Latest news with #PaschalHighSchool
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Fort Worth pilot is among those the Dutch remember for their WWII sacrifice
With the end of World War II in Europe, letters from American families seeking information about their loved ones began arriving at town halls across the southern Netherlands. Postmarked from big cities and small towns, from those of privilege and those barely scraping by, each one contained a heartbreaking request similar to that of a young widow from Demopolis, Alabama: 'My husband … was killed in Germany on his birthday, April 18, 1945, and is buried in the U.S. Military Cemetery at Margraten, Holland, near your town of Maastricht … He was my whole life to me … Since you live so near … I will be grateful all of the days of my life if you can get me a snapshot of his grave.' Oftentimes, the next of kin only knew the country where their loved one was buried, nothing more. The Dutch, though, knew this hallowed ground well. They had watched American quartermaster troops turn one of their fields into a cemetery in late 1944. They had watched the endless trucks full of bodies drive past their homes. Many of these young, heroic soldiers they did not know. Some, with whom they had shared their homes during the bitter cold winter of 1944-1945, they knew and loved. Wanting to express their boundless gratitude to the liberators, especially those who had given everything to end a brutal Nazi occupation and restore their freedom, the citizens of Limburg Province created a unique grave adoption program – an inspiring story I tell in my new book, 'Remember Us.' A local volunteer was assigned to care for each of the 17,000 Americans memorialized at what today is known as the Netherlands American Cemetery, including 2nd Lt. Clyde J. Williamson Jr. from Fort Worth. Williamson was born and raised in Fort Worth. He graduated from Paschal High School in 1942 and joined the Army Air Forces in December that year. He went to flight school in May 1943. After training, he became a copilot in a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and joined the 305th Bomb Group. On March 18, 1945, Williamson's group was bombing Berlin. While over the target, the bomber took flak damage, and the crew bailed out. Five were taken prisoner, three were killed, and Williamson went missing in action. His father died after being notified that Clyde was unaccounted for. Clyde is listed among the 1,722 names on the Walls of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery. The Dutch adopters made every attempt to reach across the ocean, into American homes, to connect with their soldier's family members. When U.S. officials refused to provide them with next of kin addresses, Emilie Michiels van Kessenich, the wife of the mayor of Maastricht – and the woman who provided the widow from Alabama with a photo of her husband's grave – left her 11 young children to travel to the United States to meet with families who had loved ones buried overseas. 'Leave your boys with us,' she promised them. 'We will watch over them like our own, forever.' Today, all these years later, the Dutch adopters continue to fulfill that 'forever promise,' watching over every American grave. There is even a waiting list containing a thousand names of those hoping to become an adopter. Monday, May 26, marks the 80th Memorial Day since the end of World War II. The Dutch will be at the cemetery in force, placing flowers, saying prayers, and honoring each American. So will I. More than just a somber day of remembrance, this Memorial Day is an opportunity for each of us to search our hearts, just as the Dutch did 80 years ago, and ask: 'What can I do to honor each American who fought and died in World War II, and all conflicts since, to preserve our freedom?' For my part, I will be placing flowers on service members' graves, supporting the Forever Promise Project to connect the next of kin of all American service members memorialized at the Netherlands American Cemetery with their Dutch adopters ( I will give thanks for the Dutch adopters who for eight decades have set an inspiring example of the transcendent power of gratitude. Their actions remind us that grief is universal, that humanity knows no national or racial boundaries, and that we all want to be remembered, somehow, someway, by somebody. Robert M. Edsel is the founder and chairman of the Monuments Men and Women Foundation and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 'The Monuments Men.' His new book, 'Remember Us: American Sacrifice, Dutch Freedom, and A Forever Promise Forged in World War II,' tells the story of the Dutch grave adoption program and the American heroes it honors. Find out more about the Forever Promise Project at
CBS News
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Landman creator Taylor Sheridan to receive honorary degree during TCU commencement
Among college graduates at Texas Christian University this weekend, Fort Worth native and Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan will be receiving an honorary Doctor of Letters degree. TCU said the honorary degree will be given to Sheridan during commencement on May 9 and is recognizing his significant contributions to the arts, the Texas film industry, the greater Fort Worth community and TCU. "Storytelling is about knowing where you come from and daring to imagine where you can go," Sheridan said. "TCU students already have the drive, discipline and vision it takes to lead — all they need is the opportunity to step into their own story and own it." Sheridan, a Paschal High School grad, filmed the first season of Paramount+ show Landman on campus with students. While filming, Sheridan pulled 36 students from the university's Film, Television and Digital Media program, 13 Track & Field student-athletes and six theatre students. According to TCU, those students worked alongside industry professionals across departments such as camera, sound, locations, set decoration, costumes, props and production assistance. In addition to those students, over 600 TCU students, faculty, staff and alumni also participated as paid or volunteer extras. TCU said 36 FTDM students and over 300 TCU extras were also in a recent unnamed filming project. According to K12 Academics, a Doctor of Letters degree is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits. It is often an honorary degree conferred on those who have contributed to the humanities and/or society.
