This Veterans Day

[Mistress Charlotte]

Several of you know that I lost my Father this past September.  I think of him again this veterans day and I miss him.  It seems so sad that as we lose the ones we love the rest of the world continues to turn.  You see..... my Dad is a war hero.  He spent his youth at war with Korea.  It seems sad that nobody knows this...  So today... This Veterans Day... I feel I need to tell the world...

My Dad was assigned to the most famous B29 super fortress of the War.  "Command Decision".   This aircraft is forever enshrined In Dayton Ohio at the National Air Force Museum, Wright Patterson AFB.  Complete with the names of those who were a part of its war service.

The Command Decision is most famous because it is the only "Bomber Ace" in existence.  That is... it shot down 5 migs.

My Dads job was referred to as "electronic counter measures". Basically... he jammed the radars on the ground so that the enemy couldn't target them and shoot them down. Therefore... keeping everyone on the aircraft alive.   He did this for 20 missions and received the "Air Medal" for meritorious service while serving on this aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Medal

The son of Russian immigrants, and a first generation American...
This was arguable the proudest moment of his life for himself and his parents...........

On October 27 he received a full military honors burial complete with Gun salute and Taps.
Arguably one of the proudest and most heartbreaking moments of my life.

http://www.warbirdregistry.org/b29registry/b29-4462139.html




Alexander J Berech
1931      -      2008

[Mistress Charlotte]

There must be others out there who's loved ones deserve a moment of praise this Veterans Day.

Please share...........

[anne of oaktower]

Thanks for sharing, Mistress Charlotte.  That is a wonderful tribute to your father, and rest assured that he is smiling at you from beyond, quite proud of his beautiful daughter.

Both of my grandfathers served in WWII, but I'm afraid I can't tell you anything about it.  For whatever reason, neither one would ever talk about there years of service.

My father is a Viet Nam veteran.   I don't know all of the details except that he lost most of his platoon over there and brought one of his friends home in a pine box.  He still wakes up with nightmares.

Whatever their experiences, they all gave of themselves to fight for a country they believed in. 

Tonight I'll raise a toast to veterans everywhere.

[Zoë]

My grandfather was an army tank driver in Europe during WWII.  In fact, if you have ever seen the film "Patton" and remember a scene in which Patton comes across a tank that has run out of gas, that was in reality my grandpa's tank.  Talk about an awkward situation.  He also served in Korea, and in fact his name came up to go to Vietnam too, but because he'd already served in 2 active war zones the Army let him stay. 

My dad served 24 years in the Air Force in space and missile defense.  He started out in intelligence and did a lot of things during the Cold War that have technically not even been declassified yet, some of which he can't even tell us.  Pretty crazy.  His active duty tours in the 80s took us overseas to West Berlin for 3 years, right as the Wall was coming down.  I was too young to remember it but I was there.  He worked at NORAD for a few years and finished out his career as a satellite watcher out at Buckley, where he retired as a Master Sergeant.

And my mom is working on over 20 years in the Air Force.  She has been in the National Guard and on AF active duty, but now she's in the Reserves.  She is also in space and missile defense, and currently works with an important defense satellite called DSP.  Ironically enough, my dad worked on the very first DSP satellite that went up in the 70s, and my mom worked on the last one, which went up into space last year.  That was how they met--in Iceland of all places.  Currently my mom is a Chief Master Sergeant, which is as high as you can go as an enlisted personnel.  If I remember correctly, she is the only female CMSgt who works on space in the entire state of Colorado.  I'm so very proud of the things that she's done.  It's still difficult for a woman to make it to the top in the military, and she's worked her way to the very top.  It doesn't get much better than that. 

[Francisco Paula]

I have three i wish to honor at this time.

First is the one i never met. My Great Grandmothers brother is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, i don't know what he did to deserve this honor.

Next is my father that fought in Vietnam. I only knew him for 5 years when i located him when i was 30 and he never talked much but one thing is he was in the navy and his team went into the bush and when there tour was done he walked out with the same guys he walked in with. They lost not a one man.

Last but not least is my foster dad. This is the man that taught me my morals and what it is to be a man. He was in the army during WW2, in fact he was on Normandy beach on d-day. He pushed into france and spent most of his tour in the trenchs where he earned not only a purple heart for his country but a silver star the third highest medal for valor in combat given. As most he never talked about what went on unless it was a funny story. One of his favorite was saying how his sergeant would ask him to take point and he would ask why since he was the biggest target in the group and the sergeant said "cause you are the fastest runner." I still remember one morning him pulling me aside with tears in his eyes asking me if he ever told me he did hand to hand combat during the war. He told me things i will never forget and never repeat. When he was done i asked this 80 plus year old man why he thought he had to tell me this and his answer was "I had a nightmare about it lastnight."

So say a prayer for all our soldiers, past, present and future cause what they do for our country does live with them the rest of there life.

[Jess Devyne]

Our Vets:  All who gave some, some who gave all

Sorry for your loss, Charlotte, my deepest hearfelt sympathy to you. *hugs*

I am quite active in our local VFW Ladies Auxiliary, mostly youth activities, but I am there when they need me.  I joined the aux via my grandfather's service in WWI.
They are a very large part of my extended family. 

My nephew, Tyler, is 22 and has already served in Iraq.  He's stationed in Hawaii right now, they were going to send him back to Iraq, but at this time he's staying home.  His second baby is due at Christmas time, he will
I have met many brave men, and women, who have served our country. Yesterday, the post served free beef stew, something they do annually.  Lots of people come in to eat and shoot the stuff.   The Ladies Auxiliary was outside Kmart yesterday, handing out Buddy Poppies  http://www.cal-mum.com/poppy.htm and US Flag lapel pins. 

I know that anytime I am there and helping with an event to keep the VFW Post 2841 doors open, when I give one of the members a ride home or to the doctor, help deliver meals to them or on their behalf, they are very appreciative and they aren't afraid to say so. 

Having had many conversations with my dad, John, JB, Dick, Jim, Bryan, Eddie, Frank, and many more, they generally don't like to talk about it with people who they feel won't understand, 'you weren't there, you won't understand'.  But, I have had the opportunity to happen to be there when 3 or 4 of them will start talking.  I just sit back and listen to what they are saying.  It's both heartwarming and breaking at the same time. 

To keep short story long...

[Adriana Rose]

I'm late on this but I wanna any way!

My great uncle was a Marine in WWII and he worked on the first radars.. I never met him but still

My Granpa was in the Navy at the time of the Korean war.

One of my Granpa's cosins was in Vietnam, he was killed the day before he was set to come home, he was a photographer.. His name is on the Wall

My Cosin has been in the middle eas for both of the messes that have gone down over there he was on his 3rd tour over there the last time we talked..

There is one thing that people need to do is stand behind our service men and women. They need all the support that we can offer them! And keep them in your prayers more than just on Veterans day!

[Demetrius]

Charlotte, I am sorry to hear of the loss of your father, Alexander. It is easy to see from his photo where you got such a wonderful smile. My heart goes out to you and I wish you the best. His service with Command Decision is commendable. You have so much to be proud of. No doubt you have many great stories to pass on to your kids and grand kids down the road.

November 6th was the third aniversary of the loss of my Dad, Roland. He served in WWII in Italy and was there at the time they caught and executed Benito Musolini. My dad wanted to join the Navy, like my Uncle, but he was colorblind so he served in the Army.
He almost never spoke about his time in the military, but he would talk about it a little if we asked him questions. He did tell me about being on a transport ship across the Mediterranean and many guys got sea-sick. When the ocean calmed down, the water became dark and purple and had the appearance of the smoothness of glass.

Many members of my family have served, as have many friends- one person of note is Bob Boyer, Sr., better known at faire as Sarge, of Sarge and Anna's kitchen. He passed away in October, 2005. I believe he had served in the Navy in WWII. 

We have missed you Charlotte!

[Richard de Graeme]

As a veteran, it is my hope the new Commander-in-Chief has the wisdom to commit troops only as a last resort and retaliate only when the attacker is verifiable. Banish forever the concept of preemptive war. Blessed be they who seek peace.

Blessings upon all ye veterans, thy kith and kin.

[Zoë]

Well said, Richard.  Well said indeed.

[Richard de Graeme]

Keep thy head above water, young Captain, and thy wits about thee. The seas are stormy and filled with sharks.

Blessings upon thee, thy kith and kin.

[Capt Gabriela Fullpepper]

First chance I've had to replay to this

Charlotte

It is wonderful that you are proud of your father for his service of duty during times of conflict and none conflict

My father services in the Navy as Crew Chief on a DC-3 in the mid 1950's. My grandfather wanted to serve during WWII but they would not let him since he was a farmer and they needed him as mush at home as they did on the front. He always upset that he could not server his country the way he felt he needed to. Two of h is sons served in the Air Force in the 1950's after Korea.

On my dad's side I had an uncle that died at the Battle of the Bulge as a Tank crewman.

Let us not forget those who also served in the conflicts before WWII, like WWI, The Spanish American War, The Civil War, the mexican American War, The war of 1812 and the Revolutionary war. With out their services we would not be a country we are today for good or bad.

Hat's off to your father and all who serve