My daughter bought me the whole series from the History Channel. Some amazing stuff there. I still haven't gone through them all.
That's right, REALLY nice lady to talk to. Anyone that went through what their Generation did (Great Depression then War)deserves ALL the respect and gra***ude that I can possibly give them. I didn't have any close relatives that I know of that actually served during the War. They were too old or too young at the time.
Yea, I hear ya......... I have my whole family nuts over buying anything thats not made in USA........ it's tough! I ask them to read the lable first and then ask,,,, do we really need this or have to buy it ....if i see made in ROC ... I drop it like a hot potato!
I have the story of Pistol Packin' Mama on video. The thing that gets me the most,a lot of the Bomber crews were "kids". Late teens early 20's guys and some were straight off the farm! I just can't imagine what they must have thought or gone through...One day you're plowing the field and 2 months later,you're doing Bombing runs at 28k feet while getting shot at by the enemy!
I remember the end of WW2 as my Mom,s brother, uncle Neal, was an Infantryman in the 94th Inf. division, and was wounded and missing in action in a forest in the battle of the bulge. He survived, but was a different man when he came home. And like it was for many soldiers, so bad he didnt want to talk about it.
the wife and i went to the memorial in hawaii and it is still moving to this day. if you live in the bay area look to mt. diablo tonight , weather permiting, and the light in rememberance should be on
Cart before the horse-----Arizona was bombed & sunk at pearl harbor Dec.7, 1941---The Indianapolis, after delivering the atomic bomb to far east island (Tinian I think) was returning to US when attacked by the japanese & sunk, leaving so many sailors at the mercy of the sharks,my uncle included.-----REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR--------------Don
With my ears glued to the radio that fateful day (I was 10 yrs old then) & Hawaii was 3 hours difference in West coast time, the news reports kept coming in slowly at first ,then got faster & faster as momentem was building up & everything outside became strangely silent, as people Nationwide were also glued to the radio & hungry for up to the minute reports & background war noises were ever prevelent with every news report coming in. TV was just a far distance gleam in scientists eyes, & non existent at that time in history. The US Navy had been dealt a near fatal blow then, but to American ingenuity & perservierence, ALL Americans pulled together to form the largest fighting machine ever ***embled in history, military & industrial, to tackle WWII & come out the Victor with our allies,was a tremendous feat in itself!! When heading to Korea in 1953 with our troopship loaded with 500 marines, we stopped at Pearl Harbor to refuel, as we were tied up on "battle ship row" one of our crew that was there that day in 1941, described to me just how he observed the planes coming in low over the harbor, strafing as they came, & all the mayham & confusion that immediately followed the first attack, it brought back to mind exactly what my ears were hearing 12 years earlier on the radio, Dec.7 1941----------Don
Two things: First, today I was at a Christmas concert with my wife. We sat in front of a gentleman who wore a USS Oklahoma hat. He had served on the Oklahoma when it was in Pearl on Dec 7, 1941. He told the story of how it happened and of the 68 friends he lost on his ship that day. Another guy walked up and told him that he had been on a Cruiser that was patroling outside of Pearl on Dec. 6, 1941 they had been ordered to look for some of the mini subs that had been reported. It was very interesting, and yes inspiring to listen to these to vets talke. Second, I just finished reading Tom Brokaw's book The Greatest Generation. It is an incredible look at the generation that went through the Great Depression and then on to WWII. Not only is the book about the courage it took to face both of these events, but it goes into the contributions that this generation made after the war. Everybody should read this book.
God bless all in the United States armed forces! And what a good idea it was to post this ThunderRocket.
Thanks to ALL Vets. God bless you all for your sacrifices. Especially those that gave the ultimate sacrifice. Salute!!!!!!!!
Here's a scan of a traditional Lithuanian recipe my dad's uncle wrote on the battleship USS South Dakota sixty-seven years ago. His wife, my great aunt, died two days ago. Thanks to all who served.
The USS Oklahoma had the second-largest loss of life of any of the ships there (behind Arizona), yet the memorial for Oklahoma was dedicated just last year at Pearl. It is the last ship present that day to have its own memorial. It's shameful that it took 66 years for that to happen. I know one gentleman who was aboard her and attended the dedication of the Oklahoma memorial. So sad that so few are left. The anchor to the Oklahoma is in a park in Oklahoma City. It used to be located downtown, but was moved about two years ago to its present location. BTW, if anyone is curious, there is only ONE living US WWI vet, and he is 107 years old.
I was dismayed with the lack of information though not surprised by the msm. I salute and revere all my H.A.M.B. brothers and sisters for not forgetting. Having been at the memorial several times it truly is a must see. The docents are alot of times survivors themselves. When there dont mss the Missouri and across the harbor at the sub museum. Walk the decks and crawl through the Barb.. As said before they were kids. When told "Brave men died for your rights" I reply "And scared kids" I know, Even with the best training and equipment I was scared.
I've probably said this before but it bears repeating: My grandfather was on one of the only boats to escape the harbor, and spent the next 2 months on "body duty", which essentially meant that he was diving for corpses and body parts. It was so traumatic that he couldn't sleep, and his personality was somewhat altered from sleep deprivation. My grandmother told me that he was never the same after that. He's probably one of the people whom I respect most on this earth. 85 years old and still tough as nails.
The Jalopy Journal
