Southwest
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
Read the full article from Here
Long Beach will hold a pride festival this weekend after the one they originally had scheduled was canceled.
Long Beach city officials said the celebration was nixed after the nonprofit that organizes it, Long Beach Pride, failed to submit the required information for an event permit.
It was supposed to start on Friday and last through Sunday.
“Despite continued collaboration and multiple deadline notices, the City did not receive the required documentation needed to complete safety reviews, inspect critical event infrastructure, such as the stage, electrical systems and tent, and emergency exiting plans to ensure compliance with public safety standards,” the city of Long Beach said in a statement. “With event programming scheduled to begin on May 15 at 5 p.m. with Teen Pride and essential information still outstanding, there is no longer sufficient time to safely permit the festival this year.”
Officials noted that they were working to see if a “shortened event” could be held this weekend, and indeed, an agreement was reached to stage a one-day gathering on Sunday.
Billed as “Canceled? Never Heard of Her!” and emceed by comedian and drag queen Jewels, it will still bring the city’s LGBTQ community together after Sunday morning’s Long Beach Pride Parade, which was not canceled.
“Long Beach Pride weekend is a culmination of celebrations put on by our community, including our many vibrant restaurants, bars and businesses, and that will never change,” Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said in a press release issued late Saturday night. “Along with the Pride Parade, we are proud to join the party with this new event that reaffirms what this City has always stood for: that every person belongs here.”
“The festival may have been canceled, but Long Beach drag artists don’t cancel joy,” added Jewels Long Beach.
The one-day “Canceled? Never Heard of Her!” festival will take place at Bixby Park from noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. A free event, it will include music by several performers and a drag show.
More information can be found here.
Los Angeles, Ca
L.A. Jewish institution among targets of foiled terrorist attack, U.S. officials say
A Jewish institution in Los Angeles was among the locations targeted in a recently foiled terrorism plot, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton announced this week.
The thwarted terrorist attacks were the result of the recent arrest of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national and senior member of Kata’ib Hizballah, U.S. officials said.
“Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, a commander for the terrorist organization, Kata’ib Hizballah, faces serious charges for his role in numerous attacks against U.S. interests across the globe, including his efforts to kill on U.S. soil,” Clayton said. “As alleged, for years, Al-Saadi committed himself to furthering the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the IRGC, two terrorist organizations dedicated to harming the United States and its allies.”
Al-Saadi recently attempted to carry out attacks in the U.S., officials said, including attacks at Jewish cultural places of interest in New York, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Ariz.
“Al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through intimidation and violence,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office reads. “… Those who engage in or support terrorism against Americans and on U.S. soil should take note: the whole of the federal government is committed to dismantling terrorist organizations and bringing their members to justice.”
In a three-month period, Al-Saadi allegedly directed 18 terrorist attacks throughout Europe, including bombings, arson, and assaults targeting American citizens and points of interest. Prior to his arrest, national security officials say he was planning similar attacks on U.S. soil. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said that Al-Saadi “presented a serious threat to our national security.”
The European attacks included the bombing of the Bank of New York Mellon, an American bank, in Amsterdam on March 15. On April 29, two Jewish men, one of whom was a dual U.S.-British citizen, were stabbed and seriously injured in London.
In 2020, Al-Saadi took to social media, calling for others to attack and kill Americans in retribution for the deaths of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi military commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, U.S. officials said. In more recent months, Al-Saadi allegedly used social media to encourage the killing of Americans and Jews to further the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“In or about February 2026, for example, AL-SAADI posted on one of his social media accounts a message in Arabic, which read in part, ‘Do not abandon the blood of your Imam of the time, oh Shiites of Iraq. Kill everyone who supports America and Israel. Do not leave any of them remaining. Civil and military targets, as well as voices of discord, kill them everywhere.’” U.S. officials said.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch confirmed that one of the U.S. targets was a Manhattan synagogue. On April 3, Al-Saadi allegedly spoke to an undercover law enforcement officer whom Al-Saadi believed could carry out attacks in the U.S. That same day, Al-Saadi allegedly texted the undercover officers photographs and maps showing the exact location of a prominent Jewish synagogue in New York City.
Officials have not said what specific locations in L.A. and Arizona were targeted by the terrorist group.
Al-Saadi now faces numerous charges for these crimes in U.S. court. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.
The case is under investigation by the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, the FBI Washington Field Office, Counterterrorism Division, and more than 50 other federal, state, and local agencies. Investigators also received help from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section, the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
-
Alabama1 minute agoAvery Luedke Transferring To Alabama After One Season With Tennessee
-
Alaska7 minutes agoSouthwest Airlines Begins First-Ever Alaska Service at Anchorage
-
Arizona13 minutes agoRoad to the WCWS: Arizona can’t defend the long ball, Duke wins Durham Regional
-
Arkansas19 minutes agoFayetteville architect constructed cutting-edge Fine Arts Center at University of Arkansas, paved modernism’s path | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
-
California25 minutes agoDuck Hunting in an Unlikely Destination: California Sea Ducks – Gun Dog
-
Colorado31 minutes agoColorado wildfires: Evacuations ordered for 13,000-acre wildfire burning on Colorado-Oklahoma border
-
Connecticut37 minutes ago22-year-old man dies after crash on I-84 in Middlebury
-
Delaware43 minutes ago38-year-old motorcyclist killed in Wilmington crash, police say
