CAMAS — In honor of today’s Nov. 11 Veteran’s Day holiday, retired Camas physician and World War II (WWII) veteran, Dr. Edward McAninch, will speak at the Camas Washougal Historical Society Annual Meeting this weekend.
McAninch will share stories from his WWII days at 2 p.m., Sat., Nov. 12, at the Camas Police Department, 2100 N.E. 3rd Ave., Camas. The public is welcome to attend.
The retired Camas doctor refers to his presentation as an old soldier’s reminiscences.
“My stories are in a humorous vein and are about being in the Army and how they got things right, but never exactly right,” McAninch says.
For instance, McAninch says, after his basic training, he was told that he had done so he would be treated to “a cruise.”
“It was actually a troop ship that sailed through the tail end of a hurricane,” he says, chuckling. “So they were right, but not exactly right.”
McAninch was a part of the first convoy to arrive at the harbor in Marseille, France on the Mediterranean Sea. He will describe how he helped his platoon leader earn a Congressional Medal of Honor and how his high school German language course resulted in an apple strudel feast for his troop while in Lorraine, a historical region in northeast France bordering Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.
McAninch will bring several artifacts to share including his recently awarded French Legion of Honor certificate and medal. The honor was given as tribute to express France’s gratitude toward the US veterans who risked their lives — and in many cases, gave their lives — defending liberty there.
Light refreshments will be served. The Camas Washougal Historical Society (CWHS) also will hold its annual election of officers at the meeting.
CWHS operates the Two Rivers Heritage Museum located at 1 Durgan Street in Washougal, which is currently closed for wintertime maintenance and display changes. It will reopen on Thu., March 2. Group tours are still available by appointment. Contact Lois Cobb at (36) 835-5449 to schedule a group tour.
Join the CWHS to help support additional historic presentations and preservation of local history. Membership information will be available at the presentation. Volunteers for the CWHS and the museum are welcome. For more information about the CWHS and the Two Rivers Heritage Museum, visit www.2rhm.com.
