Connect with us

Southwest

Texas man tracks down grandfather's WWII military jacket riddled with shrapnel holes

Published

on

Texas man tracks down grandfather's WWII military jacket riddled with shrapnel holes

A paramedic with the Houston Fire Department eager to learn more about his late grandfather’s military service had a stroke of luck after he began his research.

Mark Holmes of Pearland, Texas, told Fox News Digital that a simple Google search not only taught him about his paternal grandfather, William Watson Holmes, and his service to America, but it led him to a physical piece of history.

William Watson Holmes served as a Marine during World War II and was a Purple Heart recipient.

VIETNAM VETERAN AND ENTREPRENEUR IS CANDID ABOUT PTSD BATTLE AND ACHIEVING THE AMERICAN DREAM

“I had always kind of wondered what my grandpa did in the war. I talked to my dad about it a few times, and my dad, all he knew was one of the islands he went to, was called Roi-Namur in the Marshall Islands. Beyond that, I didn’t know anything other than he got a Purple Heart,” Mark Holmes said, adding that when he was 3 months old, his grandfather died.

Advertisement

Mark Holmes, a Texas resident, was 3 months old when his grandfather, World War II veteran William Watson Holmes, died. (Mark Holmes)

As luck would have it, Mark Holmes came across a collector’s website, U.S. Militaria Forum. He signed up and shared his grandfather’s story on the page to connect with other users, and it appeared one collector had an interesting discovery to offer.

The collector, Austin Wideman, spent years collecting World War II memorabilia, having close to 40 named pieces in his Marine collection. 

MARINE VETERAN AMPUTEE FORMS ROCK BAND TO PERFORM FOR PATRIOTS AROUND AMERICA

Mark Holmes, a Texas resident, located his grandfather’s military jacket on a collector’s website. ( U.S. Militaria Forum)

Advertisement

Wideman posted photos of William Watson Holmes’ uniform jacket after purchasing the coat from a seller in Gloucester, Virginia. 

103-YEAR-OLD WWII VETERAN CELEBRATES LIFELONG LOVE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY: ‘STILL HAS AN EYE FOR A SHARP PICTURE’

The tattered green jacket dons a “UNIS” mark on the back reading “322.” 

Mark Holmes (left) stands beside Austin Wideman (right) displaying William Holmes’ military jacket. (Austin Wideman)

“UNIS marked items are my main focus with Marines. Marines would put these numbers on equipment so other Marines could tell which unit they were a part of. The number 322 tells me that William Holmes was [part] of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marine Division. By knowing that I was able to positively identify the uniform to William [Watson Holmes],” Wideman told Fox News Digital via email.

Advertisement

Mark Holmes and Wideman began conversing online, and the two men eventually met up in person.

VETERANS HIKE 100 MILES FROM MAINE TO MASSACHUSETTS TO RAISE PTSD AWARENESS: ‘CHANGED MY LIFE’

“William was wounded when a Japanese land mine blew up riddling him with shrapnel in the back. This is why the jacket has burn holes all throughout the back. William Holmes was taken back to [the] states where he underwent emergency surgery on his spine to remove the shrapnel,” Wideman said.

William Watson Holmes served in World War II as a Marine with Company E. Seen here is Holmes’ Marine identification card and the jacket he wore during combat. (Austin Wideman)

By chance, the hospital where William Watson Holmes was sent in Lee Hall, Virginia, was 30 minutes from where Wideman purchased the uniform.

Advertisement

Mark Holmes and his father, Randall Holmes, son of William Watson Holmes, flew to Missouri to meet up with Wideman to see the historic family piece himself.

VETERAN AND MILITARY NONPROFITS THAT HELP AMERICA’S HEROES ARE FOCUS OF ‘ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME’ ADVENTURE

Mark Holmes tried on his grandfather’s jacket, which fit him well.

Mark Holmes of Texas was surprised to find that his grandfather’s military jacket fit him. (Austin Wideman)

Wideman said meeting Mark Holmes and his father, Randall Holmes, was a true honor.

Advertisement

“Watching Randall [Holmes] touch the jacket his dad was wounded in was extremely rewarding for me as a collector. We spoke about the jacket for hours and really enjoyed each other’s company. I’m already looking forward to seeing them again,” Wideman said.

Randall Holmes of Texas also joined the visit to Missouri to see his own father’s military jacket. (Austin Wideman)

Wideman shared the history of the jacket with the Holmes family while they revealed personal stories of what it was like growing up with the veteran and hearing his stories about the war. 

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.

Advertisement

The Holmes family donated additional wartime pieces to Wideman so he could add them to his collection.

The Holmes family donated additional pieces to go along with the jacket to Wideman’s collection. (Austin Wideman)

In return, Wideman had a replica of William Watson Holmes’ jacket made for the family.

“My goal has always been to share history and to keep these stories alive. If anything were to happen, everything including the jacket will go back to family,” Wideman side.

Advertisement

Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Southwest

Man arrested on misdemeanor DUI charges outside Nancy Guthrie’s home after sobriety test

Published

on

Man arrested on misdemeanor DUI charges outside Nancy Guthrie’s home after sobriety test

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

TUCSON, Ariz. — A 34-year-old man was arrested late Thursday night outside the Arizona home where Nancy Guthrie went missing earlier this month, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told Fox News Digital.

Shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday, deputies arrested 34-year-old Antonio De Jesus Pena-Campos in front of Guthrie’s home on misdemeanor DUI charges, the department said. 

The arrest is not related to the Guthrie investigation, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department added.

Pima County sheriff’s deputies stopped a blue Chevrolet Equinox compact SUV near Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home late Thursday night. A man was later taken into custody after what appeared to be field sobriety testing. (Fox News)

Advertisement

Footage shows Pima County sheriff’s deputies shining a flashlight into the driver’s side of what appeared to be a blue Chevrolet Equinox compact SUV parked near the home where Guthrie was last seen Feb. 1.

Moments later, deputies spoke with Pena-Campos near a white canopy tent set up along the roadside as a deputy shined a flashlight toward the man’s face.

In another sequence, Pena-Campos walks in a straight line in what appears to be part of a field sobriety test. In subsequent footage, he is placed in the back of a sheriff’s pickup truck.

The man was detained as investigators continue searching for Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, who was reported missing Feb. 1 after authorities said she was taken during a home invasion. Investigators have said her pacemaker last synced with her iPhone around 2:30 a.m. that morning.

Her family has since offered a $1 million reward for information leading to her safe return as authorities continue to pursue leads.

Advertisement

NANCY GUTHRIE’S NEIGHBOR SAW SUSPICIOUS MAN WALKING NEARBY 2 WEEKS BEFORE SUSPECTED ABDUCTION

A deputy shines a flashlight toward a man’s face during what appears to be field sobriety testing outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home late Thursday night. The man was later taken into custody. (Fox News)

The development comes after a Catalina Foothills resident’s street-facing Ring camera captured 12 vehicles passing by between midnight and 6 a.m. on Feb. 1, the morning Guthrie is believed to have been abducted.

Some of the activity occurred around the 2:30 a.m. mark, roughly when authorities said the 84-year-old’s pacemaker last synced with her iPhone.

A man walks in a straight line under the direction of deputies during what appears to be field sobriety testing outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home late Thursday night. (Fox News)

Advertisement

Homeowners Elias and Danielle Stratigouleas told Fox News Digital that police had not canvassed their neighborhood in the 25 days since Guthrie was allegedly taken from her bed in what authorities have described as a home invasion kidnapping.

The couple said they alerted both the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department to the footage. It was not immediately clear whether the video would prove useful to investigators or whether any of the vehicles had traveled on Guthrie’s street.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Pima County sheriff’s deputies speak with a man near a white canopy tent set up along the roadside outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home late Thursday night. (Fox News)

The Stratigouleas home sits on a back road that leads out of Guthrie’s neighborhood and avoids major intersections. The property is approximately 2½ miles — or about a seven-minute drive — from the crime scene, according to Google Maps.

Advertisement

One of the videos was recorded at approximately 2:36 a.m., roughly eight minutes after Guthrie’s pacemaker last synced with her iPhone, based on the sheriff’s timeline.

Fox News’ Michael Ruiz and Olivia Palombo contributed to this report. 

Related Article

Sources reveal update on DNA recovered inside Nancy Guthrie's home

Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading

Southwest

Trump introduces Cornyn, Paxton but stays mum on endorsement in heated GOP primary

Published

on

Trump introduces Cornyn, Paxton but stays mum on endorsement in heated GOP primary

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The Texas Senate primary for Republicans is a bloodbath, and President Donald Trump isn’t wading in.

Trump, who appeared in Corpus Christi, Texas, to tout his energy agenda Friday, had the opportunity to stake his claim in the contentious race and endorse a candidate. 

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is the longtime incumbent fending off seven challengers.

But the real race is between Cornyn, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas.

Advertisement

President Donald Trump stops to speak to the media as he departs from Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House Feb. 27, 2026, in Washington, D.C.  ( Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

All three were in attendance at Trump’s rally, reminiscent of the made-for-TV spectacles that dominated his successful 2024 election campaign. Yet Trump didn’t endorse any of them as Election Day in the primary fast approaches.

Trump acknowledged all three — he paired Cornyn and Paxton and mentioned Hunt later in his remarks. He noted that they were all engaged in an “interesting election.”

“They’re in a little race together,” Trump said of Cornyn and Paxton. “You know that, right? A little bit of a race. It’s going to be an interesting one, right? They’re both great people, too.”

HUNT FILES POLICE REPORT AGAINST CORNYN CAMPAIGN STAFFER OVER ALLEGED FAMILY ‘DOXXING’ INCIDENT

Advertisement

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and John Cornyn, R-Texas (Getty Images)

Cornyn is running for a fifth term in the Senate and fighting for his political life in a nasty primary election that Trump has time and again refused to weigh in on. He’s got the full weight of Senate Republican leadership behind him, too.

Paxton, who has faced headwinds with scandals over the years, has strongly aligned himself with the president and built a coalition of conservative backers in the House, including Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, who brought him to Trump’s State of the Union earlier this week.

And while the trio duke it out, money is being burned at a record pace. So far, a whopping $110 million has been spent on the Senate primaries, and $88 million of that has been dumped into the GOP contest, according to data from AdImpact.

CORNYN WARNS PAXTON WOULD BE ‘KISS OF DEATH’ FOR GOP AS BLOODY PRIMARY RACE RAMPS UP

Advertisement

Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, walks up the House steps for a vote on the budget resolution in the U.S. Capitol April 10, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Given the crowded field, it’s likely the race will head to a runoff, which will turn into a brutal sprint until late May. Paxton believes he could come out on top with at least 50% of the vote come March 3, while Cornyn is eying the long game.

The coveted Trump endorsement could put either over the top in ruby red Texas. And he may be close to picking his favorite.

Ahead of the event, Trump was asked if he had decided who to endorse.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Advertisement

“Pretty much,” he told reporters.

But when asked if he would say who, he said, “No.”

Related Article

Rebel GOP Senate candidate enters lion's den for Trump's State of the Union

Read the full article from Here

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Southwest

Jasmine Crockett reveals Colbert hasn’t invited her on show since furor over Talarico interview

Published

on

Jasmine Crockett reveals Colbert hasn’t invited her on show since furor over Talarico interview

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, revealed Friday she’s still not been asked to appear on Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show,” days after the host claimed pressure from the Federal Communications Commission effectively censored an interview with her Senate primary political opponent, James Talarico.

Earlier this week, Colbert said CBS prevented the broadcast of Talarico’s appearance due to guidance from the FCC requiring shows to provide “equal time” to opposing candidates.

In response, the late-night host criticized the FCC and his own network. The Talarico interview was posted online, where it has garnered more than 8 million views on YouTube alone. The tumult and extra attention to the interview helped raise more than $2.5 million for Talarico’s campaign.

“No, I’ve not been invited on Colbert prior to his interview nor post his interview,” Crockett said on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” Friday.

Advertisement

Rep. Jasmine Crockett speaks to members of the media following a House Oversight and Accountability Committee deposition in New Albany, Ohio, on Wednesday, Feb. 18. (Dustin Franz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Crockett explained that while she has appeared on Colbert’s show twice before, she has not been invited since she launched her candidacy for the U.S. Senate.

“The only information that I got was after this debacle took place, I did receive a phone call from the parent company,” Crockett said.

She said that CBS representatives told her they did not tell Colbert he couldn’t air the Talarico segment. Instead, they said that if he had Talarico on, he had to offer the same time to Crockett.

COLBERT FUMES AT CBS, SAYS IT BARRED HIM FROM INTERVIEWING TEXAS DEM AMID FCC CRACKDOWN

Advertisement

Texas state Rep. James Talarico, left, and Rep. Jasmine Crockett, both Democrats and U.S. Senate candidates, participate in a debate during the 2026 Texas AFL-CIO COPE Convention in Georgetown, Texas, on Jan. 24. (Bob Daemmrich/The Texas Tribune/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“They just said, if you air it, just make sure that you offer the representative equal time. Now, obviously, I wasn’t engaged in that conversation, so I cannot confirm the veracity of any statements,” she said. 

“But I can confirm that I had never been asked to go on as it relates to kind of talking about the Senate race,” Crockett added.

CBS released a statement denying it censored Colbert, insisting the show chose to share the interview on YouTube instead to avoid the equal-time requirement.

‘THE VIEW’ PANEL ERUPTS AS GUEST DEFENDS TRUMP AGAINST RACISM CLAIMS

Advertisement

Texas state Rep. James Talarico appears with Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” in New York on Feb. 16. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)

However, during Monday night’s broadcast, Colbert insisted he and his guest were being censored, telling his audience, “[Talarico] was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast.”

The media attention and Colbert’s multiple segments this week about the controversy provided a boon to Talarico’s campaign. On Tuesday, Colbert crumpled up the CBS statement denying it had forced the comedian not to air the interview and put it into a dog waste bag before throwing it away.

On Wednesday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr dismissed the controversy as a “hoax,” stating that Talarico “took advantage of all of your sort of prior conceptions to run the hoax, apparently for the purpose of raising money and getting clicks. And the news media played right into it.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Advertisement

A spokesperson for Colbert’s show didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Related Article

Crockett disputes opponent's denial of 'mediocre Black man' comment, calls out 'well-intentioned White folk'

Read the full article from Here

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending