Yesterday, (Insert meaningless Beatles lyrics here) I went to NTB to get the tires rotated on my truck. The TV was set to the noonday news for women. An older gentleman commented on the Iraq war, Truman dropping the bomb, and it started. This guy is a WWII vet (Pacific theater) so I got to listen to him talk about the war for about 30 minutes or so. This was the best lunch ever. I have to take continuing education classes, but I learn so much more out of the classroom. This guy was in the amphibious assault forces (Marine?) and was in several of the island campaigns in the Pacific. He would have been in the first wave in assaulting the Japanese homehand. We talked about the USS Indianapolis, Okinawa, Saipan, Tinian, and others. All good discussions end with a humorous story. One guy he knew had not slept in 38 hours or so and rigged his foxhole with booby traps so he could sleep. Several hours later the Army launches star shells into the night sky (to turn night into day). Our guy gets spooked, runs out of his foxhole, sets off his own booby trap and proceeds to get over 170 shrapnel his from a grenade. He stops, checks the family jewels, finds they are okay, and says he is good to go. He runs off to fight the Japanese. It was a pleasure to meet this man.
A True American Hero…
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