Re: Evansville updates LST l anding...
Hi P.J.H. -
Nice to "hear" from you and that your Amphi is active again. We're coming
north again in October probably for our last Hershey trip. I enjoyed
your recent post. How is Emily doing ? ( If at my advanced 75 years I remember
her name correctly ) I think your Caps Lock got stuck at "Caps Lock" ON !
Like me, you just missed out age wise on World War II service. I was
only 7-1/2 on Pearl Harbor day. Though I can remember the news that day, but
at 7 years of age it didn't mean very much to me. My father went overseas
in 1942 and was in the Normandy Invasion and the Battle of the Bulge. I
often realize how fortunate we were to have him come back home to us, having
received some awards and commendations and a Purple Heart for one non-life
threatening injury. One friend of mine, now deceased, was a 17 year old kid
who literally drifted in at Normandy on June 6th and survived only to be
sent subsequently to the Pacific theater for some more live action, as if he
hadn't had enough. My uncle was a Navigator in B-17s over Europe, bailing
out once, but not ending up as a POW. He then flew in Japan during the
occupation.
One of the real thrills of my life, if that word is appropriate, was
meeting Paul Tibbetts 3 or 4 times. I carry a picture of me with him and Tom
Ferrabee who was the Bombadier who actually released the bomb over Hiroshima
that constituted the beginning of the end and ended up saving so many
American and Japanese lives. Paul's book, "The Flight of the Enola Gay which
is also available in paperback is worth reading. He definitely never
regretted dropping that bomb, despite any reports to the contrary. My uncle's
youngest son, my cousin, went in the Navy, got his commission at Annapolis and
went to Viet Nam where he lost a leg below the knee when someone turned the
screws on while he was in the water. Amazingly, he went on to become a
Navy Captain and was the man who was actually in charge of the U.S. Fleet in
the first Gulf War. Despite losing the leg, my uncle related to me a story
about his son after he lost his leg. He and a fellow officer were at the
officers' club with dates and to liven things up at bit, my cousin rotated his
prosthetic Ieg 180 degrees and then tapped his date on the shoulder and
asked her to call someone as he seemed to have "twisted his ankle !" I
spent 3 years as an Air Force officer in Germany just prior to Viet Nam heating
up so I saw no combat, though I voluntarily flew as an observer in
helicopters and 2 place small planes along the iron curtain. My wife and I did
acquire a moderately interesting history of 2 visits to Berlin. We took
advantage of a low price flight offer to Europe ( in Propeller Airliners ) in
1961 and spent 2-1/2 months touring a lot of Western Europe in a VW Beetle.
The East Germans unexpectedly rolled out the Barbed Wire on August 13th ( the
start of the Berlin wall ). We flew to Berlin on August 20th with tickets
to fly right back out if necessary, as NOBODY knew what was going to happen
next. However, we spent 2 days there and took a tour into the Eastern
sector as well which was very interesting.
In 1989, we made reservations way back in June to visit Europe in December
so we could take in the Christmas festivities and visit old friends in
Holland and Germany. We rented a car and adjusted to driving 90-100 mph on the
Autobahn compared to the previous 70-80 which we had been driving years
earlier. I wanted to revisit Berlin again which we had last visited in 1964
while in the service. When we had made our flight reservations to go to
Europe 6 months earlier, we had no inkling that on November 9th, the wall would
"being to crumble." We discovered, due to the West German government's
program to provide every East German ( including little babies ) with a
"gift" of about $100 or so (I do not remember the exact amount which was in
Deutsch Marks). East Germans who owned a car ( mostly the lowly 2 cycle
Trabants which only provided a modicum of heat when in motion and some of these
VW sized cars had as many as 7 souls on board ) lined up in below freezing
temperatures for 40 Km ( 25 miles) to come over in the morning and shop
and collect this money ( which was doled out to every soul in 2 steps - about
65% the first visit ad 35% the 2nd time ) and see goods they had not been
able to see or buy in 28 years in the East. Then they went back home in the
evening. However, many of these cars broke down and had to be simply
abandoned in the West. I had wanted to drive to Berlin, but I had NO desire to
sit in a 25 mile line to cross the border. I had an idea and asked our
German friends, and my idea bore fruit. We went over in the morning, when there
was no line going to the East and got through in about 20 minutes at
Checkpoint Charlie. We stayed 2 days and returned in the evening with equal
success. While there, we visited East Berlin again which was very depressing and
a real experience. Not only was it terribly dirty, as all government
buildings had not be cleaned on the exterior in 28 years, but the air in all of
East Berlin as well as much of West Berlin was literally blue with the
exhaust from the 2 cycle "Trobbies." The very first thing we did upon entering
West Berlin was to ask if it was OK to chip pieces off the Berlin Wall. I
had learned to speak relatively fluent "Bayerish" when I lived there ( The
German word for Bavarian ) and was told "of course." So I went to an
Eisenwaren Laden (Hardware store) and bought a hammer and chisel which we still
have and procured all the Graffiti covered souvenirs we wished as well as
pictures of ourselves doing the chiseling and at the platform built at
Checkpoint Charlie where Kennedy had peered over the wall. So I was in Berlin at
both the start of the dividing wall and a month after it "cracked" open.
As you can guess, there are a lot more stories to do with our Berlin visits.
V.E.N.
with the "Split Personality."
In a message dated 8/7/2009 3:13:19 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:
FIRST I WISH TO SAY HOW MUCH I ENJOY THE "E" MAILS, ONE WAY TO STOP THE
MALCONTENTS IS TO BLOCK THEIR MAIL. I'M GOING ON 81 YRS AND SORRY FOR THEIR
SHORT SIGHTENESS ON LIFE. I'VE KNOWN NOTHING BUT FUN & GOOD ADVICE WHEN
NEEDED. SINCE THE SPLAH KING RECENTLY FIXED MY MUFFLER PROBLEM, I'VE ENJOYED
TRIPS ON THE DELAWARE @ LINDEN AVE RAMP. IT'S INTRODUCED ME TO SPECIAL NEEDS
KIDS, WHO ENJOY THE RIDES GIVEN, & INTRODUCED ME TO WONDERFUL GRANDDADS WHO
SERVED IN THE MILITARY ALL BRANCHES, ESPECIALLY SAILERS. JUST LAST WEEK
ONE FROM THE 101 AIRBORNE, WHO JUMPED IN YHE INVASION. THEY HAVE GREAT
INTREST IN THE AMPHICAR, B17 PILOTS, B25, & P 51'S. WE HAVE OWNED KERMIT FOR 0VER
31 YRS MEETING WONDERFUL PEOPLE ALONG THE WAY, ENJOYED LOCAL SHOWS, AND
SOME PUBLICITY ALONG THE WAY. I WOULD HATE TO SEE THE DEMISE OF THIS GREAT
CLUB FROM A FEW MALCONTENTS. IF YOUR NOT HAPPY, DON'T OPEN THE MAIL !!!! NUFF
SAID, THANKS BILLY. MEMBER SINCE FRED MARSH DAYS, P.J.H. NE PHILLY #171
HOW'S CHANCHES OF LOCAL SWIM IN RON ???
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Later Dave the Wave
