pEARL hARBOR dAY TODAY

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bearandoldman
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pEARL hARBOR dAY TODAY

Post by bearandoldman » Sat Dec 07, 2013 1:14 pm

OK guys, hats off and give a big salute to all of the guys in the armed forces, especially the vets of WWII that fought to make this country free.

To this day I can still vividly remember playing on the floor in front of the radio, when they interrupted the program and the president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt made an announcement that the Japanese had attacked the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor and we were at war.
Too all of you youngsters at that time a radio was a large wooden box with a big speaker and all kinds of tube, transformers and other electronic stuff in it, with a green tuning eye in the dial face and no picture tube or flat screen.
You have great day and shoot straight and may the Good Lord smile on you.
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Post by Bullseye » Sat Dec 07, 2013 6:15 pm

I was there for the fortieth anniversary, not many of those folks who survived the attack are left today.

Speaking of which, I noticed in the paper today that "Babe" Heffron of the 506 PIR died last Sunday. R.I.P. WWII vets are steadily withering away.

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Post by Hakaman » Sun Dec 08, 2013 9:47 pm

My dad served in the Marines, WW2, in the Volcano Islands. He was died back on 4th of July of '07, and he was buried on '777' (July 7th, 2007). Some of the stories he told were pretty amazing. One story that sticks with me is when they invaded Iwo Jima, he was fortunate to not have to go in until after the noon hour. He said he watched the action from the ship at sea, with binoculars, as the waves of marines were shipped in. He said it was horrible and said the first several waves of marines were ALL gunned down, "It was a massacre". He went in later that day and witnessed all the carnage. I think that's much of the reason I am disgusted with the liberal ways of today, all the blood, sweat and tears that were shed to gain the freedoms we enjoy today, and we have a president that bows to foreign leaders who hate us.
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The Battle – The US Invasion

American air forces pounded Iwo in the longest sustained aerial offensive of the war. “No other island received as much preliminary pounding as did Iwo Jima.” -Admiral Nimitz, CINPAC.

Incredibly, this ferocious bombardment had little effect. Hardly any of the Japanese underground fortresses were touched. Twenty-one thousand defenders of Japanese soil, burrowed in the volcanic rock of Iwo Jima, anxiously awaited the American invaders.

The US sent more Marines to Iwo than to any other battle, 110,000 Marines in 880 Ships. The convoy of 880 US Ships sailed from Hawaii to Iwo in 40 days.

It was the largest armada invasion up to that time in the Pacific War.

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Post by ruger22 » Mon Dec 09, 2013 12:15 pm

I remember the often quoted Admiral Yamamoto, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."

He had that exactly right.

As for radios, I have heard FDR's address many times. And my grandmother had a big Stromberg-Carlson set that made even modern stations sound like something from the past.
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Post by greener » Thu Dec 12, 2013 7:36 pm

The Scoutmaster who started the troop that bgreene was in was President of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. Quite a man.

Not many of those guys left.

When you mention 12/7 or Pearl Harbor a lot of today's "youngsters" give you a blank look.

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Post by bgreenea3 » Fri Dec 13, 2013 5:50 pm

Al was on the Missouri, I believe... one heck of a man, one of the good ones that shaped me into who I am today. (for the better or the worse! :wink: ) The role models of my youth sure are different than tthe ones today.... and I'm not that old yet.
"Courage is being scared to death... and saddling up anyway."

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Post by greener » Sat Dec 14, 2013 7:21 am

bgreenea3 wrote:Al was on the Missouri, I believe... one heck of a man, one of the good ones that shaped me into who I am today. (for the better or the worse! :wink: ) The role models of my youth sure are different than tthe ones today.... and I'm not that old yet.
USS Nevada. He had the picture of the ship billowing smoke on the wall in his Pere Marquette cottage, along with all the pictures of him testing shakespear fishing gear.

Really great man. It was an absolute privilege to be associated with him.

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Post by bgreenea3 » Sat Dec 14, 2013 4:42 pm

Did he work for Shakespere in Kalamazoo? Back when they were just down the street from Gibson Guitars, and not far from the Checker Car Co?
"Courage is being scared to death... and saddling up anyway."

-John Wayne

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