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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…
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,…
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….
June 6, 1944. Most people, when they hear the words “D-Day” are quick to note that D-Day was the day of an important battle of World War II. But those who have a special interest in World War II, and those who had a father, or grandfather, or uncle who was “there” on D-Day, and…
On Omaha Beach, at Saint Lauren sur Mer, France, a turtle-shaped memorial honors the 175 Native Americans who participated in the D-Day invasion. It is dedicated to Master Sgt. Charles Normand Shay, a much decorated veteran of both World War II and Korea. He was a teenager when he served as platoon medic for Fox…
In just a couple of weeks, we will be headed to London, Normandy, and Paris with the Victory in Europe sponsored by the Friends of the World War II Memorial. Each of us has been asked whether there is a particular World War II Veteran we wish to honor. There are several members of the…