Hippie Bowman Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 It is Memorial day weekend 2014 here in the states, and I am thinking about what some people call the "greatest generation". Fathers and mothers of the baby boomers. It amazes me how these people worked fought and died to help keep the world free from tyranny. They withstand incredible hardship and dangers to achieve this. I would like to share with you a little about my Mom and Dad and what they done in this time of World War.My dad, Robert, served in the US Navy in WW2. He was an enlisted man. A Chief Petty officer. He was assigned to the USS Belknap (APD-34 ) and had the position of Chief Signalman. Dad was know as Pappy on the ship, as he was the oldest there. He know all the places that you could get coffee on the ship, and every where he went he was offered the traditional cup of "joe". The Belknap was an old 4 stacker destroyer. During 18–22 October she served as a screen ship during the Leyte invasion and during 3–11 January 1945 as a shore bombardment and beach reconnaissance vessel at the Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, landings. On 11 January she trained all her guns on a Japanese kamikaze which eventually crashed into Belknap's number two stack, crippling her engines, killing 38 men and wounding 49. Belknap remained at Lingayen making emergency repairs until 18 January when Hidatsa (ATF-102) towed her to Manus, Admiralty Islands. Following temporary repairs at Manus, Belknap proceeded to Philadelphia Navy Yard via the west coast, arriving 18 June. Decommissioned 4 August 1945, Belknap was sold 30 November 1945 for scrapping. In addition to her Presidential Unit Citation, Belknap received three battle stars for her World War II service.Dad told me of the kamikaze attack. He told me he was out on his feet fighting a fire caused by the attack. It was not until one of the officer took him by the hand and told him to feel the back of his head. He did and his hand came away bloody. He received the Purple Heart for his wounds, and took schrapnel that stayed in his head, to the grave. He lost many shipmates and good friends. They were buried at sea. Thank you Dad for all you did in the war effort. My mom, Ruth, also was born in the early 1900's. Daughter of a dairy farmer from central Pennsylvania. During the war effort she worked at the Philips Plant in Philadelphia, making aircraft radios. Those women worked tirelessly and uncomplaining for whatever it took to get the job done. One day my dad's ship was in port there, and Mom and Dad meet in a local watering hole. I want to thank you Mom for what you did to help keep our world free. It will never seize to amaze me. The tenacity of these people. The bravery, and good humor, and honor. I want to thank you all for your sacrifices. Please if you have a story to share about the Greatest Generation, please do so here. Thank you! Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceka Cianci Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 I would like to give recognition to all the code talkers of all the tribes, as well as the many other volunteers that stood up when this country needed it's warriors as well as the many standing up now today. WWI and WWII,Still unable to vote or even citizens at the time, they still answered the call.. Many code talkers that passed away still keeping their top secret duty a secret even to those loved ones around them long after the wars were over,taking their secret to their graves. Even those that were captured and torchered would not give up their secret and the codes remained unbreakable and a great powerful weapon. Many may have only heard of the Navajo code talkers before, but there were so many more.. It is said that if it were not for the contribution of the code talkers languages, the wars would have lasted much longer and so many more lives would have been lost.. I feel so proud of them all and thank them with all of my heart.. Adolf Hitler knew about the successful use of code talkers during World War I. He sent a team of some thirty anthropologists to learn Native American languages before the outbreak of World War II. However, it proved too difficult for them to learn the many languages and dialects that existed. Because of Nazi German anthropologists' attempts to learn the languages, the U.S. Army did not implement a large-scale code talker program in the European Theater. The Code Talkers developed and transmitted unbreakable codes during World War I and World War II. Their participation remained a secret for decades even as their own government carried out policies that attempted to stamp out their languages, ancestry and tribal nations. That changed with the Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008. The law authorized the Congressional Gold Medal for the 33 tribes, with each medal featuring a design unique to each tribe. Tribes and nations of code talkers Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Tribes Cherokee Nation Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Choctaw Nation Comanche Nation Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Crow Tribe Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes Ho-Chunk Nation (Wisconsin) Hopi Tribe Kiowa Tribe Laguna Pueblo Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Menominee Nation St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Muscogee Nation Oglala Sioux Tribe Oneida Nation (Wisconsin) Osage Nation Pawnee Nation Ponca Tribe (Oklahoma) Pueblo of Acoma Rosebud Sioux Tribe Sac and Fox Tribe (Iowa) Santee Sioux Tribe Seminole Nation (Oklahoma) Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Tonto Apache Tribe White Mountain Apache Tribe Yankton Sioux Tribe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela Galli Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 I never grow tired of learning about that war, that generation. It brought out both the worst and the best in human nature. But no matter how much I learn, there just is no way to come anywhere close to wrapping my mind around what happened, what that generation did. I just hope we never forget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madelaine McMasters Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Dad never talked much about WWII, so my understanding of his involvement is sketchy. He joined the Navy in 1937, at age 16 (I learned to lie from the best ;-) and found himself in the submarine service because he could swim and hold his breath better than anybody around him, liked small spaces, and was thought unusually sane (I always thought he was nuts). He was stationed at Pearl in '41, and spent every spare moment on the other side of Maui at Kaneohe Bay Marine Air Station, learning to fly. He gravitated towards any mode of transportation that could move freely in three dimensions. Surface ships and cars did not interest him, as they were limited to two. During their early years together, Mom was the family driver. Dad was at Kaneohe the morning of Dec 7. The first air attack occured there, minutes before Pearl. Curiously, the Pearl sub base was untouched. Dad figured the Japanese were after him. Within a year or so, his ability, experience and interest in flying got him transferred "topside", where he was trained to fly the Corsair (the Japanese called it "Whistling Death"). He never said a word about his combat experience, and we never asked. I did watch Dad run his hands along a Corsair at an air show years ago. He was dead quiet for some time after that, and didn't perk up until they started playing "In The Mood" in the hanger, where he danced with Mom. I will never forget that day, nor know just what he was thinking. I learned to fly when I was 16. Dad was my first passenger. He was thrilled that I'd learned to fly, but when I offered him the wheel, he declined. He was not a man who wanted to rain whistling death on anyone, and the joy of flying was gone for him. After the war, he returned to the submarine service, doing research work. He witnessed an A-Bomb blast at Enewetok atoll, which edged him one step closer to pacifism. Home on leave in 1947, he saw a woman at a bar and before saying a word to her, told his buddy "I'm gonna marry that gal". Two weeks later, Mom proposed to him as he was heading back to Pearl. Four years after that, he came home for good, they got married and he went to engineering school on the GI Bill. Like many of his generation, he found himself in class with mates a dozen years younger chronologically and a lifetime away experientially. Mom was one of 14 from a farm in central Wisconsin. All the boys went off to war (and all came home) and my grandfather was in poor health, so the entire farm was run by the women. I suppose she was a Rosie the Milker. When the neighbor brought over his bull for stud service, Mom would clean up the lucky ladies and put big red bows on their heads. She's the one who taught me how to drive a tractor, change the oil, and on a visit to a neighboring farm, milk a cow into a cat's mouth. If you asked Dad who was the toughest person he knew, he'd say Mom. If you asked my Mom who was the gentlest person she knew, she'd say Dad. If you asked either who was the most troublesome person they know... well just never you mind. Neither of them would say there was anything remarkable about their lives. I think this was typical for those of their generation. You had a job to do, you did it, you didn't talk about it. We lost more than 400,000 in WWII (to put that in perspective, the total human cost of WWII is estimated at 50-85 million), and we didn't have the knowledge or support systems in place to handle injuries like PTSD (then called "shell shock"). I'm not sure things are any better today (VA wait list anyone?). WWII was the last of the morally clear wars. The Korean War was never a war. Vietnam did not have the support of the people at the end. More recent wars have had murkier motivations. I think the result has been that support for returning soldiers, who did not pick the wars, has decreased over time. My Dad may have been a veteran of the greatest generation, but he'd ask us all to pay equal respect to every generation of veteran, both ours and theirs. Whether a war is right or wrong, soldiers do what they were sent to do, often at an age where most of us have no idea what we're doing. But he'd also ask that we hold everyone accountable for their actions. Dad was disgusted by My Lai. Let's hope for a day when we will celebrate the last generation ever to fight a war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madelaine McMasters Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 The code talkers, and our treatment of them, is one of many bittersweet American stories. Thanks for telling it here, Ceka. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie Bowman Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 Ceka Cianci wrote: I would like to give recognition to all the code talkers of all the tribes, as well as the many other volunteers that stood up when this country needed it's warriors as well as the many standing up now today. WWI and WWII,Still unable to vote or even citizens at the time, they still answered the call.. Many code talkers that passed away still keeping their top secret duty a secret even to those loved ones around them long after the wars were over,taking their secret to their graves. Even those that were captured and torchered would not give up their secret and the codes remained unbreakable and a great powerful weapon. Many may have only heard of the Navajo code talkers before, but there were so many more.. It is said that if it were not for the contribution of the code talkers languages, the wars would have lasted much longer and so many more lives would have been lost.. I feel so proud of them all and thank them with all of my heart.. Adolf Hitler knew about the successful use of code talkers during World War I. He sent a team of some thirty anthropologists to learn Native American languages before the outbreak of World War II. However, it proved too difficult for them to learn the many languages and dialects that existed. Because of Nazi German anthropologists' attempts to learn the languages, the U.S. Army did not implement a large-scale code talker program in the European Theater. The Code Talkers developed and transmitted unbreakable codes during World War I and World War II. Their participation remained a secret for decades even as their own government carried out policies that attempted to stamp out their languages, ancestry and tribal nations. That changed with the Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008. The law authorized the Congressional Gold Medal for the 33 tribes, with each medal featuring a design unique to each tribe. Tribes and nations of code talkers Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Tribes Cherokee Nation Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Choctaw Nation Comanche Nation Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Crow Tribe Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes Ho-Chunk Nation (Wisconsin) Hopi Tribe Kiowa Tribe Laguna Pueblo Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Menominee Nation St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Muscogee Nation Oglala Sioux Tribe Oneida Nation (Wisconsin) Osage Nation Pawnee Nation Ponca Tribe (Oklahoma) Pueblo of Acoma Rosebud Sioux Tribe Sac and Fox Tribe (Iowa) Santee Sioux Tribe Seminole Nation (Oklahoma) Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Tonto Apache Tribe White Mountain Apache Tribe Yankton Sioux Tribe Thank you Ceka for sharing your story here and for what the code talkers did to help keep us free! Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie Bowman Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 Madelaine McMasters wrote: Dad never talked much about WWII, so my understanding of his involvement is sketchy. He joined the Navy in 1937, at age 16 (I learned to lie from the best ;-) and found himself in the submarine service because he could swim and hold his breath better than anybody around him, liked small spaces, and was thought unusually sane (I always thought he was nuts). He was stationed at Pearl in '41, and spent every spare moment on the other side of Maui at Kaneohe Bay Marine Air Station, learning to fly. He gravitated towards any mode of transportation that could move freely in three dimensions. Surface ships and cars did not interest him, as they were limited to two. During their early years together, Mom was the family driver. Dad was at Kaneohe the morning of Dec 7. The first air attack occured there, minutes before Pearl. Curiously, the Pearl sub base was untouched. Dad figured the Japanese were after him. Within a year or so, his ability, experience and interest in flying got him transferred "topside", where he was trained to fly the Corsair (the Japanese called it "Whistling Death"). He never said a word about his combat experience, and we never asked. I did watch Dad run his hands along a Corsair at an air show years ago. He was dead quiet for some time after that, and didn't perk up until they started playing "In The Mood" in the hanger, where he danced with Mom. I will never forget that day, nor know just what he was thinking. I learned to fly when I was 16. Dad was my first passenger. He was thrilled that I'd learned to fly, but when I offered him the wheel, he declined. He was not a man who wanted to rain whistling death on anyone, and the joy of flying was gone for him. After the war, he returned to the submarine service, doing research work. He witnessed an A-Bomb blast at Enewetok atoll, which edged him one step closer to pacifism. Home on leave in 1947, he saw a woman at a bar and before saying a word to her, told his buddy "I'm gonna marry that gal". Two weeks later, Mom proposed to him as he was heading back to Pearl. Four years after that, he came home for good, they got married and he went to engineering school on the GI Bill. Like many of his generation, he found himself in class with mates a dozen years younger chronologically and a lifetime away experientially. Mom was one of 14 from a farm in central Wisconsin. All the boys went off to war (and all came home) and my grandfather was in poor health, so the entire farm was run by the women. I suppose she was a Rosie the Milker. When the neighbor brought over his bull for stud service, Mom would clean up the lucky ladies and put big red bows on their heads. She's the one who taught me how to drive a tractor, change the oil, and on a visit to a neighboring farm, milk a cow into a cat's mouth. If you asked Dad who was the toughest person he knew, he'd say Mom. If you asked my Mom who was the gentlest person she knew, she'd say Dad. If you asked either who was the most troublesome person they know... well just never you mind. Neither of them would say there was anything remarkable about their lives. I think this was typical for those of their generation. You had a job to do, you did it, you didn't talk about it. We lost more than 400,000 in WWII (to put that in perspective, the total human cost of WWII is estimated at 50-85 million), and we didn't have the knowledge or support systems in place to handle injuries like PTSD (then called "shell shock"). I'm not sure things are any better today (VA wait list anyone?). WWII was the last of the morally clear wars. The Korean War was never a war. Vietnam did not have the support of the people at the end. More recent wars have had murkier motivations. I think the result has been that support for returning soldiers, who did not pick the wars, has decreased over time. My Dad may have been a veteran of the greatest generation, but he'd ask us all to pay equal respect to every generation of veteran, both ours and theirs. Whether a war is right or wrong, soldiers do what they were sent to do, often at an age where most of us have no idea what we're doing. But he'd also ask that we hold everyone accountable for their actions. Dad was disgusted by My Lai. Let's hope for a day when we will celebrate the last generation ever to fight a war. Thank you Maddy for sharing your story and for what your mom and dad did. I echo your closing remark. "Let's hope for a day when we will celebrate the last generation ever to fight a war." Hugs! Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie Bowman Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 Pamela Galli wrote: I never grow tired of learning about that war, that generation. It brought out both the worst and the best in human nature. But no matter how much I learn, there just is no way to come anywhere close to wrapping my mind around what happened, what that generation did. I just hope we never forget. Yes indeed Pamela! Let us never forget! Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lidri Soulstar Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Thanks everyone for sharing your wonderful stories and look forward to reading some more! And thank you for bringing up the Code Talkers- not many people know how invaluable these people were during the war due to Native languages not being very well known. We certainly wouldn't be this well off without the effort that was put forth by so many all over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie Bowman Posted May 26, 2014 Author Share Posted May 26, 2014 Take some time out today to reflect, think about, and thank those that gave there all so we can be free! Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numpty Mistwallow Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I'm a Brit so our equivalent to "Memorial Day" is "Armistice Day", a celebration of the ending of WWI. During that conflict a British poet named Laurence Binyon penned a poem called "For the Fallen" and part of it is read out at the Armistice Day Parades every November 11th or the closest Sunday to it. That part is known as the "Ode of Rememberance" and a smaller part of that really applies to ALL those who have died fighting for the freedom we tend to tacke for granted... They went with songs to the battle, they were young. Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted, They fell with their faces to the foe. They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie Bowman Posted May 26, 2014 Author Share Posted May 26, 2014 Numpty Mistwallow wrote: I'm a Brit so our equivalent to "Memorial Day" is "Armistice Day", a celebration of the ending of WWI. During that conflict a British poet named Laurence Binyon penned a poem called "For the Fallen" and part of it is read out at the Armistice Day Parades every November 11th or the closest Sunday to it. That part is known as the "Ode of Rememberance" and a smaller part of that really applies to ALL those who have died fighting for the freedom we tend to tacke for granted... They went with songs to the battle, they were young. Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted, They fell with their faces to the foe. They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them. That is beautiful Numpty! Thanks for sharing it here! Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perrie Juran Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie Bowman Posted May 26, 2014 Author Share Posted May 26, 2014 Lovely Perrie. Thank you. Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceka Cianci Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I remember back when soldiers first started to leave for the war back in 2002. It never set in until the day they were leaving town. This song someone send to me on yahoo back then and said you must see this.. I watched and i was never the same after when i thought of the war and these people going and those of us staying.. The seperation and seeing what was being given up for us.. I still cry watching this every time because it's so strong of an impact of the sacrifice..families saying goodbye maybe for the last time.. husbands and wifes and kissing a new baby knowing they will be grown when you see them next ,if you ever do,maybe a last touch..so many feelings to put into moments that there just is not enough time to fit them all.. this was the first time it really sunk into me what people were really giving up for our freedom.. they put it all on the table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie Bowman Posted May 26, 2014 Author Share Posted May 26, 2014 Ceka Cianci wrote: I remember back when soldiers first started to leave for the war back in 2002. It never set in until the day they were leaving town. This song someone send to me on yahoo back then and said you must see this.. I watched and i was never the same after when i thought of the war and these people going and those of us staying.. The seperation and seeing what was being given up for us.. I still cry watching this every time because it's so strong of an impact of the sacrifice..families saying goodbye maybe for the last time.. husbands and wifes and kissing a new baby knowing they will be grown when you see them next ,if you ever do,maybe a last touch..so many feelings to put into moments that there just is not enough time to fit them all.. this was the first time it really sunk into me what people were really giving up for our freedom.. they put it all on the table. Uh huh Ceka. It is very hard on the ones left behind on the home front. Thanks for your post. Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aislin Ceawlin Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 I have loved reading each and every post in this thread, thanks all. I would like to say a little about my dad here. My father, Lecil, was a Marine in WW2. He was an infantryman on the first wave to the Marshall Islands. He would never talk about the war and I always wondered why. After his passing in 1993, I went to the Veterans Administration and applied for and received his military records. I wish I hadn't. The only thing he ever told me was about the time his best buddy was blown up just feet away from him. The things he saw and went through are things beyond what my brain can process. At some point during this campaign, he took some shrapnel to the skull and was shipped back stateside to the San Diego Naval Hospital and spent a year undergoing rehab. My father was my hero, and I am so proud of his sacrifice to keep us free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madelaine McMasters Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Aislin Ceawlin wrote: I have loved reading each and every post in this thread, thanks all. I would like to say a little about my dad here. My father, Lecil, was a Marine in WW2. He was an infantryman on the first wave to the Marshall Islands. He would never talk about the war and I always wondered why. After his passing in 1993, I went to the Veterans Administration and applied for and received his military records. I wish I hadn't. The only thing he ever told me was about the time his best buddy was blown up just feet away from him. The things he saw and went through are things beyond what my brain can process. At some point during this campaign, he took some shrapnel to the skull and was shipped back stateside to the San Diego Naval Hospital and spent a year undergoing rehab. My father was my hero, and I am so proud of his sacrifice to keep us free. Dad was absurd, silly, wickedly funny, kind, and a gentle but persistent tease. He told me many stories of his decade wandering the South Pacific, all of them either laugh out loud funny, or full of romance for the cultures of the islands. Most of what I know about his war experiences had to be got secondhand from relatives and books. Dad's twin brother, who also lied about his age to get into the Army in 1937, did not come home. I remember reading about the Corsair and learning that it was called "Whistling Death". When I told Dad about that, he changed the subject. Neither Mom nor Dad ever told me not to ask questions about the War, but it was pretty clear that topic was best left alone. I imagine your experience was similar. Dad was in the attack on Kwajalein atoll and may flown over your Dad's head. He revisited the Marshalls in 1948 for the first A-Bomb test at Anewetok. He once said I must see a sunset on Roi Namur. That's on my bucket list. Dad's best friend was a veteran Luftwaffe pilot who thought Hitler was a (*#^%$ psychopath. He came to the US in the late '40s and lived next door for most of my life. He was equally quiet about his war experiences. I don't think I could wrap my head around what either of those two had to do. Maybe they couldn't either. I recently read an article discussing PTSD in drone pilots. I will take some consolation in the knowledge that even from a seat halfway round the world, the taking of a life in war is still painful. I don't think Dad would have approved of drones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aislin Ceawlin Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Sounds like your dad and mine would have friends....lol...mine had the same wicked sense of humor. I was a late in life baby, my father was born in 1924 and had to drop out of school in the 4th grade to help support hisself and his mother during the depression, but he was one of the most brilliant men I have ever known. He always said "As long as you can read, you can learn anything" and he lived by those words. He always had a book in his hands when he wasn't working. He was also a private pilot and taught me to fly as soon as my feet could reach the rudders....He was and always will be larger than life to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie Bowman Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 Aislin Ceawlin wrote: I have loved reading each and every post in this thread, thanks all. I would like to say a little about my dad here. My father, Lecil, was a Marine in WW2. He was an infantryman on the first wave to the Marshall Islands. He would never talk about the war and I always wondered why. After his passing in 1993, I went to the Veterans Administration and applied for and received his military records. I wish I hadn't. The only thing he ever told me was about the time his best buddy was blown up just feet away from him. The things he saw and went through are things beyond what my brain can process. At some point during this campaign, he took some shrapnel to the skull and was shipped back stateside to the San Diego Naval Hospital and spent a year undergoing rehab. My father was my hero, and I am so proud of his sacrifice to keep us free. I want to thank you Dad for his service and thank you for you post. Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie Bowman Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 Madelaine McMasters wrote: Aislin Ceawlin wrote: I have loved reading each and every post in this thread, thanks all. I would like to say a little about my dad here. My father, Lecil, was a Marine in WW2. He was an infantryman on the first wave to the Marshall Islands. He would never talk about the war and I always wondered why. After his passing in 1993, I went to the Veterans Administration and applied for and received his military records. I wish I hadn't. The only thing he ever told me was about the time his best buddy was blown up just feet away from him. The things he saw and went through are things beyond what my brain can process. At some point during this campaign, he took some shrapnel to the skull and was shipped back stateside to the San Diego Naval Hospital and spent a year undergoing rehab. My father was my hero, and I am so proud of his sacrifice to keep us free. Dad was absurd, silly, wickedly funny, kind, and a gentle but persistent tease. He told me many stories of his decade wandering the South Pacific, all of them either laugh out loud funny, or full of romance for the cultures of the islands. Most of what I know about his war experiences had to be got secondhand from relatives and books. Dad's twin brother, who also lied about his age to get into the Army in 1937, did not come home. I remember reading about the Corsair and learning that it was called "Whistling Death". When I told Dad about that, he changed the subject. Neither Mom nor Dad ever told me not to ask questions about the War, but it was pretty clear that topic was best left alone. I imagine your experience was similar. Dad was in the attack on Kwajalein atoll and may flown over your Dad's head. He revisited the Marshalls in 1948 for the first A-Bomb test at Anewetok. He once said I must see a sunset on Roi Namur. That's on my bucket list. Dad's best friend was a veteran Luftwaffe pilot who thought Hitler was a (*#^%$ psychopath. He came to the US in the late '40s and lived next door for most of my life. He was equally quiet about his war experiences. I don't think I could wrap my head around what either of those two had to do. Maybe they couldn't either. I recently read an article discussing PTSD in drone pilots. I will take some consolation in the knowledge that even from a seat halfway round the world, the taking of a life in war is still painful. I don't think Dad would have approved of drones. I guess I am lucky that my Dad told me much about the war. I want to thank your Dad Maddy for his service. Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Deakins Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 This thread touches my heart each time I read more posts in it. I hope there are many more. But may I inject a little humour here? My uncle fought in WW2. He was with the British Expeditionary Force that got cornered on the beach at Dunkirk. He got back ok. Then he was a para, dropped at Arnhem - famous as 'A Bridge Too Far'. He was one of those who had to swim across the river at night to escape the Germans, and he got back from from there ok too. Both ventures were disasters, and I've always thought that, if they'd sent him anywhere else, we would have lost the war for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie Bowman Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 Thank you for the smile Phil, and I thank your uncle for his service! Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Levenque Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Thank you Hippie, and all of you who posted. I never looked into the Forum yesterday so I didn't see this until today. Seems like we've got a bunch of Navy brats here: my dad was Navy too. It's good Phil chipped in or it would be all sailors. My dad was helping run a Naval air base in the Pacific and saw almost no action, but he was there. There was a couple living next door to our second house, a little older than my folks and with no young kids. He was on the Missouri, and I still have an 8 x 10 black and white photo of the Missouri he gave me when I was about six years old. Far as I know he was on it when it went to Tokyo Bay for the Surrender. I remember reading a comment once from someone who was on a ship in that task force. He'd joined after Pearl Harbor and spent the whole war in the Pacific. He went out on deck one night while they were under way to Tokyo, and realized it was the first time he'd ever seen the fleet with running lights on. This is a story I heard about on the news earlier. A nice Memorial Day story that you might like: http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2014/05/27/air-force-wife-surprises-vacaville-firefighters-by-anonymously-paying-for-groceries/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie Bowman Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 I would like to thank your dad for his service, and thanks for the fantastic link Dillon! Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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