The day that lives in infamy

[sidewinder]

I will not forget .......

[sidewinder]

I once flew a trip from Tokyo Narita to HNL on December 7th.   Must have been about 1988 or 89.  Anyway it was an all nighter arriving around 8 AM.  Something just got me to fuming about an hour out and finally came out on the approach.  I made a rather non-standard PA announcement to the Pax on final approach that shall we say was diplomatic but firm nontheless.  On arrival I went down to door 1 and just stood there as the pax left the airplane.  Almost none would make eye contact.    Just saying.   I got it out of my system. 

 I am fairly neutral on the Japs now.  My dad a Marine with the 4th Marine Divison from 1942 until the end of the war saw action on Iwo Jima and several other Islands hellholes would never change his attitude all the way until his death.  I understand.  Our conversations about the wars we participated in were short and rare. 

Anyway, another thing to just remember. 

[onlooker]

I once enjoyed giving my fullest attention to a coworker who was a superb raconteur of his life experiences that included being in WWII.  There was only one time when I went weak at hearing just two words and immediately stopped him from completing his story.

‘Flaying’  ‘Alive’

Some actual stories are best not to be retold to those with a weak stomach like me.   

[MetalMeister]

My Dad entered WWII at 17 as a medic.  He went in near the tail end of the war and was mostly in Italy.

He calls it the "mop up".  No telling the gore he saw.

I can't get him to discuss it anymore than that to this day.

His 3 older brothers were in WWII as well, mostly in the Pacific, the oldest was a PT boat commander in the same area as JFK, the second was a pilot, mostly an instructor, and the third was in breaking codes, encryptions or something like that - intelligence.  One aunt was in WWII as well and retired from the AF years later, can't remember what she did.

[sidewinder]

The numbers of that generation are dwindling fast.  Was in Denver once and met some guys at a reunion of b-17 crews from 8th Air Force.  What used to take 8-9 buses to haul around during conventions were down to two buses.  Interesting fellows, gentlemen all.

Happened to stay at the same hotel during a Reunion of "Doolittles Raiders" in Japan years ago.  It was at the "Narita View" hotel and I was there for two days.  Those were some interesting conversations.  I wish I had written down or somehow recorded the candid conversations.