Midwest Historical & Genalogical Society Special Interest Group

Midwest Historical and Genealogical Society will begin an Afro-American Interest Group.
The meeting will be at 1203 N. Main, Wichita , 67201, on Saturday, December 15 and January 19th at 1:00 pm.
The purpose is to encourage historical and genealogical study of families of any ethnic group with
special emphasis on Afro- Americans. This informal group will seek to learn more of the history
and factors within the family stories we have been told.
We will demonstrate how to research your family tree with the goal of discovering and
understanding your family history. The discussions will include a variety of methods, including
exploring public records, interviewing older relatives and preserving information. 
 Join us and you may become your family historian.
Jozel Smith Eckels, Chairperson

Sumner County Historical & Genealogical Society meeting

On Monday, November 26th, Frank Korte, Wellington attorney and Vietnam veteran will present the program “The Normandy Invasion” to members and guests of the Sumner County Genealogical & Historical Society in meeting room A at “The Rock” restaurant, 1311 East 16^th (east Highway 160), Wellington. 

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.; meal begins at 5:30 p.m.. Reservations are not necessary for the meal. Contact "The Rock" in case of inclement weather for cancellation information.

In 1968, Frank Korte’s National Guard unit was activated and they were sent to Vietnam on January 3^rd, 1969.  In the years since his military service, Korte has become interested in both Civil War era and World War II battles and the preparations that led up to them.

“I’ve always kind of had an interest in the military,” Korte said.

“WW II was the first war we fought with Armored machinery,” Korte said, adding “we woke up about 1939 and realized that they (the Germans) had tanks and had developed artillery and fighter aircraft, and we still had an army equipped to fight WW I.”

I’ve always been fascinated by that transition,” Korte said, “and by where we started and where we’ve come to today.”

 “In 1939 we got busy converting to a WW II Army. It was the infancy of how we fight today” Korte said, “we do a lot of the same things we did then, but we have much better equipment.”

Korte will share maps and photographs of the area at Normandy, including German bunkers that still exist today.  And while his talk will encompass the tremendous battle fought at Normandy Beach, he also plans to touch on what led up to the Normandy invasion, including “Operation Fortitude” the operation that was created to deceive the Germans into believing that the main attack would be elsewhere.

“The whole name of the game was to isolate the beaches and keep the Germans off of them so we could get on the beaches,” Korte said, “that operation really threw the Germans off.  Rommel was at Normandy trying to defend the beach with one-third of his Army.”

Contact info: Sherry Kline – 620-326-3401
skline09@gmail.com