Today in history: Raising the flag on Iwo Jima

The folks at Move America Forward remind us of this day in history....

Remarkable Day in History: Raising Flag On Iwo Jima

Today is the anniversary of an historic day in the annals of American history. The raising of the flag on Iwo Jima is one of the most iconic images to ever represent the American struggle for democracy and freedom in the world. The image is as recognizably American as the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore.

By the morning of February 23rd, 1945, the battle of Iwo Jima had already been underway for several days. The 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines battled to the top of Mount Suribachi, a huge volcanic mountain that overlooks the rest of the island.

As you may have seen in the film, "Flags of Our Fathers," directed by Clint Eastwood, the first flag raised over Iwo Jima was a small one crudely tied to a metal pole salvaged from wreckage found on top of Mount Suribachi. The second, larger flag, raised on a better-suited flagpole, is what we recognize today as the famous depiction of the 4 Marines atop the mountain.

The dramatic photograph was taken on February 23, 1945 by Joe Rosenthal an Associated Press photographer shadowing US Marines in the Pacific. It won him a Pulitzer Prize and went down in history as the inspiration for the USMC Memorial, various stamps, posters, and other timeless depictions of the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Please use this anniversary to honor the memory of all veterans who have served their country in wartime throughout the years. We owe everything we have today to the service and sacrifices of our veterans, especially those who served in our most recent Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

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Pearl Harbor and 9/11 ... have we forgotten?

Today is December 7th ... Pearl Harbor Day.

December 7, 1941 ... 72 years ago America suffered the worst attack ever on our soil at the hands of the Japanese who conducted a sneak attack on our Naval base in Hawaii. It was, in the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, "a date which will live in infamy."

Or so we thought.

Sixty years later, on September 11, 2001, America came under an even larger attack on our soil and it wasn't on an island in the South Pacific. It was right here on the mainland.  America was attacked in New York City and Pennsylvania and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. More people died that day than in 1941. The big difference was that they were civilians.

Have Americans forgotten Pearl Harbor? Most who are alive to remember are now in their 70s, 80s, and 90s. Many of the survivors have passed away ... the rest are increasingly in frail health.

How on God's green earth do we expect people to remember Pearl Harbor, an event that happened 72 years ago, when many have already forgotten the terror from 9/11 that occurred just a short 12 years ago? Have Americans lost their resolve? Their will? Their courage? Their honor? Their willingness to stand up for the home front?

Have we forgotten how to pull together in the face of adversity and in the face of the rest of the world? Have we allowed the worldview, politically correct elitists to so tie our hands so that we aren't even willing to stand up anymore for what we believe in?

Roy Martin, former President of the Navy League's Richmond chapter, wrote an historical background to the Pearl Harbor attack in his article, "Pearl Harbor Remembered: Attack pulled the U.S. Into WW II," published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on 12/6/06, and commented:

"Sadly, too many Americans today don't recognize, much less remember, what happened, nor how it changed our lives, our country, and the world forever."

I believe that statement could also be applied to 9/11.

Eliza Manningham-Buller, former head of the British internal security agency M15, addressed terrorism in a speech in 2006 where she stressed the continued worldwide terrorist threat, and warned that it began well before 9/11/01:

"We now know that the first al-Qaida-related plot against the U.K. was the one we discovered and disrupted in November 2000 in Birmingham. A British citizen is currently serving a long prison sentence for plotting to detonate a large bomb...."

She said M15 knew of 200 terrorist networks consisting of over 1,600 identified individuals who were actively engaged in terrorism throughout the world and added:

"In the years after 9/11, with atrocities taking place in Madrid, Casablanca, Bali, Istanbul, and elsewhere, terrorists plotted to mount a string of attacks in the U.K., but were disrupted. This run of domestic success was interrupted tragically in London in July 2005. Since then, the combined efforts of [British intelligence agencies] have thwarted a further five major conspiracies in the U.K., saving many hundreds (possibly even thousands) of lives...."

But in the U.S. we hear the cynics and doubters who beat the constant negative drum against surveillance of suspected terrorists, against our military, and against America, yet terrorist attacks take place around the world and attempts at destruction continue on American soil.

My parents were part of that World War II greatest generation that stepped forward to defend the homeland in 1941, ordinary Americans who went to war. Many did not return. My mother's brother was killed in France while serving with the U.S. Army. My Navy father was on the USS Wisconsin in the South Pacific. Americans who remained at home did their part with victory gardens, rationing, and rallying the patriotic spirit of the country. Americans as a whole sacrificed for the common good.

The Greatest Generation is now aging ... grandparents who were young men and women during the years of 1941-45 and who are now passing away at the rate of over 1,000 per day. They worked as a team ... they helped preserve freedom for the world.

Pearl Harbor and 9/11 ... have we forgotten?

Originally published in the Washington Examiner by Lynn R. Mitchell.

Family

Birthday celebration on the deck.

He brought flowers for his grandmother.

Mom with the beautiful flowers from cousins Lynn and John Osborne in Chesterfield.

Dinner was marinated pork chops and corn on the cob from the grill, boiled Yukon Gold potatoes and sliced tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and grilled flat bread. Summer eating is some kind of good with all the fresh produce.

Gourmet birthday cupcakes for the birthday folks ... both my parents and SWAC Husband.

SWAC Son brought flowers for me, too, even though he and I are February babies.

My bookworm parents rocking and reading on the front porch.

Stepping out in the back yard.

They like to roam the yard and woods when visiting, checking out the plants, trees, and flowers they have passed along to us over the years. They like to check out the garden, too, and both love tomatoes so we sent them home with a load of freshly-picked produce.

I have a Country Mouse and a City Mouse for parents ... both grew up with different background experiences ... but both love the outdoors.

My parents were in town this week for a visit. We were celebrating birthdays and family. They are in their 80s and still perking right along and, while visiting, they didn't really want to go anywhere but, rather, just talk, read, and enjoy the peace and quiet of the Shenandoah Valley.

So that's exactly what we did. SWAC Son joined us as we celebrated the birthdays on Monday with dinner on the deck ... grilled pork chops and corn with goodies from the garden -- boiled Yukon Gold potatoes as well as freshly picked tomatoes and cucumbers, along with strawberries, blueberries, and peaches. Oh -- and gourmet cupcakes for the birthday kids -- strawberry-topped cupcakes for my folks and key lime-flavored for SWAC Husband.  And gorgeous flowers for Mom from SWAC Son and cousins in Richmond. It was a feast on the deck overlooking the back yard, woods, and mountain ridge, and so we lingered until dark, talking and enjoying the cool evening breeze.

It was a good week and we were thankful that the weather cooperated with low humidity, low temps, and a breeze, and even the rain showers were gentle enough to sit on the porch and read. I set up the video camera and recorded Mom talking about family history, something we need to continue next time we're together, and took notes that will be added to our genealogy books.

They are part of the World War II generation, a sad, fascinating time in American and world history, and each personal perspective of that time as teenagers is unique ... one graduating high school and going straight to work ... the other graduating high school and attending Virginia Tech before the Navy pulled him into the war. Victory gardens, ration coupons, gas shortages, loss of a sibling during the war ... they know it up close and personal.

Family and the Shenandoah Valley. It doesn't get much better....

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
August 2013

Memorial Day: The uncle I never knew

Memorial Day is a time to reflect on our military men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in protecting our country. For my family, that includes an uncle who was killed in the closing days of World War II, an uncle I never knew, my mother's older brother.

Mom was a student at Thomas Dale High School in Chester, Virginia, when her brother Clarence, the oldest of nine siblings, died. She still remembers her mother's reaction that fateful day when the official government car drove up the driveway of their farm many decades ago, and how her mother's knees buckled as she realized the presence of that car meant her son had been killed. Mom says her mother, who lived into her 80s, never completely got over the loss.

After retiring, my mother spent hours researching to discover what exactly happened to her brother and eventually found Clarence's lieutenant living in Texas. She traveled there to talk with him and hear about her brother's final hours, something she documented for our family.

In 2012, Mom wrote:

My brother, Clarence, would be 94 years old August 1st ... and it has now been a little more than 67 years since he was killed in Germany during World War II, only six weeks before Germany surrendered and the war in Europe ended.

Clarence was a 'foot soldier' and had fought for 15 months, from southern Italy to the liberation of Rome, then from the Riviera of Southern France all the way up to Germany's Siegfried Line, liberating the people of those two countries who had been prisoners of the Germans for several years.

Clarence was killed as they were crossing through the Siegfried Line from France into Germany. I think of him often and think about the fact that if we had not won World War II, there would no longer be a United States of America because Germany would have taken control of our country and our lives.

There was nothing romantic or glorious about how he died. His unit had encountered the almost impossible difficulties of fighting in mud, the freezing conditions of snow and ice. There was no time to mourn when a buddy died ... they had to move on, and returned later to recover their dead.

His name is carved into the granite walls of the Virginia War Memorial that overlooks downtown Richmond and the James River. Today we remember his sacrifice along with that of other fallen heroes who have fought for our country ... another reminder that freedom is not free.

WW II veteran "Hap" Halloran dead at 89

Many knew of Hap Halloran, the World War II veteran who was a prisoner of war in Japan during  the war years and who later reunited with his Japanese captors as a way to deal with his memories of the war. His passing this week at the age of 89 is a reminder that freedom is not free.

The San Francisco Chronicle wrote:

Mr. Halloran, who earned the nickname Hap because he was always grinning during his early days in the Air Force, gave motivational lectures at military gatherings, corporate events and schools in Japan and the United States. He appeared in numerous World War II documentaries.

That's how I knew of him. The nickname "Hap" made him a familiar face not only to me but also to my mom who has done extensive research on World War II. Remembered as a hero, he was a businessman, husband, father, and friend to many. The SF Chronicle article is well worth the read.

Sixty-six years ago today ...

... my mom graduated from Thomas Dale High School in Chester, Virginia. With limited communications at the time, she was unaware of the D-Day operation going on in Europe that would make this date one that would be remembered in history. Her older brother was serving in the U.S. Army in Italy and France and would be killed in action just weeks before the end of the war.

The loss of her brother in World War II, she has told us throughout the years, was something her mother never got over. Gold Star moms carry deep scars....

Normandy Cemetery

Almost 10,000 Americans are buried in Normandy's cemetery.

So many lost ... so much went wrong ... but they persevered. Some lived, some died. Their assault on the beaches of Normandy were instrumental to turning the tide, the beginning of the end of World War II.

Raymond Mays of Chesterfield County, VA, who grew up in the Shenandoah Valley, talks with the Richmond Times-Dispatch today about that fateful day. Now 92, Mr. Mays was a Sergeant with the Army's G Company, 11th Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, when they attacked the beach. His remembrance of those who fell around him offers a window into the events and mass confusion of that day, and friends who died around him.

Services and tributes are going on today at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia. Why was such an important memorial located in the small town of Bedford nestled at the Blue Ridge Mountains? The Other McCain lists a short history of the "Bedford Boys."

This chapter from The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-Day Sacrifice tells the story of how the local National Guard Unit lost 19 young men on D-Day, the most of any locality in America, and so it was decided the memorial should be located in Bedford.

The last of the surviving Bedford Boys passed away April 19, 2009. Ray Nance was remembered in an article in the RTD:

Nance, 94, was among the 35 young men from Bedford who stormed Normandy’s Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944.

In a 2007 interview, Nance recalled the day 65 years ago when he was wounded by shrapnel in his hand and foot. He took cover from machine gun fire in a pool of floating bodies. He watched friends die, he lay on the beach for hours and was ultimately rescued by a sergeant from Roanoke.

Of those 35 Bedford Boys to land on the Nazi-held beaches at the start of the D-Day invasion, 19 died in the first wave and two shortly after. The loss of 21 soldiers in Bedford’s community of 3,200 gave Bedford the highest proportional losses for D-Day, and led to the drive to build the National D-Day Memorial there.
...
“Every time I heard him talk about D-Day, he often said he never understood why he left and all the other men died,” [Bedford resident Lucille] Boggess said. “I think he was always a leader. All the men looked up to him.”

It was said after D-Day that we would never forget. Will future generations remember that promise?

D-Day in Bedford ... 66 years later

Remembering their valor, fidelity, and sacrifice....

They fought ... many died. Today we commemorate the 66th aniversary of the D-Day invastion that was essential to ending World War II. The D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, tells their story....

All are welcome to today's 66th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony:

The mission of the National D-Day Memorial Foundation is to commemorate the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice of Allied participants in the invasion of Normandy through a broad array of public education initiatives. The Foundation presents educational tours and outreach programming to more than 70,000 visitors annually. More than 7500 students participate in our Hands-On History program and some 20 special events are presented by the Memorial each year. All programs have at their heart the goal of making the lessons and legacy of D-Day accessible and meaningful for all generations, fostering understanding of and appreciation for the efforts of those who have served our nation well.

To commemorate the 66th anniversary of D-Day, there will be a ceremonial observance on the morning of Sunday, June 6th, 2010, and an illumination of the Memorial that evening (using hundreds of luminaries in honor of the some 4,400 Allied D-Day losses).

The 66th D-Day Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, June 6th at 11AM at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia. The ceremony includes special guest speakers, music, and wreath layings.

The program is scheduled to conclude at noon. Afterwards, guests are welcome to visit the retail store, purchase lunch from vendors on site, and tour the Memorial on their own. There will be a USO show at 2PM and the Nighttime Illumination of the Memorial with hundreds of luminaries will begin at 8PM. The 29th Division Band will perform during the illumination event.

Schedule of Events for Sunday, June 6, 2010:

10AM - Field Chapel Service
11AM - 66th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony
2PM - World War II USO Show
8PM - 10PM - Evening Illumination

Information for D-Day veterans
As guests of honor, D-Day veterans will receive special recognition and opportunities at the coming commemoration. Special seating and parking for D-Day veterans and their families will be available for the Commemoration ceremony on Sunday, June 6th (limited seating available – please contact the Foundation in advance to reserve seats in veteran seating areas and for parking instructions). A hospitality area for veterans and their families will also be set up at the commemoration with opportunities for veterans to meet and reconnect.

May we never forget....

Navajo Nation mourns the passing of Code Talker

Another of the World War II greatest generation has died at the age of 91. Called the silent heroes, another of the Navajo Code Talkers is gone:

Lemuel Bahe Yazzie, a member of the Navajo Code Talkers who confounded the Japanese during World War II by transmitting messages in their native language, has died. He was 91. Navajo Nation officials said Wednesday that Yazzie, who lived in Whitecone, Ariz., died at his home last Friday.

The story of the Code Talkers is an amazing one ... find out about these young men here. The 2002 movie Windtalkers was based on their story.

America joins the Navajo Nation in mourning and honoring this American hero.

WW II hero finally received burial he deserved

A World War II hero and his wife ... their remains left in the trash ... years later, he was finally honored with a hero's burial:

At the edge of the trash mound, sticking out from beneath a box, Sturgell spied a worn green folder.

She pulled it out, brushed off the dust. Across the top, bold letters said "Department of Defense." Inside, she found retirement papers from the U.S. Army; a citation for a Purple Heart issued in 1945; and a certificate for a Bronze Star medal "for heroism in ground combat in the vicinity of Normandy, France... June 1944." In the center of the certificate there was a name: Delbert E. Hahn.

Why would anyone throw that away? Sturgell asked.

And who is that guy? Colt wanted to know. Must be old, a World War II vet. Looks like he served at D-Day!

That night, they took the paperwork back to Sturgell's house and searched Delbert E. Hahn on the computer. Nothing. They talked about who he might have been, the life he might have led.

The next morning, they went back to the trash heap and searched for more clues. They rummaged through boxes, overturned furniture, picked through piles of the past. Colt moved a ratty couch - and something fell out. A metal vase, or box, some kind of rectangular container about a foot tall. On the base was the name: Delbert E. Hahn.

"It's him," Colt told his girlfriend. "This must be him, in his urn."

Sturgell screamed. She didn't want to touch it. It was kind of freaky, she said, discovering the remains of some dead guy.

"He shouldn't be here," Colt said. "No one should be thrown away like that, just left in a parking lot."

Thanks to two teenagers who cared, this veteran received the honor due him, and everyday Americans paid their respects:

The teenagers sat on the front bench. Three officials from Veterans Affairs sat behind them. They had spent weeks searching for the Hahns' relatives, any distant kin or friend, someone who might want their ashes - or at least want to come to their burial.

They couldn't find anyone. ...

By the time the chaplain lifted his head from the Lord's Prayer, a long line of men had wrapped around the gazebo.

Wearing blue denim shirts and work boots, they clasped their caps in their hands and bowed their heads. Dozens of groundskeepers from the cemetery had left their Christmas party to come pay respects to the man who, in death, had been so disrespected.

A bugler played taps. The riflemen fired three shots. And 56 people watched the honor guard fold a flag over the urns of the man and woman they never knew.

May we never forget the sacrifice of our military men and women.

H/T to Mom

D-Day sacrifice remembered ... June 6, 1944

~Remembering their valor, fidelity, and sacrifice~

Today is D-Day. How many will continue to remember this major milestone battle of World War II that played such a big part in the freedom we enjoy? How many will keep the observance alive even as the Greatest Generation dies off and the memories fade?

From the Washington Times:

It's "A Gathering of the Greatest Generation" - though this year only a small group of that era's aging heroes will commemorate the invasion of France at Normandy 65 years ago.

On Saturday afternoon, veterans will attend a National World War II Museum ceremony in New Orleans recognizing soldiers, sailors and airmen who made that invasion a turning point for Allied forces. However, organizers acknowledge few members of an already dwindling population are hardy enough to make the trip.

"We won't have a veteran from each state, unfortunately," said William Detweiler, who is in charge of the event. "They're all in their 80s and 90s now, and getting around is just too hard for many of them."

Nowhere did that touch home more than in Bedford, Virginia, where the National D-Day Memorial is located as a reminder of a small town that sacrificed so much for America:

Like eleven other Virginia communities, Bedford provided a company of soldiers (Company A) to the 29th Infantry Division when the National Guard's 116th Infantry Regiment was activated on 3 February 1941.

Some thirty Bedford soldiers were still in that company on D-Day; several more from Bedford were in other D-Day companies, including one who, two years earlier, had been reassigned from the 116th Infantry to the First Infantry Division. Thus he had already landed in both Northern Africa and Sicily before coming ashore on D-Day at Omaha Beach with the Big Red One.

Company A of the 116th Infantry assaulted Omaha Beach as part of the First Division's Task Force O. By day's end, nineteen of the company's Bedford soldiers were dead. Two more Bedford soldiers died later in the Normandy campaign, as did yet another two assigned to other 116th Infantry companies. Bedford's population in 1944 was about 3,200.

Proportionally this community suffered the nation's severest D-Day losses. Recognizing Bedford as emblematic of all communities, large and small, whose citizen-soldiers served on D-Day, Congress warranted the establishment of the National D-Day Memorial here.

Sadly, the last of the surviving "Bedford Boys" passed away April 19, 2009, at the age of 94. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported:

The storied journey of the “Bedford Boys” came to an end Sunday with the death of the group’s last surviving member, Ray Nance.

Nance, 94, was among the 35 young men from Bedford who stormed Normandy’s Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944.

In a 2007 interview, Nance recalled the day 65 years ago when he was wounded by shrapnel in his hand and foot. He took cover from machine gun fire in a pool of floating bodies. He watched friends die, he lay on the beach for hours and was ultimately rescued by a sergeant from Roanoke.

Of those 35 Bedford Boys to land on the Nazi-held beaches at the start of the D-Day invasion, 19 died in the first wave and two shortly after. The loss of 21 soldiers in Bedford’s community of 3,200 gave Bedford the highest proportional losses for D-Day, and led to the drive to build the National D-Day Memorial there.
...
“Every time I heard him talk about D-Day, he often said he never understood why he left and all the other men died,” [Bedford resident Lucille] Boggess said. “I think he was always a leader. All the men looked up to him.”

It was said after D-Day that we would never forget. Will future generations remember that promise?

Cross-posted at StrictlyVA and SixtyFour81.com

Memorial Day 2009 ... World War II (1937-1946)

By Commander Tom Nelson (Ret), U.S. Naval Reserves
Memorial Day Remarks - May 25, 2009
Gypsy Hill Park Gazebo, Staunton, Virginia

Number of deaths: 409,399

While in England, this soldier earned the Air Medal award and Distinguished Flying Cross.

Then a telegram arrived at the Baldridge house, where 16-year-old Billy was home alone. He read the telegram stating that his brother, a Lieutenant, was missing in action. Unable to give the horrible news to his mother, young Billy gave the telegram to his father that night.

For months, the family waited and hoped for the soldier's safe return. Then on January 26, 1945, another telegram arrived with the news the family had been dreading. The government reported the Lieutenant as killed in action on May 21, 1944.

After years of searching, including a trip to Bad Doberan, the family finally felt that they found the truth behind Dick's death. After his plane went down, the Lieutenant managed to land safely and jump out of the burning airplane. He tried to run from the plane, but a German soldier cut off his escape route. A Military Policeman and an SS man arrived and took him to a German jail, where he was tortured. The soldiers shot Dick in the heart, broke his arm and knocked out his teeth. He was buried at first in a local cemetery in Bad Doberan.

HONOR: Lt. Arlen Richard Baldridge, hero of World War II

Holocaust survivor to address Valley residents

Isaac Klein and his twin brother survived Auschwitz, the World War II death camp where so many perished ... a miracle by itself ... but they also survived the life and death experiments on twins conducted by Dr. Mengele, another miracle.

Mr. Klein's message of triumph over tragedy, his story of life before deportation, is sweet and thoughtful, a beautiful story suddenly, horrifically interrupted by a terrible series of tragedies of which any single one should have been too much to survive.

Mr. Klein's survival must be shared as we try to understand how this could happen. For those hearing the story of his life, Mr. Klein's hope is that others will be compelled to do something ... do what should have been done for him and other survivors, in memory of the millions who did not survive. It is a story of what evil can do ... and "The Power of Good."

The public forum, open and free to the community, will be held Saturday, April 18, 2009, at Blue Ridge Church of Christ, 1275 Goose Creek Rd., Fishersville,Va 22939 (540-949-7956) from 10 a.m until Noon.

May we never forget....

67 years ago ... a day that will live in infamy from two who lived through it

On a Sunday 67 years ago America was viciously attacked in a way that would not occur again until 9/11/01. It is remembered as Pearl Harbor Day ... and I thought this would be a good opportunity to ask my parents what they remembered about that day. Part of the "Greatest Generation," they were both teenagers when Japan attacked U.S. forces in Hawaii.

Mom wrote ...

Would you believe that I have tried and tried but I absolutely cannot remember anything about Pearl Harbor Day! I KNOW it was on Sunday morning and that someone came and told us, but I can remember nothing else.

I was 13 years and 4 months when this happened and since we did not have a radio, did not take a newspaper and THERE WAS NO TV, I think it may not have sunk in at that time. I have tried to remember it being talked about at school the next day but I remember NOTHING about it and cannot remember my school friends talking about it.

I remember the war vividly but that may be because it went on so long. Both J.L. and Clarence were drafted (J.L. in 1942 and Clarence in 1943) and I was 17 when it finally ended. All of the memories I have of the war are from the time I finished school (Thomas Dale High School in Chester, Class of 1944) on D-Day and went to work at Bellwood - until it ended in 1945. Before we finished school, it was sort of routine for us.

After I went to work and my girlfriends and I could go to movies, we saw newsreels about the war, the war bond drive, etc. and it became more real. Also, Clarence was inducted in April of 1943 and sent to Europe in September of that year. J.L. was always in Texas (never in battle) so until Clarence went in, it did not seem as real.

My mom's older brother, Clarence, was killed in Europe just weeks before the war ended. My grandparents lived on a farm and Mom has relayed how my grandmother was at the well when she saw my grandfather driving up the driveway in the middle of a work day ... and she knew something had happened to Clarence. Mom said my grandmother never quite got over his death.

My step-dad wrote ...

December 7, 1941! The day is as vivid in my mind today as if it had been etched. I had just turned 15 in August. It was a late lovely Sunday afternoon with Mom, Pop, Sis and I heading home to Richmond down US #1 from the farm in Caroline County.

Mom had needed milk or such for the usual Sunday night dry cereal supper, and decided to stop at "Punk" Allen's general store at Gum Tree on US-1, probably for a quart of milk.

We went inside and found Punk huddled over his radio, intently listening to every word. We had no electricity on the farm, so we had no radio. Battery radios weren't here yet. Punk looked at us and told us the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor naval base, and an invasion of the west coast seemed imminent. We were stunned! Mom got what she needed and we headed home to listen to our own radios.

Pop, a WW I infantry draftee, had boarded a troop ship for France on November 11, 1918, only to be turned around and returned because the armistice had been signed. Years later he told me he had been lucky to be saved, but he doubted I would have such luck.

But he was wrong, because in August 1945, two atom bombs were dropped on Japan which prevented me from being part of the deadliest operation the U.S. had ever planned, theinvasion of Japan. I, along with hundreds of thousands of others, was also spared, just like Pop.

My step-dad was a cadet at Virginia Tech (Class of 1947). His schooling was interrupted and he was shipped out on the U.S.S. Denver but they were turned back because the Japanese were surrendering.

These remembrances show the contrasts of two people from different backgrounds at a time when the nation was coming out of the Great Depression and going into World War II.

Mom's family worked a farm, her father worked at Dupont, and she was the youngest of 10 children. They had moved from the mountains of Grayson County in Southwest Virginia to make a better life for their family.

My step-dad's family lived in Richmond, had a weekend family farm in Caroline County, and had only two children. His father was a founder of WRVA radio station in Richmond so the family was part of a higher income class of Richmond families.

That day 67 years ago is still remembered as Pearl Harbor Day ... and those who can remember are becoming fewer every day. My folks are 81 and 82 years old ... their memories are part of the history of America.

12/7/41 and 9/11/01 ... days we should never forget.

USS Wisconsin Norfolk reunion this summer

My dad served on the USS Wisconsin in 1944-46 during the fiercest South Pacific battles of World War II. Dad has been dead for 33 years. The USS Wisconsin has since been retired to Norfolk.

A reunion for her crew is held every two years. This summer it will be held August 26-31, 2008, in Norfolk.

I want to walk in my late dad's footsteps ... I will be there.

BATTLESHIP WISCONSIN ASSOCIATION - 11TH BIENNIAL REUNION at the MARRIOTT NORFOLK WATERSIDE HOTEL - NORFOLK, VIRGINIA - AUGUST 26-31, 2008

1988-2008 20th Anniversary of our Association

The USS Wisconsin Association Biennial Reunion will take place at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott on August 26-31, 2008. Rooms have been blocked. You are responsible for making your own hotel reservations for this event. The group rate will be honored, as long as rooms are available, until July 24th. Be sure to book your room(s) early!

There are many attractions in this seaport city of Norfolk, to name a few, Nauticus (The National Maritime Center), Town Point Park, the Cannonball Trail and oh yes, that magnificent battleship, the USS Wisconsin BB-64. Without a doubt the best attraction around.

So come on former crew members, mama is waiting to see you once again, please don't disappoint her. She desperately needs to see her 1940s, 1950s and 1980s/90s children. Bring the grandchildren, she will love that.

We will honor their service and never forget....

This Page is Dedicated to All of our Deceased Shipmates

Our shipmates will always be remembered as Battleship Sailors and Battleship Marines and will live on as part of the USS Wisconsin History.

A beautiful Memorial Service is held at every reunion for our USS Wisconsin shipmates who have passed on since our last reunion. Each name is read aloud, a flower is placed by loved ones or friends into memorial wreaths, the ship's bell tolls, taps are played, and there is a 21 gun salute. After the service the wreaths are usually put out to sea.

This is quite an impressive and moving ceremony.

Be sure to read the Roll of Honor ... my dad and his best friend from Roanoke are listed.

Battle of the Bulge ... German spies behind Allied lines

From World War II: An Interactive Package of Media and Text (1989, pp. 320-321):

A feature of the attack was the activities of the so-called 150th Panzer Brigade, a unit of some 2,000 English-speaking German commandos who knew American service slang and customs.

Under Colonel Otto Skorzeny, using captured American Jeeps and wearing American combat jackets over their German uniforms, the Germans advanced far ahead of the main force, cutting telephone wires, turning sign posts, setting up false red minefield indicators and creating as much confusion as possible. Each was under orders, if captured, to tell their captors that thousands of Germans were loose in American uniforms, driving Jeeps.

The success of the first group was outstanding -- forty Jeeps got through the American lines to commit their sabotage, and all but eight got back again. Those that were captured duly carried out their orders and spread rumors of a vast force of Germans in U.S. uniform -- with the result that huge traffic jams developed on the narrow roads through the forest as Jeeps were stopped and checked. Hundreds of Ameican soldiers who failed to prove their American origin by answering check questions correctly were arrested. Many a GI had cause to reflect in the cooler that a little more attention to school day lessons about the height of the Empire State Building and the content of the Gettysburg Address might have saved him a lot of bother.

Later groups of ... saboteurs were less successful although one man captured on the 19th launched a fresh rumor of an attempt on Eisenhower's life which caused a rash of extra security precautions that did much to slow the Supreme Commander's progress for days.

Since the activities of the 150th Panzer Brigade were entirely contrary to the Geneva Convention, the Americans began summarily to try and shoot the men captured in U.S. uniform, and this ended their incursions.[my emphasis]

More World War II history should be taught in public schools.

WW II: Battle of the Bulge ... beginning of the end

December 16, 1944 ... sixty-three years ago today ... World War II's Battle of the Bulge began in Belgium and Luxembourg between the Allied forces and Germany. One of the coldest winters on record in Europe, there was snow, freezing rain, frigid temperatures approaching 0 degrees.

Half-a-million Americans took part in the series of battles that lasted until January 25, 1945, including two of my uncles, recently deceased, who had trouble with frostbite on their feet all their lives as a result of that battle. As a child, I heard them talk about the winter weather of the war but had no idea how intense that cold or that battle were until adulthood.

It was the beginning of the end of World War II ... Hitler's plan was to break through the Allied line but he succeeded in only creating a "bulge." He pushed the Allies back 60 miles but by Christmas they had retaken the lose positions.

Over 1 million combatants were involved including 500,000 U.S. troops, 500,000 Germans, and 55,000 British. Casualties were high with 81,000 Americans affected including 19,000 who were killed, 34,000 injured, and 23,500 captured ... the Germans suffered over 100,000 killed, wounded, or captured.

Most of those involved in the battle were young men in their teens or early 20s. They were half a world away from home, it was Christmas time, and the weather was unbearably cold. And, yet, they did what they had to do to protect the world. Some came home ... some did not. Those who survived are now World War II veterans in their 80s and 90s.

We honor and thank them for their sacrifice ... not only for the U.S. but also for the world.

More information about the Battle of the Bulge:
- Battle of the Bulge
- Battle of the Bulge
- Battle of the Bulge

7 December 1941 ... a day that will live in infamy....

"... we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain ..."
-- Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address

Sixty-six years ago today ... the peacefulness of a Sunday morning was shattered with the news that Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, had been attacked by the Japanese, killing 2,400 Americans and sinking five out of eight American battleships.

In an address to Congress the next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it a day that would live in infamy ... and America found herself at war with Japan.

It was World War II ... and the Greatest Generation stepped forward to defend the homeland ... ordinary Americans who went to war ... many did not return. Those at home did their part with victory gardens, rationing, rallying the patriotic spirit of the country.

The Greatest Generation is now aging... grandparents who were young men and women during the years of 1941-45 and who are now passing away at the rate of over 1,000 per day. They helped save the world.

A grateful Nation pauses to thank them and to remember that freedom is not free. Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ... December 7 ... never forget.

In memory of
Clarence Osborne, U.S. Army,
an uncle I never knew, killed in France two weeks before the end of World War II
and
Raymond W. Randall, U.S. Navy,
my dad who served on the USS Wisconsin in the South Pacific during World War II.

Pearl Harbor Memorial, Hawaii

"For those who have fought for it,
Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know."

Lessons from WW II: A leader leads ...

"As a leader, you've got to lead.... You don't say, 'Go take Hill 32, boys.' You say, 'C'mon boys, we're taking Hill 32.' "
-- "Colonel" Bill Henderson, USMC, Iwo Jima (The League of Grateful Sons by Douglas W. Phillips)

Marine Bill Henderson survived 36 days of brutal fighting on Iwo Jima during WW II. P-51 Mustang flyboy Bill Brown was shot down over Japan but survived. Both veterans are now in their 80s.

More than 400,000 American men died during World War II leaving behind 183,000 fatherless children. Within the ranks of survivors were men, like Bill Henderson and Bill Brown, who made it their life mission to mentor those children throughout the years, a mission that is documented in the film, The League of Grateful Sons, that was shot on location in Iwo Jima, Guam, Hawaii, and Texas. Those thankful children have risen to honor their heroic fathers ... and the legacy continues.

"Enola Gay" pilot Paul Tibbetts dies ... American hero who helped end a world war

Breaking news.... Paul Tibbetts, the World War II pilot of the "Enola Gay" that dropped the atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan, has died at the age of 92.

He was an American hero who helped end a world war. Even now, 60 years later with those who were not alive at the time who have tried to place blame, it is clear he was a military man who flew his mission and did his job. He helped save the lives of untold numbers of American soldiers when the war ended.

We've lost another of the greatest generation....

May God bless Paul Tibbetts. We are grateful for his service to our country.