Los Angeles, Ca
Southern California veteran honored by president on 80th Anniversary of D-Day in France
A veteran from Inglewood who served in World War II was honored by President Biden in France on the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Louis Brown, 98, took a trip to the shores of Normandy Beach where he was honored alongside other veterans who served during the war in the 1940s.
Brown, originally from Mississippi, was drafted into the Army when he was a teenager in 1944.
“Being a little young fellow in there, we didn’t know [anything],” Brown said of joining the Army. “You know, we were kind of excited to be over there. I didn’t know I was making a part of history or anything like that.”
At such a young age, he said he didn’t realize what he was stepping into and his eyes were opened to the world during a time of incredible strife and the threat of Adolf Hitler’s Nazis in Europe.
Brown eventually became a corporal in the 4036th Quartermaster, a convoy unit that was known to operate 24 hours a day, at times under enemy fire, to deliver urgent supplies to the frontlines.
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Louis Brown sharing photos of his time in the Army during World War II with KTLA’s John Fenoglio. (KTLA) -
Louis Brown joined the Army in 1944 and served during World War II where he became a corporal and later, a staff sergeant. (Brown Family) -
Louis Brown joined the Army in 1944 and served during World War II where he became a corporal and later, a staff sergeant. (Brown Family) -
Louis Brown and a fellow veteran reminisce on the 80th Anniversary of D-Day where he was honored in a ceremony with President Joe Biden in France. (Brown Family) -
On the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, Louis Brown, 98, visited France for a ceremony where he was honored alongside other veterans who served during World War II. (Brown Family) -
On the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, Louis Brown, 98, visited the shores of Normandy Beach in France where he was honored alongside other veterans who served during World War II. (Brown Family) -
On the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, Louis Brown, 98, visited France for a ceremony where he was honored alongside other veterans who served during World War II. (Brown Family) -
Louis Brown seen at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at a D-Day Anniversary ceremony held at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. in June 2024. (Brown Family) -
Louis Brown and other veterans make their way down a parade path in France as locals cheered them on in June 2024. (Brown Family) -
On the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, Louis Brown, 98, visited France for a ceremony where he was honored alongside other veterans who served during World War II. (Brown Family) -
Louis Brown visited France on the 80th Anniversay of D-Day in June 2024. (Brown Family) -
Louis Brown relaxing outside of his home in Inglewood, California. (KTLA) -
On the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, Louis Brown, 98, visited France for a ceremony where he was honored alongside other veterans who served during World War II. (Brown Family) -
Plane ticket to France for the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. (Brown Family)
Just days after the D-Day Invasion in June 1944, Brown arrived on Omaha Beach, one of the five landing areas of the Normandy Invasion.
“When we got there, the ocean was still bloody,” Brown said. “The ground was all blood. That’s where they killed killed everybody. There was a lot of blood.”
Brown also participated in the Battle of the Rhine and the Battle of Germany. In 1945, his unit was sent to Southern Germany to help liberate the Dachau Concentration Camp where tens of thousands of Jewish and other minority prisoners were held captive.
Brown said it was a horrific experience that he will never forget.
“It was hard for me to believe that a man could survive that and live,” Brown said of the concentration camp. “There were bones sticking out of [the prisoners]. It was terrible. That’s the only thing I can say.”
Earlier this week, President Joe Biden honored Brown and dozens of other WWII veterans at a ceremony in France, honoring their service and remembering the over 4,400 Allied troops who were killed on D-Day.
Video from loved ones showed Brown participating in a parade where French locals cheered him on. He later returned to the shores of Utah and Omaha beaches to honor his fallen comrades during a time that forever changed the course of history.
“To me, I was no hero,” Brown said. “But it’s an honor to serve your country, particularly if you love your country.”
Brown was discharged as a staff sergeant from the Army in 1946. He married in 1950 and had two daughters.
He settled down in Southern California and worked as an equipment operator for the city of Los Angeles for 33 years.
The future of voice to text is here.
I’ve been testing a variety of tools that make taking notes, transcribing audio, and even voice typing faster and easier than ever.
If you have a smartphone, you’re already halfway there!
Google’s Pixel Recorder app is free and built into their smartphone. It’s excellent for transcribing meetings, lectures, and conversations – all in real time.
Apple’s Voice Memos App recently added transcriptions if you’re upgraded to iOS 18.
Samsung’s Voice recorder app now offers transcripts too – as long as you’re on their latest One UI 7 software. (Check Settings > About Phone > Software Information)
Got an older phone? Try Otter.AI. It works great for transcriptions across devices and you get 300 minutes a month free.
Don’t want to tie up your phone?
I’ve been testing AI-powered digital audio recorders from a startup named Plaud.
The Plaud Note is thin, records for hours, and can even clip to the back of your phone to record calls. Just make sure you know your local laws before using that feature.
The Plaud Pin can be clipped to your shirt or worn on your wrist for hands-free recording.
Both devices sync audio to a companion app that auto transcribes and summarizes.
You get five hours of transcription a month included, with options to pay for more.
Pricing for each gadget starts around $160 dollars.
Want to transcribe audio files on your computer?
My favorite Mac app is MacWhisper. You can even get it completely free – although paid versions are avaialble with more features and options.
On Windows, check out Vibe Transcribe, also free.
And for a web-based option, Whisper Web gets the job done.
Finally, if you want to type less and talk more… there’s an excellent AI voice-to-text app called Wispr Flow. It was previously Mac only but just became avaialble for Windows, too.
One you install it, you pick a hotkey. Then, instead of typing just press and hold down that key and dictate what you want to write.
Since it uses the power of AI, you can even stumble or ramble and it will clean up your words and get the punctionation right.
It’s a gamechanger for responding to emails fast! You get 2,000 words free each week with options to pay for more.
Enjoy your newfound time!
An alleged attack on a state prison officer by a 43-year-old inmate transferred from Los Angeles County is being investigated as attempted homicide, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials announced Tuesday.
The March 18 incident at Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad reportedly unfolded just before 9 a.m. on what authorities describe as a “dayroom floor.”
The inmate, Anthony G. Ramirez, is believed to have pulled an improvised weapon from his waistband before attempting to attack custody staff member, according to a CDCR news release.
“Staff immediately responded, disarming Ramirez and placing him in handcuffs without incident,” the release detailed.
The 43-year-old, who was transferred to SVSP in 2008 after being sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder, with enhancements for the use of a firearm and causing great bodily injury or death, was placed in restrictive housing pending the investigation and possible felony prosecution by the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.
Both Ramirez and the custody staff member were examined by medical personnel who noted no serious injuries.
Officials said that the California Correctional Peace Officers Association was notified of the incident and prison staff were offered peer support services and employee assistance programs.
Salinas Valley State Prison, opened in 1996, houses more than 2,400 minimum, medium, maximum and high-security inmates. The facility also offers vocational programs and academic classes and employs some 1,800 people.
A toxic algal bloom leaving an increasing number of marine mammals stranded along Southern California beaches shows no signs of subsiding and “will only get worse,” officials said Monday.
“This week, we saw more stranded dolphins (both alive and deceased) than we saw during the major domoic acid (DA) bloom in 2023,” Marine Mammal Care Center (MMCC) Los Angeles posted on Facebook.
Recent tests showed DA-producing algae levels have increased, and officials believe that trend will continue in the coming weeks. “We anticipate that it will only get worse,” the post read.
MMCC asked the public not to approach sick dolphins or sea lions on the beach because they can become aggressive upon awakening from a seizure.
“This is a safety issue for people and their pets as much as it is for the marine mammals,” officials said.
Beachgoers were also urged not to push stranded dolphins back into the water, saying it can reduce their chances of survival.
More information about domoic-acid poisoning can be found at https://marinemammalcare.org/domoic-acid/.
The volume of sick marine mammals has also had a financial impact on the MMCC.
“Our team is working heroically to respond to every call and to rescue every animal they can. Please share this post and give now at marinemammalcare.org/donate to give these marine mammals a second chance at life!” the MMCC stated.
Anyone who encounters a sick or stranded marine mammal can alert the nearest lifeguard and call 1-800-39-WHALE to make a report.
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