CHARLESTON, SC, July 04, 2025 /24-7PressRelease/ -- When 2nd Lt. Robert Donlin was killed in World War II, his widow, Lucille, received back a single personal item: a bulky brown briefcase. For more than seventy-five years, that quiet relic—still packed with wartime documents, tactical guides, and machine gun manuals—has remained largely untouched. On Sunday, July 6 at 11:45 AM, the Brothers in Arms national exhibit will honor Robert and John Donlin, two brothers from Hazleton, Pennsylvania, who died within months of each other in 1944. The event will be held at the Daniel Island Recreational Center (160 Fairbanks Daniel Island Trail, Charleston, SC).

The tribute is part of a national storytelling tour created by historian and author Kevin M. Callahan, in partnership with the American Battle Monuments Commission. Brothers in Arms honors more than 700 sets of American brothers who served and died together during WWII and are now buried side by side in U.S. military cemeteries overseas.

The Donlin Story: A Family's Loss, A Nation's Memory

Robert Donlin enlisted in the Army in 1942, just months after his first child was born. A natural leader and aspiring career officer, he graduated from Fort Benning's officer training program and served in the 333rd Infantry Regiment, 84th Infantry Division. His life was cut short on November 23, 1944, during an attack near Lindern, Germany—just one week after his unit entered combat and two months after the birth of his second daughter.

His brother John, a medic in the famed "Tough 'Ombres" of the 90th Infantry Division, was killed that July 7, 1944, while helping clear German defenses in Normandy's Foret de Mont Castre. A letter from his best friend and fellow soldier, Corporal S.E. Shedlock, later confirmed his death—fulfilling a promise they had made to one another in combat.

Youngest brother Paul Donlin, serving in the Pacific, was sent home as the family's sole surviving son. Their father, Patrick Donlin—a former bootlegger during Prohibition—was so devastated by the loss of two sons that he withdrew from work and turned to alcohol. "He really didn't say much when I was growing up," says Peggy Slapcinsky, Robert's daughter, who was just a baby when her father died.

Now the keeper of his briefcase, Peggy considers it a window into her father's unfinished life. "My father wanted to make the military a career," she says. Inside are not just training manuals but also the legacy of a young man who believed deeply in service and duty.

Decades later, in 1994, Lucille Donlin visited Robert's grave in the Netherlands. Her daughter Peggy stood beside her as she whispered at the headstone: "I heard him say to me that it's okay now."

Exhibit Details:
• Event: Brothers in Arms Tribute to the Donlin Brothers
• Date & Time: Sunday, July 6 at 11:45 AM
• Location: Daniel Island Recreational Center, 160 Fairbanks Daniel Island Trail, Charleston, SC
• Admission: Free and open to the public

Featuring over 700 photographs, artifacts, and firsthand accounts, Brothers in Arms is not just a history exhibit—it is a living tribute to family, sacrifice, and memory.

About Brothers in Arms

Brothers in Arms is a national exhibit and storytelling project honoring more than 700 sets of American brothers who died together in World War II. Created by historian Kevin M. Callahan in partnership with the American Battle Monuments Commission, the exhibit brings these personal stories to life through artifacts, family histories, and emotional remembrance ceremonies across the country.

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