Honored to know this man over the last 10+ years. Have heard the stories first hand and they are awe inspiring. One of the most humble heros I have ever met (probably the most). Served on PT boats in the South Pacific during WWII. I’ve read his name in books and have seen a pic (and the painting of said pic) taken from his boat while they were being attacked by Japanese zeros. Army Air Corps showed up and helped out quite a bit. Jack O Diamonds was the name of one of the PT boats (can’t remember the name the other one involved right now). Figured there’s enough interest here to appreciate such a thing. Man turned 100 this past Wednesday and they had a get together at a local VFW hall. Puts life into a different perspective for me when I think about it.

Don’t know why the pic isn’t showing up. Posted the same as always using Imgur. Same as I’ve done for the past several months.

Let’s try this.

Thanks. Showed up finally. Probably just didn’t wait long enough for it to post or whatever.

I too love having conversations from WWII Vets. They are becoming rare because they are a generation passing from our reality.

Kaidallac wrote:
I too love having conversations from WWII Vets. They are becoming rare because they are a generation passing from our reality.

Yessir. Hearing the real stories from someone who was actually there is second to none. Unreal the humility this man has regarding his service. I am technically considered a millennial (born in 1983) but don’t really associate with that generation. One of the greatest blessings of my life is conversing with a couple WWII vets (this guy being one of them).

The man was born in 1918. Influenza should’ve killed him then. Woodrow Wilson was president. 18 presidential administrations in his lifetime. JFK also served on a PT boat during the same time and was marooned on an island after being rammed by a large ship. Unbelievable what has happened in this mans lifetime.

My father is a WWII and Korean Vet. He did a 30 years then retired from the army. He left Vietnam to me and my older brother. My father in law my wife dad was a marine during WWII and served in the Pacific theater. When He and Elaine moved into a retirement community, their generation were the WWII generation and I had the honor of spending time with them and hearing their stories !!! I remember that as I was growing up, when the modernized the uniform, I got to claim my dad's Brown shoe army uniform, the one that Eisenhours men wore. I thought it was cool that he gave it to me !!!

Very, very inspiring. My dad lived to 100 and was in the 62 Armored Field Artillery Batallion. Lots of great stories around the kitchen table while I was growing up! I miss him. Was in 12 countries. Met Patton a couple times, managed the parts caravan, was second wave at Omaha Red on D Day.

Yeh, cool stuff! We had 2 WW II vets in our church. One was a B-26 tail-gunner, told of flying 6 sorties on D-Day. Took some flak from underneath, but he would SIT on his flak-jacket, and it stopped a piece from hitting his right leg and likely severing an artery.

The other drove one of those ship-to-shore landing crafts, and drove soldiers from troop ship to beach all day long on D-Day, and was never hit, but saw more and more dead on the beach, with each trip to shore to off-load.

My dad joined the Navy in Jan. of '45, during his senior year of high school, and got to Guam before the end. He'd been trained to be an aircraft carrier flight captain, to prep planes for quick readiness turnaround back into the air. He had a great story of having armed guard duty of some Jap prisoners that really put a human face on one little part of the war.

If you've never read or heard Brokaw's Greatest Generation book, also in audio... do it! It'll have you in awe of our forebears a generation or two back.

My folks were Great Depression/WW II generation survivors... Mom was a "Rosie the Riveter" in the Bath, ME shipyards, putting together those supply transport ships the Nazi subs fed on all the way across the North Atlantic.

Both were still TEENS when they engaged in their one small part of our nation's war effort. She grew up without a dad... he died in '28, when she was 2. He died of heart failure induced by the scarlet fever damage to his heart valves he incurred while serving in the U.S. Army during WW I!

We have NO idea how truly GOOD we've got it today! Think about it! King's David and Solomon were literally the Top 1% equivalent of billionaires in their day, 3,000 years ago, but they didn't have refrigerators, central air, heat, indoor plumbing, and on and on and on. We've got it ALL!!! Of the 55-60 billion that have ever lived, of which 7.5 billion are alive now... You and I are at the very pinnacle of the entire heap of all humanity for health, wealth, comfort and longevity!!!

And, we get to own, love and ride Road Stars to boot!!! I think like I'm the most blessed man alive!

Give thanks, Brothers!!!

Questcap wrote:
Yeh, cool stuff! We had 2 WW II vets in our church. One was a B-26 tail-gunner, told of flying 6 sorties on D-Day. Took some flak from underneath, but he would SIT on his flak-jacket, and it stopped a piece from hitting his right leg and likely severing an artery.

The other drove one of those ship-to-shore landing crafts, and drove soldiers from troop ship to beach all day long on D-Day, and was never hit, but saw more and more dead on the beach, with each trip to shore to off-load.

My dad joined the Navy in Jan. of '45, during his senior year of high school, and got to Guam before the end. He's been trained to be an aircraft carrier flight captain, to prep planes for quick readiness turnaround back into the air. He had a great story of having armed guard duty of some Jap prisoners that really put a human face on one little part of the war.

If you've never read or heard Brokaw's Greatest Generation book, also in audio... do it! It'll have you in awe of our forebears a generation or two back.

My folks were Great Depression/WW II generation survivors... Mom was a "Rosie the Riveter" in the Bath, ME shipyards, putting together those supply transport ships the Nazi subs fed on all the way across the North Atlantic.

Both were still TEENS when they engaged in their one small part of our nation's war effort. She grew up without a dad... he died in '28, when she was 2. He died of heart failure induced by the scarlet fever damage to his heart valves he incurred while serving in the U.S. Army during WW I!

We have NO idea how truly GOOD we've got it today! Think about it! King's David and Solomon were literally the Top 1% equivalent of billionaires in their day, 3,000 years ago, but they didn't have refrigerators, central air, heat, indoor plumbing, and on and on and on. We've got it ALL!!! Of the 55-60 billion that have ever lived, of which 7.5 billion are alive now... You and I are at the very pinnacle of the entire heap of all humanity for health, wealth, comfort and longevity!!!

And, we get to own, love and ride Road Stars to boot!!! I think like I'm the most blessed man alive!

Give thanks, Brothers!!!

Well said Harold.