#VeteranOfTheDay Army Veteran Bernard Woodrow Hubbard

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Bernard Woodrow Hubbard. Bernard served during World War II.

Bernard enlisted in the Army in September 1943 and completed his basic training at Camp Blanding, Florida. He completed 11 weeks of wire communications training before being sent to Naples, Italy in the spring of 1944. He was assigned to the 3^rd Battalion of the 135^th Infantry Regiment. This regiment was at the Anzio beachhead trying to fight their way into Italy and push the Germans back.

On Bernard’s second night at Anzio he was sent out to fix a wire when two German artillery shells hit close by, the second one so close that he was lifted off the ground because of its impact. Luckily, the shell didn’t explode and Bernard was able to fix the wire and safely return to the lines. After a few months, the 135^th broke out of the Anzio beachhead and began to drive the Germans back, eventually reaching Rome. After the war was over and before Bernard returned home, he was able to visit many places in Europe such as Nice and Florence.

Bernard earned a Bronze Star for fixing so many communication lines in the middle of the night under heavy artillery and gunfire. He returned home to his wife in Alabama and met his son who had been born 14 days after he arrived overseas. He went to work for DuPont in 1951 and stayed there until he retired. He was a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a member of the American Legion. He passed away in 2010. More of his story can be found at http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.20356/

We honor his service.

Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? You’re in luck! VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.

Veterans History Project

This #VeteranOfTheDay profile was created with interviews submitted to the Veterans History Project. The project collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war Veterans so that future generations may hear directly from Veterans and better understand the realities of war. Find out more at http://www.loc.gov/vets/.

Graphic by Kimber Garland: Kimber is a junior at Indiana University – Bloomington studying International Studies and Korean.