Tom Brokaw referred to my parent's generation as the "Greatest Generation". They probably earned it, some survived the Spanish Flu epidemic, they endured the Great Depression, Prohibition, they were the machine that won WWII. They built the US of the '50's and endured us Baby Boomers. They're in their 80's and 90's now, some say they're dying off at the rate of a 1,000 a day.
My parent's were also part of the quietest generation. I've heard very little about their experiences. They didn't tell and I didn't ask.
Mom is well into the clutches of Alzheimer's. I know a few details; as a secretary at either American President Lines or United States Lines, she witnessed the fire on the SS Normandie in 1941. She would never buy margarine, as she had spent part of the Depression making it. Her father worked for a time as a fireman on the railroad. He was also the person to see if one was thirsty during Prohibition.
Dad answered some of the "what did you do in the war" questions. I knew he'd been in the Army Air Corps, was a Sargent, and had spent some time at Maxwell Army Airfield in Alabama. Beyond that I knew that he'd been a First Class Boy Scout. He turned 91 back in September, one of the first times I remembered his birthday on time.
Imagine my surprise when I received the E-mail below in response to one of my few questions about his WWII service.
For Veteran's day, jump over the orange swirl, and read One Airman's Story in his own words.
Read More