6 days left to share your family's WWII story....

The deadline to share your story is May 1, 2018,  and we're looking forward to hearing from you. Did a family member serve during World War II? University Communications is looking for your story. We want to share the University community's connections to that time, as the Pride of Niner Nation Marching Band prepares to represent our nation during the 2018 commemoration of D-Day in Normandy, France. We may use your story on University websites and social media accounts to further celebrate your history and to encourage others to share their own. Here is one more example, and we encourage our students, staff, faculty, alumni, and friends to take part in this project.  If you need additional space to tell your story on the webform, please email Paul Nowell, University Communications, at pmnowell@uncc.edu. Frank Mraz, 813th Tank Destroyer Battalion, Company A Uncle Frank joined the Army before his 18th birthday. He served as a gunner in the 813th Tank Destroyer Battalion, Company A, landing in Normandy, then fighting through France, Belgium, and Germany. Like many of his generation, he seldom spoke of his wartime experiences. Family members quietly told the story of the time he and his tank unit were hunkered down. Someone had to venture out for the mail call. Uncle Frank drew the short straw.  It's hard to fathom in this age of instant connectivity, but in those days, the letters in that mail call were the link between soldiers and their loved ones on the Homefront. While he was out on that treacherous errand, a blast hit their tank. All his buddies perished. The short straw had spared him. In 1995, Uncle Frank perused photographs from my own European travels. Unwittingly, I had visited many of the same regions that had been part of his wartime experience. "I helped liberate that place!" he exclaimed when he saw the photos of Dachau. "You walked in my shoes," he told me. That opened the door for his sharing of memories and artifacts from those long-ago days: photos with Army friends in Mozart Square, his Bronze Star medals, coins from his travels through wartime Europe. I'm grateful for the conversations that we had together, and for his kind, resilient spirit. Maryann Mraz, faculty, Cato College of Education Share Your Story Please submit your story by May 1, 2018.

 

                                                           

University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 9201 University City Blvd. | Charlotte, NC 28223-0001 | advancement.uncc.edu This email was sent to maxberliner@gmail.com because you are a friend of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. If you feel you have received this message in error, or if you wish to no longer receive messages about our programs, please visit our communication preferences page.