General Eisenhower is not the only presidential connection with Stoney Cross there is also an Obama connection. By all reports Dunham was a larger than life character who, after a rather wayward youth, eloped with Madelyn Payne just before the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, , after which he was quick to enlist in the US Army. He could have held off. Later, she would be known as Ann. As a consequence, the units that he served in were unknown even to the White House until the Associated Press unearthed records and undertook a series of interviews, some of which uncovered this Obama connection..
It is known that his company supported the 9th Air Force as it prepared for the assault on Normandy and took part in the drive that carried the Allies across France.
Some ideas of the rhythms of life for Dunham and the men of the th emerge from the weekly unit histories. Men transfer in and out. There is field training. The company drills on the use of the carbine. The men take a three mile hike and bivouacked overnight. Time and again, they move on from one airfield to the next, supporting the front lines. Stanley Dunham seems to have been a good guy to have around. A few of the die-hards were still crooning over the empty beer barrels at an early morning hour.
Ralph was called up after Stanley enlisted. In the months before the invasion, the brothers met up twice in England while on leave. Once, they came across each other by chance in London, where Ralph was staying at the Russell Hotel. The two Kansas boys spent the rest of their leave together, touring the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and other sites with a helpful taxi driver.
For all the good times, the strains of war were ever present for Dunham and his fellow men. The men of the th followed the front through France after the initial invasion, servicing airfields in places such as Brucheville, Cricqueville, St.
