Memorial Day weekend is here again. I hope we all spend a little time thinking about our veterans. Maybe if you know someone who's a vet, or currently in the service, say "Thanks for your service to our country."
My Dad, whose been gone more than 14 years, married my Mom on Memorial Day weekend 1942, then shipped out with no idea where he was going or when he'd be back. He spent 3 years in the Pacific. He didn't talk a lot about the war, but he was very proud of his service. He did talk about some of the places he'd been as part of the Quartermaster corp in, of all things, a Laundry Battalion. He built facilities for the guys who had stormed the beaches, using whatever labor was available. He once told me he ran a crew of men at one island that all filed their teeth - he was convinced they were cannibals and never turned his back on them. He also talked of coming to an island once, which could be smelled miles out to sea, and where the land was covered in Japanese dead. His crew buried the dead with bulldozers. His dog tags were returned to our family 2 years ago from where they were found on Guadalcanal, hanging in a residents hut. I imagine the Army gave him a load of crap for losing them.
Now my father-in-law was stationed with the Army Air Corp at the Panama Canal during the war as a belly gunner on a bomber. A 1911 may have saved his life. He was designated to teach the new guys how to use a pistol. Standing in front of a bunch of new arrivals with a 1911, feeling a little self conscious and trying to break the tension, he pointed at a parrot on a telephone pole about 50 yards away and said he was going to demonstrate the use of the pistol by knocking the parrot off the pole. And one handed, from the hip, he proceeded to do so, much to the rookies amazement and to his own great surprise - he really wasn't that great a shot. So when his bomber group shipped out to Europe, he remained behind to train recruits. Like many bomber groups sent to Europe, the group took devastating losses. But a lucky shot with a 1911 kept him in Panama.
To present times: My daughter just finished her plebe year at the USNA. A couple months ago she and a few friends went out to dinner in uniform in downtown Annapolis. When they went to pay, the waiter told them there was no charge; a gentleman had paid their bill, asked the waiter to thank them for their service, and left before they could thank him.
Anyway, on my part - Thanks to all of you who have served this country. There are a lot of us who appreciate it.
Jay
My Dad, whose been gone more than 14 years, married my Mom on Memorial Day weekend 1942, then shipped out with no idea where he was going or when he'd be back. He spent 3 years in the Pacific. He didn't talk a lot about the war, but he was very proud of his service. He did talk about some of the places he'd been as part of the Quartermaster corp in, of all things, a Laundry Battalion. He built facilities for the guys who had stormed the beaches, using whatever labor was available. He once told me he ran a crew of men at one island that all filed their teeth - he was convinced they were cannibals and never turned his back on them. He also talked of coming to an island once, which could be smelled miles out to sea, and where the land was covered in Japanese dead. His crew buried the dead with bulldozers. His dog tags were returned to our family 2 years ago from where they were found on Guadalcanal, hanging in a residents hut. I imagine the Army gave him a load of crap for losing them.
Now my father-in-law was stationed with the Army Air Corp at the Panama Canal during the war as a belly gunner on a bomber. A 1911 may have saved his life. He was designated to teach the new guys how to use a pistol. Standing in front of a bunch of new arrivals with a 1911, feeling a little self conscious and trying to break the tension, he pointed at a parrot on a telephone pole about 50 yards away and said he was going to demonstrate the use of the pistol by knocking the parrot off the pole. And one handed, from the hip, he proceeded to do so, much to the rookies amazement and to his own great surprise - he really wasn't that great a shot. So when his bomber group shipped out to Europe, he remained behind to train recruits. Like many bomber groups sent to Europe, the group took devastating losses. But a lucky shot with a 1911 kept him in Panama.
To present times: My daughter just finished her plebe year at the USNA. A couple months ago she and a few friends went out to dinner in uniform in downtown Annapolis. When they went to pay, the waiter told them there was no charge; a gentleman had paid their bill, asked the waiter to thank them for their service, and left before they could thank him.
Anyway, on my part - Thanks to all of you who have served this country. There are a lot of us who appreciate it.
Jay
