Quote:
Originally Posted by gandalf380
My father also joined the army after Pearl Harbor. He was stationed in the Aleutian Islands in close proximity to the Japanese. He turned 93 two weeks ago. As a sort of a tribute, I carry one of his dog tags with me.
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My dad also was up there, for a while. As an engineer, he built roads ... the Alcan Highway first (not sure what he did in the Aleutians), then his group went to Burma to build the Burma Road, where a bridge was blown up, under him. He was injured but not seriously. He and his 3 brothers all served, one a Navy fighter pilot, not sure what my other two uncles did, .... but my aunts tell of when they were leaving, (their family home still belongs to us ... my cousins have it) my grandmother standing in her dining room, looking out the windows watching as they drove down the long driveway, with tears streaming down her face. Somehow, miraculously, her 4 boys all came back. We forget how much pain was endured even by those who did not actually go, to say nothing of that which was endured by those who lost friends and family.
On a lighter note .. one of my aunts on my mom's side, was a nurse in the army. (Actually she ended up in the convent, and a rather famous nationally known nun-educator and college president). She was in London during the bombing, (the blitzkrieg), and was the charge nurse on her floor. One evening General Eisenhower (the Allied Commander-in-chief) came to visit the troops on her floor, and was there for quite a while. At some point she told him "I'm sorry sir, but visiting hours are over, my patients need their sleep". haha She actually kicked a future President of the United States off her floor, and if you knew her, it was totally in character. She was the only woman in her law class etc etc etc, as well as being known for her constant stream of Irish jokes. They were a great generation.