As a boy in the 1960s, I coveted my father's unique collection of war photos stored in the dusty basement of my home in Danvers, Massachusetts. My father spoke little of the war except for a few favorite and remembered stories and his occasional performance of the division song "Dogface Soldier". Somehow it fell to me to box the photos and protect them, and amazingly, through all the turbulent twists of my own life, they survived the journey.
A few years ago in 2003 my interest in these photos took a more profound direction. While thinking about my Dad's war experience, I had discovered www.warfoto.com, a Web site developed by Rich Heller, the son of another member of my father's Third Division unit. Then in 2004, I found myself on a "Greatest Generation" trip to Washington D. C. with my own family and my mother and sisters for the dedication of the WWII Monument. The inspiration to learn more about the photos and my father turned to a fevered pitch.
Taking more time than should have been consumed with passionate Web searches, books, maps, and personal papers I uncovered a treasured and fascinating journey 60 years into the past.
This site is dedicated to the soldiers of the Third Division, past and present, and all dogface soldiers throughout history.
My hope is that this educates and inspires and perhaps shares personal meaning with visitors about war, democracy, commitment, bravery and all that is revealed in these photographs.
Denis Toomey
June 6, 2005
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