No More Kisses For Oscar Wilde's Grave

For decades, fans of Oscar Wilde have paid tribute to the Irish writer by leaving kisses on his tomb at Paris's famed Pere Lachaise Cemetery. But years of greasy lipstick smears have badly damaged the memorial, a stone angel designed by modernist sculptor Jacob Epstein.

Read the rest of the story

Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner Holiday Special

Want a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner for Christmas but worried that you shouldn't spend the money right now?

Great news! Here is a Home for the Holidays coupon for you! Just use this link for your Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner and give your special code  HoHo11A at checkout to receive 10% off your purchase of a Flip-Pal™ mobile scanner or a Flip-Pal™ mobile scanner with Creative Suite Craft Edition DVD.

This coupon is good from December 5-18, 2011 or while supplies last.

Read other posts about this amazing portable scanner: 

Fun With 87 Year Old Auntie & Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner

Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner, Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

Remember - use this link for a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner and give your Home for the Holidays Coupon code HoHo11A.

Leave a tribute on the USS Arizona War Memorial

Attack on Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy," is seared into the American psyche as the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and took the United States into World War II.

That immortal phrase was delivered the following day by President Roosevelt in an address to Congress and the nation. He predicted that "always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us."

This year, on the 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks, Americans continue to remember the shocking event and the loved ones who lost their lives that day. It was a tragedy that affected millions of lives. Many people alive today have a personal connection to December 7, 1941, and there are many more who lost fathers, uncles, grandfathers, and friends, or heard stories about that day and its aftermath from those who lived through it.

At Fold3, we keep history alive and provide personal perspectives to the past through tributes left by others. We invite you to leave a tribute on Fold3 on the USS Arizona War Memorial. Share a story, link to a photo or letter, and bring your memories to others so we may all continue to remember.

Anne Bronte Gets a New Grave Stone

A new plaque has been installed at Anne Bronte’s grave in Scarborough England to ensure that visitors will be able to read the inscription for many years to come. The grave, which is located in St Mary’s Churchyard, has been subject to weathering and erosion over the years and had become illegible in places. Anne Bronte, the youngest of the three world-famous Bronte sisters, died at the age of 29 in 1849.

Read More

Ancestry has free access to WW2 records Dec. 2 - 7, 2011

Million Historical World War II Records in Remembrance
of the 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Attack

Collection includes the most comprehensive set of WWII Navy Muster Rolls ever released online and
exclusive Pearl Harbor veteran records 

PROVO, UTAH – (December 2, 2011) – In remembrance of the 70^th anniversary of the attack
on Pearl Harbor, which marked the United States’ entrance into World War II,
Ancestry.com  (Nasdaq: ACOM), the world’s largest online
family history resource,
today announced it is offering six days (December 2-7) of free access
to its entire World War II Collection.  One in five Americans is a
direct descendant of
a WWII veteran, with four out of five having a WWII veteran in their
families, according to research done by Ancestry.com[1].
The Pearl Harbor attack spurred millions of Americans into military
action. By the end of the war, nearly 16 million Americans had served in
the U.S. Armed Forces - more than a quarter in the U.S. Navy.

Highlighting the World War II Collection is the release of the
World War II Navy Muster Rolls (1939-1949), which includes more
than 33 million records detailing nearly all enlisted personnel who
served aboard a U.S. Navy ship between January 1939 and January 1949,
including more than 2,400 Americans who were killed
in the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Muster Rolls provided quarterly reports
of personnel assigned to a ship, duty station or other activity. These
reports noted sailors who experienced significant changes in status,
such as promotions, transfers, leave or time
in the infirmary.  In addition to all enlisted men, the Navy Muster
Rolls also include selected officers, female officers of the Army and
Navy Nurse Corps, wives and daughters of Navy personnel and civilians.
Nearly anyone searching for a family member who
was enlisted in the Navy during this time period should be able to find
their records in this collection.  These new U.S. Navy Muster Rolls and
the entire World War II collections can be found at
ancestry.com/pearlharbor

Carol
Horner-Iacona of San Marcos, Texas has utilized the U.S. Navy Muster
Rolls to create a book
of memory honoring her father who served as a Seaman First Class V-6
aboard the U.S.S. Helena, which was torpedoed on the morning of December
7th in Pearl Harbor. Charles Horner, now 91, was unable to speak of his
experience in the war until recently.  The
records Carol has uncovered have helped fill in the gaps to a family
story she hopes is never forgotten, including more than a dozen records
of his service during WWII, including the Muster Rolls detailing his
post on that fateful day at Pearl Harbor.

“The attack on Pearl Harbor pulled the United States into the deadliest conflict in world history,"
said Donald L. Miller, critically acclaimed author of The Story
of World War II and host and associate-producer of the new HBO
documentary, He Has Seen War. “Only 11 percent of World War II veterans
are still alive today, and as many of these veterans
continue to pass on, our connection to these historic events is being
lost. By making these records available, Ancestry.com is helping to keep
the stories of these brave men and women alive.”

Ancestry.com is further expanding the World War II collection by making these new records available
as part of the free access promotion:

• 
  National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl Cemetery) Database-
  This collection contains more than 120,000
  records from 1949 to 1976, including headstone images and photos of
  names on war memorials.  Seven hundred veterans who died in the attack
  on Pearl Harbor are buried at the Cemetery. This is the second largest
  final resting place for crewmen who lost their
  lives on December 7, 1941, the primary resting place being the USS Arizona Memorial.Together
  these two locations comprise the majority of the 2,402 Americans who
  died in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Also buried at Punchbowl Cemetery
  are veterans of the
  battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. This unique collection is available
  only on Ancestry.com and offers families the opportunity to pay their
  respects and discover information about their ancestor’s final resting
  place.
• 
  U.S. WWII Young Men’s Draft Cards -This
  collection includes draft cards from theseven draft registrations held
  between
  November 1940 and December 1942. Because of privacy laws, information
  on most of these registrations was not previously available to the
  public. The first installment of these cards includes almost two million
  filled out by men living in North Carolina who
  were born between 1897 and 1929.

“World
War II impacted millions of American families and we felt this was an
appropriate time to
make our collection available at no cost to provide the public an
opportunity to explore through records, how the War may have touched
their families,”
said Josh Hanna, Executive Vice President,
Ancestry.com. “Ancestry.com hosts the largest online
collection of historical military records and these new additions to our
World War II catalog add further depth to this important collection.”