in the past month alone, and the glowing reviews speak for themselves. Scroll down to see what all the fuss is about. Amazon Perfectly portioned and thoughtfully designed, the Bentgo Kids lunch box makes packing meals fun and mess-free. It's microwave and dishwasher-safe, and keeps food fresh and separated with five kid-friendly compartments and a leak-proof seal that kids and parents love. 'The Bentgo lunch box is a game-changer for meal prep and packing! Its compartmentalized design is incredibly practical…' one shopper raved. 'The leak-proof seals are a huge plus; I've never had a spill, even with saucier items. It's also surprisingly durable and easy to clean.' Drop-proof, colorful, and easy for little hands to open, it's a simple mealtime solution that should last for years (ideal for ages 3 to 7, to be exact). It's a no-brainer for school lunches, road trip snacks, or even park picnics. Adorable, versatile, and let's face it, much more reliable than the paper sacs of the past. This article was written by Miska Salemann, New York Post Commerce Journalist. As a Gen Z first-time mother of one, Miska tests baby, maternity and postpartum products ranging from stylish new kids clothes to long-trusted diaper brands with her daughter. She evaluates baby- and mom-approved products for practicality and quality, and consults medical and parenting experts to weigh in on safe ingredients, usage and more. Before arriving at the Post, she covered the lifestyle and consumer verticals for the U.S. Sun.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
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Top climate tech exec: The AC gap between Europe and America is becoming an economic liability
Picture this: it's a scorching summer day in the U.S. You wake up in a cool, comfortable room after a solid night's sleep. You head to work, where the temperature is optimised for concentration. Unless you step outside for a lunchtime walk, you're completely protected from the heat. Now picture the same scenario in an average European city. You wake up after a night of tossing and turning. You're sticky, uncomfortable, and already dreading the commute. Jammed on a crowded train, you suffer through a heavy delay as your city's transport infrastructure struggles in the face of extreme temperatures. If you're working from home, the only relief comes from a fan slowly circulating warm air around the room. The fundamental difference between these two realities? Air conditioning. In the U.S., 90% of households have AC. In Europe? Just 20% on average. In some countries, such as the UK, that number falls to less than 5%. At first glance, this might seem like a minor difference — fodder for TikTok skits or Reddit debates, where Americans and Europeans poke fun at each other's respective abilities to handle summer weather. But when the temperature rises, the impact on productivity is anything but trivial. Europe's growing productivity gap with the U.S — which has widened since the pandemic — isn't just a result of regulation, labor laws, or tech prowess. It's now also about climate. Or, more precisely, the difference in how we experience extreme temperatures. Heat is an existential threat to some European economies Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth. Across the primarily AC-free nations, heat waves can (and increasingly do) shut down schools, disrupt businesses, and make it impossible for people to function at their best. Employers are forced to shift working hours to protect staff from the heat, those with caring responsibilities struggle to look after the most vulnerable (children, the elderly) and families are caught in a daily battle for comfort and efficiency. This climate vulnerability isn't just inconvenient, it's a serious threat to economic competitiveness. Economists are already warning that Europe's failure to adapt to a hotter future could dampen its growth prospects. Tourism too looks set to suffer. As heatwaves become more frequent, particularly in Southern Europe, holiday-makers are starting to look elsewhere in search of more comfortable climes. This presents an existential threat to the lifeblood of economies, particularly across the Mediterranean. As the continent struggles to balance the demands of climate change and economic growth, heat is a growing liability. Public calls for AC are getting louder. In the UK, searches for homes with air conditioning have soared and AC is quickly becoming a middle class status symbol. In France, politicians like Marine Le Pen have jumped on the bandwagon, announcing a 'grand plan for air conditioning'. You might imagine that the solution is simple: copy the US playbook and roll out air conditioning across Europe. Tempting as it may seem, it's not quite that straightforward. The grid isn't up to the job Air conditioning is electricity-intensive. And most European nations don't have the grid infrastructure to support a shift of this scale. This fragility was laid bare in Italy this summer, when a heat-wave-induced surge in demand for AC triggered blackouts. Europe's national grids are straining at the seams: struggling to keep pace with the range of resilience upgrades required for modern consumption, and grappling with the volume of clean energy sources clamouring to connect. (It's a deep irony that the vast quantities of solar power brought about by hotter, drier summers — which could unlock AC capabilities without creating a new carbon burden — can't be properly harnessed due to grid connection delays.) Across large swathes of Europe, buildings are also older and poorly insulated. Planning restrictions are tighter and the culture of renting rather than owning complicates installation. Collectively, beleaguered grids and logistical challenges means those sweaty nights and lethargic days risk becoming part and parcel of European summers. To escape this incrementally hotter bind and unlock US-style levels of productivity that AC-enabled environments can bring, we need smarter infrastructure and more investment in it. That means using advanced modelling and AI to understand where grids are weakest, how demand is shifting, and where small, targeted upgrades could unlock big gains. It means simulating future heat scenarios to stress-test energy networks before a crisis hits or a capacity expansion is attempted. It means replacing guesswork with precision so that investments in cooling — and the infrastructure behind it — actually pay off. Only with this kind of intelligent planning can Europe move fast enough to adapt to a hotter future — without burning out its grids, budgets, or climate goals in the process. Air conditioning may be the fix, but without addressing the underlying infrastructure challenges, Europe will continue to sweat through the heat and suffer the economic consequences. And across the pond? Well, the Americans are just waking up from a great night's sleep. The opinions expressed in commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune. 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