
Our War: Centralia man helped unload atom bomb
Survived duty in Pacific, married and raised 19 kids
Bethel Chapman was doing his job at the dock that day, operating a crane to unload supplies from a ship, when he noticed something "special."

Bethel Chapman was doing his job at the dock that day, operating a crane to unload supplies from a ship, when he noticed something "special."
Members of the 761st Tank Battalion had a lot of things stacked against them in World War II. They were the first black unit to face combat. They were thrust into some of the fiercest fighting of the battle for Europe in some of the worst weather and conditions.
Warren "Breezy" Briesacher hasn't slept on his right side or back since 1944. A molten chunk of metal, looking a lot like coal slag, in his hip prevents him from getting comfortable. He knows what it looks like because three other pieces an Army doctor dug out of his arm and side were taped to his dog tags for the rest of the war.
Fourth graders from Zion Lutheran School in Belleville learned about soybeans and corn - and cockleburs - on Monday at the St. Clair Farm Service.
Belleville East, Althoff and O'Fallon all powered their way to wins Friday night in high school football action in the metro-east.
A new playground was dedicated Monday at Signal Hill School in Belleville.
The Metro-East Emergency Response Team took part in a drill Tuesday on the Belleville campus of Lindenwood University.
Matt Vollmar, a third-grade teacher at Belle Valley School North, has formed a band with three friends called The Great Romance.
Members of East St. Louis' Strategic Anti-Felony Enforcement team and the U.S. Marshal Service raided two houses Wednesday afternoon on 40th Street but were unable to capture a suspect who fled one of the homes.
Belleville police Sgt. Jon Brough and Officer Jeffrey A. Sheary received the Illinois Law Enforcement Medal of Honor on Wednesday during a ceremony at the executive mansion.