Imagine: 8 of the world’s great ballet companies; 6 performances; 24 ballets (4 ballets per program) … that was BALANCHINE: THE CITY CENTER YEARS, Oct 31 – Nov 4. Thanks to Bill’s hired caregiver, his best friend of 50+ years, and his son – who each took a shift so Bill was rarely left alone…
With the upcoming Balanchine Retrospective at New York City Center, here is my little Balanchine story… In 2000, Rodney Gustafson, artistic director of State Street Ballet, honored me with the opportunity to suggest an idea for a ballet. I proposed a suite of small ballets to songs sung by Frank Sinatra. I obtained permission from…
Thank you, Johnny D. Boggs, Editor, for including my story in ROUNDUP, MAGAZINE OF WESTERN WRITERS OF AMERICA (October 2018) Click on the link below to read… “Nevada As A Place To Split” by Sandra McGee More Feature Stories by Sandra V. McGee
The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943 by William L. McGee has been designated as a 2018 awards finalist by the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA). The award category – Gold, Silver, or Bronze – will be announced at MWSA’s General Membership Conference on November 9, 2018 in Charleston, South Carolina. Sandra McGee, Bill’s publishing partner and wife,…
A big thank-you to the Military Writers Society of America for the May 2018 review of The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943… Click to read review Since its publication in 2001, The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943 has been repeatedly lauded as one of the most comprehensive books on all the campaigns fought in the Solomon Islands. “Enough gripping drama, heroism, and…
The Golden Age of Divorce on the Dude Ranches of Nevada Bill and Sandra McGee provide commentary for this podcast hosted by Sean Braswell of THE THREAD on OZY.com. (Air date: 4/2/2018) READ The Golden Age of Divorce on the Dude Ranches of Nevada LISTEN to the podcast with commentary by Bill and Sandra McGee. Scroll…
The U.S. Navy Armed Guard was a special service branch of the U.S. Navy responsible for defending U.S. and Allied merchant ships, their valuable cargo, and crews from attack by enemy aircraft, submarines, and surface ships. In World War II, nearly 145,000 men served in the Naval Armed Guard, including Gunner’s Mate and Bronze Star…
Between 1945 and 1963, the United States conducted 235 atmospheric nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific Ocean and the Southwestern U.S. In appreciation of the approximately 250,000 American service men and women who witnessed and participated in these tests, President Ronald Reagan designated July 16, 1983 as National Atomic Veterans Day. Read the full text…
July 1, 2017 – Seventy-one years to the day after the Test Able atomic bomb test at the Bikini Atoll, former USS Fall River shipmates Bill McGee and Paul Dowling reconnected by telephone, thanks to Paul Dowling’s daughter, Paula. “My dad was at Operation CROSSROADS in 1946,” wrote Paula in an email to Bill in…
Just in from KTVU Fox 2 (the broadcast station) … The atomic veterans story, which Bill was interviewed for in May, will air on Thursday, June 29, on KTVU Fox 2, in the 5-6 pm news hour. Set your DVRs… (Note: We have not seen the edited version.)
Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. The name Memorial Day was first used circa 1882, but did not become commonly used until after World War II. Memorial Day was declared the official name by Federal […]
New Release! Western Writers of America Cookbook With Bill McGee’s Award-Winning Chili and Sandra McGee’s Southwest Slaw This cookbook celebrates the Western tradition with more than 150 recipes, anecdotes, and stories from some of America’s most popular Western writers and personalities. There are recipes for drinks, appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, desserts, and fun…
ABOUT THE BOOK Montana, The Magazine of Western History is published by the Montana Historical Society, created in Virginia City in 1865 by Montana’s First Territorial Legislature, making it the oldest institution of its kind west of the Mississippi.
April 5, 2017 – Bill had a nice visit with former Fall River shipmate, Bob “Chris” Chrisman. In 1946, Chris and Bill did duty on the heavy cruiser USS Fall River (CA-131) at Operation Crossroads, the first postwar atomic bomb tests at Bikini in July 1946. Chris had just celebrated his 94th and his son, Rob,…
January 25, 2017 Dear Bill, I read your book, Operation Crossroads – Lest We Forget! stem to stern the same day it arrived. It sure brought back memories and some I didn’t know about, like the beer shack and the warm beer. I have a grandson who did a lot of homework on the…
January 2, 2017 Dear Mr. McGee: I had been following with keen interest your five-part series in the U.S. Navy Cruiser Sailors Association magazine about the USS Fall River (CA-131) and its participation in Operation CROSSROADS in 1946. We both came aboard the new heavy cruiser in January 1946 in Norfolk, Virginia—I was a Quartermaster,…
TAKE A “LOOK INSIDE”
A big thank-you across the Atlantic to Mr. Mark Barnes for his review of Operation Crossroads – Lest We Forget! Read the full review here WAR HISTORY ONLINE … Available on Amazon
Just in … Review by PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Las Vegas, Nevada, September 14, 2016 – The National Association of Atomic Veterans (NAAV) held their annual convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. NAAV was founded in 1979 for the purpose of assisting America’s atomic veterans secure proof of their exposure to ionizing radiation while on active duty. The convention hotel was located within walking distance…
“I would like to thank Bill McGee and his wife, Sandra, for their work over the years to preserve U.S. Navy Armed Guard and Merchant Marine history so people of future generations may read and see what both crews did in World War II. Without Bill and Sandra working together, and their interest, the Naval…
A big thank-you to Diane Smith of the Belvedere-Tiburon The Ark for today’s front page story … Read the full story at The Ark, July 27, 2016
A big thank-you to Zach Morris, Editor in Chief of Scuttlebutt, the Official Newsletter of the United States LST (Landing Ship, Tank) Association, for the following publicity in the June 2016 issue …
There are many books written about the development of the atomic bomb. Thanks to a comment on our website by author Dean Warren, Bill and I read his memoir, THE BOMB AND ITS DEADLY SHADOW: A MEMOIR. Mr. Warren was a participant at Operation CROSSROADS in 1946. Furthermore, his father, Dr. Stafford L. Warren, was…