WWII Veterans - or any Veterans for that matter

JEP · July 24th, 2005, 19:02

I went to the WOTN airshow today and had a chance to speak with several WWII veterans that were on hand. There were members of Black Sheep Squadron, Tuskeegee (sp?) Airmen, George Mcgovern, Pearl Harbor survivors, and many more. If you have a chance, stop and talk to as many of these veterans as you can. They are living history and the stories they ahve are comlpetely amazing. At first I was hesitant to approach some of them, but they love to tell their stories and just like to have people listen.

I spoke with one survivor who was at Pearl Harbor and he had a mini-history book of all his papers, cards, letters and news clippings from the time. One item that really caught my eye was a postcard he sent home to his parents, dated Dec. 9, 1941. It was kind eery seeing that date and the story he was telling me about it. The card took over two months to get home to his parents and until they received that card, that had no idea whether or not he survived the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Another thing that caught my attention was when I was talking with another Pearl Harbor survivor. I mentioned i was stationed there and he asked if I had been back abd we talked about the Missouri and Arizona. For those that have never beem to Pearl Harbor, The Arizona Memorial has always been a free tour. Now the Missouri is moored on the other side of Ford Island and for whatever reason it is an admission based tour. The Pearl Harbor survivor I was speaking with was really mad because they wanted to charge admission for everyone "including Pearl Harbor survivors".

The coolest picture was "dutch_enolagay". He was the navigator on the EnolaGay the day they dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. Very pleasant to talk to. I think I'd still be there talking with these veterans if my two kids were not with me.

GatorFC · July 25th, 2005, 01:21

Cool that you got to talk to those vets.

Speaking of Blacksheep, I saw the link to your pics in the other thread and I must say I got a fever - for more Corsair pics!

My favorite WWII fighter.

bullmastiff · July 25th, 2005, 06:19

America's greatest generation!!

July 24th, 2005, 19:02	#1
JEP Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Eden Prairie, MN (KFCM) (KMSP) Posts: 10,869 Blog Entries: 1	WWII Veterans - or any Veterans for that matter I went to the WOTN airshow today and had a chance to speak with several WWII veterans that were on hand. There were members of Black Sheep Squadron, Tuskeegee (sp?) Airmen, George Mcgovern, Pearl Harbor survivors, and many more. If you have a chance, stop and talk to as many of these veterans as you can. They are living history and the stories they ahve are comlpetely amazing. At first I was hesitant to approach some of them, but they love to tell their stories and just like to have people listen. I spoke with one survivor who was at Pearl Harbor and he had a mini-history book of all his papers, cards, letters and news clippings from the time. One item that really caught my eye was a postcard he sent home to his parents, dated Dec. 9, 1941. It was kind eery seeing that date and the story he was telling me about it. The card took over two months to get home to his parents and until they received that card, that had no idea whether or not he survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. Another thing that caught my attention was when I was talking with another Pearl Harbor survivor. I mentioned i was stationed there and he asked if I had been back abd we talked about the Missouri and Arizona. For those that have never beem to Pearl Harbor, The Arizona Memorial has always been a free tour. Now the Missouri is moored on the other side of Ford Island and for whatever reason it is an admission based tour. The Pearl Harbor survivor I was speaking with was really mad because they wanted to charge admission for everyone "including Pearl Harbor survivors". The coolest picture was "dutch_enolagay". He was the navigator on the EnolaGay the day they dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. Very pleasant to talk to. I think I'd still be there talking with these veterans if my two kids were not with me.

July 25th, 2005, 01:21	#2
GatorFC Old Skool Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: da' Bayou Posts: 1,687	Re: WWII Veterans - or any Veterans for that matter Cool that you got to talk to those vets. Speaking of Blacksheep, I saw the link to your pics in the other thread and I must say I got a fever - for more Corsair pics! My favorite WWII fighter.

July 25th, 2005, 06:19	#3
bullmastiff Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Hockey Town, MI,USA Posts: 839	Re: WWII Veterans - or any Veterans for that matter America's greatest generation!!

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode