Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire WW2 Veterans?

Not many of them still living, do you know any?

My parents were both World War 2 veterans. My father (17th Airborne 2 purple hearts) died 20 years ago. My mom was in the Navy during the war and just turned 98 in June.

Can't think of any that I know. Once upon a time my world was filled with 'em. My dad, & most of his buddies, most uncles, scout leaders, teachers, neighbors, etc. etc. The ranks are getting very thin. It's interesting how we have seen the rise of outright commies and socialists as that generation fades away. The WW2 generation didn't approve of that crap. At least those that I've known.

Attrition from age.

My FIL was a young sailor on the Belleau Wood, a cruiser class aircraft carrier hit by Kamikaze attack in the Pacific War.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Belleau_Wood (CVL-24)

He's 93, still independent, drives his Buick to Walmart, etc.

For a long time, they had a Belleau Wood reunion. Not enough left to do that any longer.

The greatest generation is passing from the scene.

DF

Last one I knew on a first name basis died in 2017. Before that my Maternal Grandfather who passed in 2016.

We are all getting on, many of my high school teachers were vets, as were a lot of other folks back then.

Dad left us in late 2014, one month before his 90th. birthday, and he was one of the younger vets. He was a B-17 command pilot at the ripe old age of 19. My uncle swam to the beach at Normandy through burning oil and wore the scars for the rest of his life, and my grandfather's younger brother died on the beach at Okinawa. All gone now, but definitely not forgotten!
Jerry

Please tell your Maw she's awesome!!

I have a good friend who is 95 and a World War II vet. Lives down the street from me. I've always enjoyed watching ballgames and have a good conversation. He's in the hospital right now and his kidneys are failing, and I suspect he won't make it back home. Great man !

I sadly recall the thousands of WW 1 veterans I worked with when I served at Madigan AMC at Ft Lewis WA....back in the 1970s...
those guys were in their 70s in those days.... and now they are all gone....

and now, the thousands of WW 2 vets we also worked with back then, are all in their 90s now...
most of them are gone already, and the last of them disappearing...

I was truly blessed to have known those men, as part of my life's experience..
I am the better for it and very fortunate to have had the unique experience...
And our nation is a better place for they having existed....

and now sadly, many of our finest, who sacrifices so much as young men, are once again leaving us..

our compensation is that they are going to a place, that they will be forever young and will only know
peace for now and eternity..

from high above, I hope they still pray for our nations, that they sacrificed for and continue to watch over us.

A salute of respect for their service and a heart felt Thank YOU. for what they did for our people and our nation...
God Be With Each of You....You made we real Americans proud to be your sons and daughters..

I know 2. My Dad is one, will be 93 next month. Mr. Jack Taylor is another.

The only reason I know Mr. Jack is a WWII veteran is that the local museum had a ceremony honoring the living WWII vets a few months ago. In our parish (county) they knew of 19. 11 of them were able to make it to a ceremony. Dad and Mr. Jack being two of the 11.

My last WW2 vet buddy died 4- 5 years ago. We used to eat breakfast together and chat on Sunday mornings at a little local greasy spoon.

I knew and worked with many back in my younger days. A few had been POWs. One I recall was nicknamed "Sweet Potato". He got hung with that nickname because that was all they had to eat as POWs and he still hated and refused to eat a sweet potato

My foreman at a place I worked back in my late teens was a D - Day vet. Big, tall, usually quiet, quick to smile, no B-S guy. Big Bill was the best foreman I ever worked under.

Wife's dad was a Chaplain's Assistant, served in the Pacific and later the occupation of Japan (he went on to become a Protestant pastor himself after the war). He never mentioned any of the tough to talk about stuff until his last years.

Never question if the Chaplain's service saw or actively participated in combat when necessary.

I know one alive.
My dad was one, purple hear on Okinawa in 1945.
He died in 1992, from cigarettes.

Most of the ones i knew fought commies overseas and then came back home and voted for them too. Never could figure that out.

Our first sergeant in our Army Reserve unit, Roger Good, was a German POW. He said the had their choice between bombed livestock, and horse meat for food. He said we always took horse meat, but was likely killed by a bomb as well.

Early in my working career most co workers were World War 2 vets. Most were very quiet humble men. But you could look into their eyes and tell they were tough and had seen a lot of things. My Dad had seen a lot also. He went to England in 1941 as a civilian aircraft electrician. He said when they left New York and could still see the Statue of Liberty , German subs sunk a few ships in his convoy.
He stayed in England 18 months, came home and was drafted into the Army. Went to the pacific with the 25th division. Got shot on Luzon , lost his left eye and ear. Toughest man I’ve ever known. Hasbeen

When I started with the old road dept back in the mid 70’s seemed like everyone I worked with was a WWII vet.

Lots of great men.

However my cousin who was in the 95th Inf. Division, one of the Iron Men of Metz, was my absolute hero!!! He’s gone now too.

Sadly, they are gone from my life.

Lost one friend, a 96 year old Marine in June. Now the only WW2 vet I know is a 95 year old Navy vet whose parents signed for him to join in January 1941 on his 17th birthday. They had so many kids they had a hard time feeding them all. He's mentally sharp, I always call him admiral, which he likes.

They're my heroes, always have been and always will be.

My dad crossed over the river in 2006. 75th Infantry Division, Battle of The Bulge. Two Bronze Stars.

I should have started by thanking all the people, working at home to make all the supplies, and the veterans that fought the war. I salute them all!

When I was a kid, it was the WWI guys who were still around in fair numbers. Our neighbor was a tall, gray-haired and mustached fellow who had been Over There. He was fun to hang around with. The WWII guys were practically everywhere, and the Korean guys were just kids.

The last one I knew passed on December 7th 2017. He was 94. ON the Monday after the attack on Pearl harbor he was at the post office bright and early to sign up for the draft. Along with all the boys in the senior class of 42. It was my cousin Gene Greenwood. He flew bombers over Germany in WWII for the 100th Bomb Group, the Bloody 100th. He stayed in the Air Force for 32 years before retiring. He is buried next to his wife and just a few rows from his Mom and Dad in our home town.
kwg
https://100thbg.com/

My Dad is 96 and still running on all 8 .Served in the Pacific with the US Army Signal Corp. He was on a troop ship headed for the staging area for the invasion of the Home islands of Japan when they dropped the bombs and the invasion became no longer necessary. No one would ever be stupid enough to make a comment about how unnecessary the use of the A bomb was to end the war, more than once around my dad. The estimated casualties of our troops for that invasion was over 50% and even more to the Japanese military and civilians. The casualty count from the bombs are only a fraction of what an invasion would have cost in human lives both ours and theirs. Magnum Bob

Sadly, I currently don't know any WW II vets. Grew up surrounded by them, which was a blessing. Dad was Commander of his VFW post through much of the 1970's. I spent many a wonderful weekend listening to their stories. Every last one of them have gone on to their eternal rest.

I’m lucky to still have my buddy, Harold, lives across the street from us. 96 years old, P-47 pilot, flew the Bulge. Damn fine man. We take him his paper every morning and dinner most nights. I consider it a privilege every time I get to talk with him.

LIKE

My Father was a B29 navigator. He flew on both atom bomb missions and many others. He is 95 and still alive. He retired from the USAF in 1968, and has been getting a check ever since, hahahahaha.

Are you familiar with the book Flying Fortress by Edward Jablonski? A whole chapter on the Bloody 100th.

Sadly, I only personally know of one that's left in our community. He is related to my mother-in-law and I see him every Friday night at the Legion for steak night. He was a school teacher and principal here locally for over forty years. He was a radioman on a B-17 in Europe during the war and made 25 missions. He has written a couple of books and still writes for our local paper.
Another, who was my friend, passed in May. He had served as an Infantryman in the 96th Division and had been in the Philippines and Okinawa. He told some neat stories. He said while on Leyte he saw two P-38's shoot down a Betty bomber and he said that several years after the war, in the 50's, he visited Harry Truman's grave and thanked him for dropping the bomb and saving his life. Ol' Fred was an expert woodsman and gardener. He taught me alot.
Another passed in February. My boys mowed his grass and he let us hunt on his farm. He had been in the Marines on Okinawa. He was the salt of the earth.
Both of my grandfathers served in the pacific during the war in the U.S. Army in the Philippines and Okinawa.
Both of my wife's grandfathers served in the U.S. Army in Europe fighting the Germans.
I knew so many of these men. They were everywhere. They were my pastors, teachers, relatives, neighbors, employers and fellow congregation members. I could fill up a book with all the stories they told me while serving in all branches all over the world........most of whom had never been out of Indiana.
One of my greatest blessings is getting to grow up around these men and I'm glad my boys got to meet some of them too. God bless them! I hope we never need such men again.

Awesome! this is the crew of the Enola Gay, can you please point him out for us.

My Dad is now 97 and counting. B17 pilot, flew 35 missions in the big one. Hell's Angels and quite a guy. His crew is all gone..long ago

http://www.303rdbg.com/360geiger.html

There were like 5 or 6 planes that flew on the missions, obviously only one weapon carrier, but the rest flew in and did different types or recon and blast observations. A number of those planes flew on both strikes.

That's awesome Mag,I don't think I've ever seen that pic before.
Makes you wonder if they knew the impact that mission would have.

My dad went to Europe as a replacement in January 1945 during the battle of the bulge. He would be 95 today, but we lost him in 2013. I had 2 other uncles by marriage who served and dad had several friends who were WW-2 vets. Sadly all are gone, I no longer personally know of any living vets from that era.

The most memorable moment of my dads funeral was when the only other living WW2 vet my dad knew hobbled up to dads casket on a cane. He stopped, leaned the cane against a table and stood up straight and tall to give a salute. It was an extreme effort for the old guy to do so. But the effort was appreciated.

My father is one. His mind is pretty much gone now, lives in the moment and the past. Nothing new sticks. He was in the 103rd Infantry Division. Landed at Marseille in October 1944, was reassigned to the 5th Division for the invasion of Japan after VE, but then they dropped the bombs.

His brother was a quartermaster that volunteered for a classified posting; ended up on Tinian where Enola Gay took off. He passed in
December 2016, along with my good friend that was a captain in Europe by the end of the war, retired as a full-bird colonel in the 70s.

Four of my mother's brothers and her sister served during the war. One was in the Coast Guard on an LST at Sword Beach and at Salerno.

My mom worked in a defense plant cutting steel plates for building ships. Probably as dangerous as some combat duty!

i knew many some were relatives,bless them all ! but now they are all gone i knew.one Marine i knew well raised the real flag at IWO JIMA WITH HIS RIFLE IN HIS HAND AND SHOOTIN AS THE FLAG POLE RAISED.

Good read on my old man..he is still tougher than nails

http://www.cutbankpioneerpress.com/...9fb34f7-8b7e-5d28-9d81-14066d6496ca.html

Sadly all of the ones that I knew are gone now.

Growing up, Mr Ketchum who lived across the road from us was a WW1 vet, his son in law that lived down the road was a navigator on a B-17. All my great uncles were in the war some in Europe, some in the pacific. All great men and I miss them all.

My father was an Infantry Squad Leader, SSG, in the 10th Mtn Div. He'll turn 96 in a few months. Two of his brothers also served, and survived, WWII. They've both passed. Couple of uncles and an aunt on my mother's side were in the Army during WWII, two survive the war one didn't. And just to throw it in, my grandfather was an Infantry Private in the 82nd All American Div in WWI. He came out of that one with permanent lung damage from a gas attack.

I was hoping his dad was on the Enola Gay so we could put a face with the man.

The story that accompanied the Photo said that after they saw the devastation the bomb caused they knew that the war was over or soon would be.

Awesome!!

your pa is a real badass, please tell him I said Thanks and give him a big ole Hi-5 for me.

All WW2 gets I knew are gone! Dad was Army, American - New Caledonia division! Spent his war years in the pacific! He didn't talk much about the war! Two things stick in my mind! One is a story he told about burying Japanese in long trenchs, covering with llime, and then mounds of dirt. Then rains came and they moved their tents on the long mounds of dirt to keep dry! The other story was about some gal he knew at (Beaugainville)! I didn't here that one until he was old! He said the Japanese shoulders were tough!

This, from a recent Victor Davis Hanson piece well articulates how fortunate we’ve been to know these men:

“Finally, a recent poll of Americans reveals a veritable abyss between younger and older Americans. Today’s millennials, children of the postwar baby boomers, grew up in the affluence of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. They claim that they will be far less likely to marry, to value religion or to feel patriotic.

In contrast, those who were once children during World War II, or who had parents and grandparents who fought in the war, have a far more realistic appraisal of human nature and the need to find security, stability and transcendence in a dangerous world.”

Like many here, the WWII vets I’ve known have passed away. But I’m very deliberate about ensuring my kids know of them and their sacrifices.

I was born 11 years after WW2 so in my boyhood I knew a LOT of vets. My Dad and my uncle Walt were 2 of them, and I would have had another uncle, Sandy, but he was killed in Germany only 8 days before the war ended.
In my 20s I also met and became friends with one German combat vet and one Japanese air combat vet. Also a member of the Italian resistance, who was a wealth of inspirations information.

I grew up in a remote area and has very few boys of my own age around, so I found myself in the company of many of my dad's friends. Most of my friends were of the WW2 years or the Korean War years.
They has a profound influence on me.

Was my favorite Bomb Group in the 8th Air Force...

When my dad was stationed at RAF Alconbury from 63 to 66, I went to school at Molesworth...

The WW 2 runway was still there, we use to ride bicycles from one end to the other...
our school cafeteria was one of the old WW2 chow halls...
our auditorium was the main briefing room for the missions with a big map of NW Europe on the wall...
The last mission flown from Molesworth in 1945, had all the coordinates on the wall .. It was covered by a huge Velvet curtain
most of the time...

My elementary school grounds and buildings (1963) was the 303rds HQ area...

There were still the remains of a few B 17s on the field, off at one end of the runway... is parts of course...

and the old church was still in use that you see on various pics of B17s taking off belonging to the 303rd, with the Triangle C on the tail and right wing....

A salute of respect for your dad, and let him know, 50 years ago, it was all still there just like they left it in 1945...
The Nissen huts, etc.. all over the base and the old firepools etc.....

I loved Molesworth.. and all the history left over from the war that was still ALL there 20 years later.

I have heard of it and I may actually have seen it in the local library but I have not read it. Gene arrived in England in January of 1945 and flew 29 missions including 2 or 3 Chow Hound missions after the war ended. He later went back to Germany to fly in the Berlin Airlift and flew cargo planes into and out of Korea. He was a wing commander in Viet Nam and prior to that he did some time at the Pentagon helping to design and implement the early ballistic missile defense system. He did a lot of things in his 32 years in the Air Force but he said is time in the 100th was his favorite assignment.

ON one of his missions the B-17 next to him was hit by flak. It went up and over upside down and when it came down it damaged their right wing and almost flipped them over as well. The 10 crew members in the first B-17 all died but he and his PIC kept their bird in the air all the way back to England for a landing they all walked away from.

We sure miss him.

kwg

We have two that are members of our church. One was at Normandy for the D-Day invasion. The other was there several days later. I have the honor of sitting in front of one of these heroes every Sunday. The guys get a kick out of my kids thanking them for their service to our country. As you would expect, they are very humble gentlemen.

I had a great uncle, married to my grandma's youngest sister, who had worked 4 years in the West Virginia coal mines before he went into the army. He served as a medic, went into Normandy a couple of days after D-Day and ended the war without a scratch in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia. He enjoyed telling me (when my aunt wasn't around) about the Calvados in Normandy. When they couldn't easily tap the barrels, they put a 5 gallon bucket underneath and shot a hole in the barrel. When they needed a refill, they shot a little lower. He told me how in Pilsen they liberated a warehouse full of schnapps, wine, etc., and said with a smile, "we had a good time in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia".

He had a close call during the Battle of the Bulge when his coat tail got a couple of holes shot in it. He was discharged in November, 1945 and went back to work in the mines the first Monday in December. 5 hours into that first shift, there was an accident with the shuttle cars. His back was broken and he had a compound fracture of his leg. The guy he was working with wanted to get him out, but Uncle Richard told him no, go get help. The doctor told him later that he saved his own life, that he surely would have died right there if the man had moved him. Uncle Richard made a complete recovery and worked another 40 years in the mines.

He was a good man, good natured and easy to get along with. He wouldn't talk about anything specific about the bad stuff he saw until about 5 years before he passed, in 2004.

All of the WW II vets I have known are long passed. My father was a navy vet, serving in the Pacific from 1942-45. He died in 2000 at the age of 83 of lung cancer. Many of my high school teachers and college professors were WW II vets as well as two of my uncles and several of my father's cousins. My ex-wife's father was a sailor in the Atlantic during the war. My wife's father lied about his age and joined the army during the very last days of the war, never going overseas. His older brother (my wife's uncle) was a submariner in the Pacific. All gone now. WW II vets are pretty rare now. For that matter, Korean War vets have gotten quite uncommon now.

I know one. He is a member of our club. He enlisted when he was about 16 or 18. Spent most of his time onboard a sub.
They have one like it in Muskegon, he to me though it one day. I can’t believe how cramped it was.

All of my WWII friends I can think of are gone. Dad, Stepdad, uncles, friends, all gone. I have two Korean Conflict vet friends I can think of, still here. I miss them all. Very few of my Dad's employees were non vets as I grew up. Dad was an Air Force Bombardier Navigator instructor and was given a two week leave prior to going to England. A few days before leaving, VE day happened and he was sent to an airbase in Iowa and discharged. I think I still have a photo of him remarked as the 10,000th discharge after the war. Crazy numbers. I lost the last remaining personal friend, WWII vet, early this summer. It was quite a loss for me as he was equivalent to my Dad for many years, Dad having left us in '74. I have lots of friends from the Viet Nam era but lots from of them have gone also from old injuries and Agent Orange. I have a 103 year old lady friend, took her communion two Sundays ago, She's a breath of fresh air compared to the young punks I work with as officers in corrections. They don't have what I consider American values. But I do have lots of friends I highly value at work who are vets from both sand box affairs. Some great guys. I'm old enough to have had the honor of knowing many great vets. I miss them all. God speed and God Bless all you guys and gals. See you on the other side. Be Well. Rustyzipper

My father, kneeling third from right, was a waist gunner on a B17. Sadly, he's gone now. His brother was a flight engineer who was shot down over Europe and marched to Stalag Luft III. He was there when Patton liberated it. He's 94 now and has some great stories.

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I get a few in the clinic I work at once in a while. I had a Holocaust survivior yesterday. Could have talked to her for hours. She lost family, friends and neighbors to the SS. Sounds like she survived by her brains, guts, and good luck.

Jeff, now I am reminded of a picture a woman from East Berlin showed me. Her father in his German SS officer's uniform with his wife, and their Jewish friends in front of his black German army car.

At once I realized all the Nazis were not the monsters we have been taught. Just regulator people swept up in the times.

My family doctor, who is Jewish, told me that he had two older male patients (now deceased) who had SS tattoos on their arms. Talk about uncomfortable situations!

Someone asked me to point my Father out in the picture of the Enola Gay crew. He was not on the Enola Gay, he was on the Valiant Lady, although it was not named till after the war. Film taken of the squadron landing shows his B29 with a large "F" on the nose. His B29 was the reconnaissance plane in the mission squadron that took all the photos and film.

One uncle was a WW2 vet, 95th Infantry Division. Two uncles were in Korea, 7th Infantry Division. None of them talked about it much, except to say how cold it was. All three are gone. Brave men.

Yes, I know one. He is 96. I met him in gun trading and we have been buddies for about twenty years.

My high school principal was a landing craft driver, Bill is in his late nineties, and still well as far as I've heard.

Know any??? How could you not growing up in the 60s and 70s.

Yep he flew all his missions out of Molesworth. I have a bunch of the AA shrapnel he picked out of his plane. We should talk sometime. The old man has stories w/o end. He went on to fly transports in the Pacific and flew the Jap cabinet back to to Japan after the war. It's a funny story.
He is 97 and his mind is still totally with it.. Funny he never talked about the war until he he was well into his 80's . He is one tough SOB

His best story is about a 4th grade class in Cut Bank where he was asked to tell the kids about the War....One child raised his hand. Mr Geiger did anyone get hurt in that war?

This morning reading this and looking out the window of the living room of a beautiful morning, reminded me of what a lot of young men went thru in what was WW2.....

I am recalling an older guy, that I met at a local tire shop waiting room, here in town while we were waiting to have tires put on our cars...Don't recall his name now, because this was back around 1995 or 1996.... I am sure he is gone now...

He told me about a lot of experiences he had during the war, but some of the highlights of what like was like for our young men in those days I will briefly share what he told me...

He was from Dallas Oregon.... and was 17 years old and a Senior in High School in December 1941. After hearing about the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he went down to the courthouse in town Sunday afternoon.. In a town of 2000 people, he was met with over 200 of the local boys and men at the court house, that afternoon...those there spent the night on the lawn of the courthouse, to be there at 8 AM when the office of the local recruiter opened their doors Monday morning....

Monday December 8th 1941 most of those young men were new recruits for the USArmy....The Army had recently opening a training base not far south of their town and north of Corvallis Oregon.... the Base was for training of people bound to be in Armor Units....they all were attending basic and AIT not that far from home.... after that they were shipped to Ft Hood Texas to receive their equipment, new Stewart Tanks.. trained on them a short while, and then found themselves shipped to North Africa for the invasion there in early 1942.....

90 days after leaving Oregon, they found themselves engaging Rommel at Kasserine Pass.... they suffered badly....
of the 180 boys from Dallas Oregon, that were put into that Tank Unit, that had spent the night on the court house lawn on the evening of Sunday, December 7th 1941 to join our arm forces.. many still in high school, or just recently graduated.. The Battle of Kasserine Pass, took the lives of 172 of those young men....only 8 of them survived that battle.....

of the 8 of them that survived, with the rest of the company essentially wiped out, they were shipped to other units to fill gaps as replacement for men who had lost their lives in that early battle...

of those 8 men that survived Kasserine Pass, 5 of them never made it home to Dallas Oregon... population of 2000 in 1941, and not much more by the summer of 1945....The gentlemen I had been talking with, was one of those 3 that survived WW2....

of those 180 guys who signed up the morning of Dec 8th 1941, after spending the night on the courthouse lawn... Three came home in 1945....

Dallas Oregon and this story, was repeated in 1941, with much of the same ending in 1945.. young men who left high school, or had recently graduated, answering the call of their nation.. never made it home and their remains scattered all across the globe..

We don't think much of the sacrifice of those that answered the call, and the price not only they paid, but their home town paid... to defend our freedoms and our way of life, against the tyranny World Wide, spread by Nazis, and Imperial Japan.....

We should remember their answering a call.. and the support they had and paid by their community, and their families...
Less we NEVER EVER forget.......

Sadly, if such an event happened today, the response of most of our young people would probably be "Not my problem!" before going back to playing a video game or text messaging on their smart phones! One kid out of 200 these days has the balls to put on a uniform and defend our freedom.
Jerry

Talked to one this morning. He was wearing a baseball cap with 'World War 2 Flyboy' on it and some miniature representations of his ribbons. I asked him what he flew and he said "Many different ones. Mostly P-51, D model". I said "Beautiful plane" and he agreed.

Merion passed a few years ago . My Dad's best buddy and fishing partner Had half his ass shot off in ww2. Passed me his Browning A5. Told me stories about killing Germans.. He was a hard ass
Merion went on to become very successful.
I am so lucky to know these guys.

http://www.cutbankpioneerpress.com/obituaries/article_e02a8888-d28f-11e4-b8a2-a3cebd337370.html

My last living uncle died in 2017. He was a radio man/navigator on a C-47 that flew “The Hump” from India into Burma and China. He flew it for two years and rotated back home with the understanding that he was done. He was then stationed in KS for several months until he finally agreed to enlist in the reserves...and got his release within 48hrs. He was called up when the North Koreans invaded the South. He was assigned to a B-29 and flew 46 missions into NK.

He was my last living connection to the Greatest Generation.

My Dad was also at the Battle of the Bulge, Patton's 10th Armored Division, and wounded twice, 2 Bronze Stars, one of which for shooting down 1 of 2 Messerschmitt 109's that were strafing his column going into Germany.

My uncle John was a waste gunner on a B-17 and caught a round from a 109 in his upper back that gave him problems the rest of his life. Said he always knew when it was going to rain.

Another uncle, Lawrence, was one of the divers that helped patch and keep afloat the U-505.

Sadly, Dad's been gone since the mid 80's. I was a very young 21 years old when he passed away after an ugly 3 week stay in the hospital. Dad was a proud member of America's Greatest Generation. He served under General Patton in the infantry. Wounded twice in combat, Dad saw a lot of action, and lived to see another day. He was my mentor, my hero, and my dad, all rolled into one. 10 feet tall and bulletproof-that was Dad. He didn't talk about his experiences a lot, but when he did, I'd be riveted to the chair, listening to what he did, what he went through. Stuff like the first time he saw a jet airplane, his run through Italy and so many others. He'd say he was just doing his job, and trying to survive. So many fine men didn't make it back, and of the ones that did, their numbers are dwindling quickly. Never pass up an opportunity to thank them for their service.

A local barber, "Shaky Pete", passed away last December at the age of 96. WW II vet, he was an 8th Air Force ground crewman until Dec. '44, when he was transferred to the infantry and sent to the Bulge. His father was a barber, and Pete came home from the War to find that his dad had built a barber shop just for him. Pete cut hair in that shop from 1946 to 2018, shortly before he passed. Five days a week! As Forrest Gump might say, "A haircut by Shaky Pete was like a box of chocolates, you never knew what you were gonna get." But I sure do miss him.