UPDATE: Alan Brylawski died in Florida – This interview with Alan Brylawski recalls the tough days of the war in Europe and horrors of Buchenwald

Alan Brylawski, 85, says funny things happen at war, though some horrors still haunt him.
“I am an optimist and humorist. I don’t take life too seriously,” the World War II veteran said.
War has been part of human culture since man got out of the cave, Brylawski says. “It’s senseless, there are no winners. We slaughter people. Everybody loses.” He said the kind of horror one man perpetrates on another during war is inconceivable, adding once the enemy is demonized everything becomes okay.
“It is either you do it or they are going to do it to you. So self-preservation says you do it first,” he said. “When you see bullets pass you, there’s no question you are under fire. At that point the enemy becomes a demon, devoid of humanity.”

Governor Marvin Mandel dead at 95; spent last days enjoying grandchildren, Ravens and steamed crabs

COMPTON, MD. — “After an afternoon of eating crabs and spending the weekend in St. Mary’s County and enjoying the Ravens last night,” Phil Dorsey, stepson of Gov. Marvin Mandel, told THE CHESAPEAKE TODAY, “the Governor died at Harborview this afternoon.”

The location of Governor Mandel’s death was at the river-front home of Dorsey, located just off Breton Bay in Compton. Dorsey’s mother, the late Jeanne Blackistone Dorsey Mandel, was married to Governor Mandel in 1974 and became First Lady of Maryland. Mandel had been vacationing with his son Paul Dorsey and Mandel’s grandchildren at the summer place which overlooks the expansive Breton Bay for the last few months as his health declined.

Two former Sheriffs of St. Mary’s County have died in recent weeks

LEONARDTOWN, MD. – There are now two less St. Mary’s County Maryland Sheriff’s walking the earth.

Sheriff Wayne L. Pettit, who defeated incumbent Sheriff Joe Lee Somerville in the Democratic Primary in 1982 and won reelection twice more in 1986 and 1990 died on Nov. 21, 2014 and Sheriff Ben Burroughs who was elected in 1966 and served one term before being defeated by the late Sheriff Larry Williams in the Democratic Primary in 1970, died on Jan. 2, 2015.

Walter “Dickie” Barnes Jr. Veteran and Volunteer

Walter “Dickie” Barnes, Jr., 67 of Ridge, passed away surrounded by loved ones on December 18, 2014. He was a proud and active resident of St. Mary’s County. He was a member of the American Legion, Lions Club, Optimist Club and VFW. His hobbies included hunting, playing cards, spending time with family and helping others in any way he could.

Southern Maryland Police Beat: Charles Sheriff’s Officer Jamel Clagett Dies in Crash

“Today our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of a kind, gentle soul,” said Charles County Sheriff Troy D. Berry in an announcement. The Sheriff said the entire agency is saddened to announce the death of Patrolman First Class Jamel Clagett, 30, who died in a motor vehicle crash this morning on Route 218 in King George, Virginia.