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Chapter 35. Falling Lakehurst/February 1945 I was glad to put 1944 behind me. All those months, when the bad news kept coming, it had been a relief each time to just get back to work. I liked Lakehurst—working in the Big Hangar. I knew what I was doing—what needed to be done. And I didn’t…
MY FRIEND’S DAD WAS A SCREAMING EAGLE. WHO KNEW?
When you start asking questions, you get some astonishing answers. Our friend, Rick Sirois, told us quite a few years ago that he and his brother had come upon military medals and ribbons in a shoebox found in their father’s desk drawer. The two brothers decided to put all of this memorabilia into a shadow…
September 12, 2024 The last time I had seen Nat Bellantoni’s watercolors and sketchbooks, the photographs, documents, official handouts he had brought back from his World War II deployment in South Pacific, the books, videos, and videotapes he had added to his collection over the years…it was October of 2017. I was helping my…
Progress Report
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a compulsive writer. So, where I have been since April? Not writing any blog postings, that’s obvious. Let me tell you. It’s been over a year since I thought I had finished writing the book I’ve been compiling of my Uncle Joe’s stories. Which I started in…
This family legend is excerpted from my upcoming book: Lighter Than Air: The 20s, The 30s, The War, and a Marriage Made in Heaven …a compilation of the stories told (and retold) by my Uncle, Joe Flynn. ~~~ In January of 1925, a total eclipse of the sun was predicted, and storekeepers everywhere were nervous….
Wartime Wedding – March 3, 1943
Tuesday the three women made arrangements for a reception. They knew how many to plan for because they had made all those phone calls. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what else they were up to. My job was just to stay out of their way. Rosemary had set up a cot for me, and…
Wartime Wedding – Getting Ready – March 1, 1943
I hadn’t seen Rosemary for over a year, since those couple of days right after Pearl Harbor. I was long gone and didn’t know when I’d ever be back. But ever since I had proposed to her, by letter, and she had written back “That’s a good idea,” we both knew that when—if—I got back,…
In November of 1940, after completing boot camp, my uncle, Joe Flynn, was assigned to the boiler room aboard USS Wichita. And so he became a fireman—a snipe. -o- Up until the early 1800s, ships were powered by sails—or oars. Then along came paddle wheel steamers. The US Navy obtained its first steamship, USS Fulton…
The Last Chapter: Done! (Well, Drafted at least)
Finally! Chapter 44 of my compilation of Uncle Joe’s Stories just rolled out of my printer. That’s not to say the book is “done.” But it’s starting to be done. And if it never gets published, at least my children and grandchildren will have a big slice of family history (and entertainment) to pass along….
Photo above: Grammy Flynn “Ma” with Mary and Joe(?) 1917(?) When Uncle Joe and Aunt Rosemary brought my grandmother to see Mary’s new home shortly after moving day, the story she told them was an incredible surprise–yet no surprise at all. Joe pulled his car into driveway (oval cedar shrubs on the left, a massive conifer…