OT: You Just Never Know

You just never know who you will meet that will bless your day.

Decided to take some time off today and go visit my doctor for an annual physical checkup.

The waiting room was crowded with sick children with the flu.

Anyway there was only one empty chair available next to an elderly gentleman wearing a WWII Veteran baseball cap.

I asked if I could sit with him and he said "Yes".

Before sitting down, I shook hands with him and thanked him for his service.

He smiled, paused, and said "It was my duty".

Asked him what branch of the military and he smiled once again and said "Navy".

He was quiet for a moment, then he began telling me about his experience during WWII in the Pacific.

Years ago one of my students made a statement in class which was "The good lord put us on this earth with one mouth and two ears; he intended for us to use them in that proportion."

This morning I was all ears.

The 3 1/2 hour wait before seeing the doctor seemed like only 15 minutes listening to the stories of this 87 year old veteran.

I am not ashamed to admit that at times I teared up and at times I laughed until I cried.

One of the most interesting stories he told me was about a very young Navy pilot.

He started by saying "There were three of us on board the carrier that had the last name Bush. One was killed in combat, one got shot down, and I survived unharmed."

"The young Navy pilot flew his first mission as a recon mission to determine which areas of an island were to get bombed."

"On his second mission to bomb the island the young Navy pilot was shot down."

"Found out later the young Navy pilot was George Bush."

"He was rescued just before the Japanese could get to him. Rumor was that since the island was cutoff from supplies, the Japanese had resorted to cannibalism and were killing and eating captives."

Eventually the discussion came around to farming and tractors.

He talked about growing alfalfa and putting it up in a barn using a horse, rope, and pulley to lift the bales.

He talked about growing up in Rockdale, Illinois close to Moline and all the JD tractors all over that part of the country.

One comment that he made somewhat surprised me; "I grew up during the best time this country has ever seen."

Hope this helps; it sure did help me today.

Sounds like you had a chace of a lifetime! Glad you shared. Greg

I often think of how the celebrities back then mostly enlisted for the war.

These days they all protest.

I think Mr. Bush was right about the best times.

There is an excellent book titled "Flyboys" that details the rest of Bush's squadron that were captives on the island you mentioned.

Really makes you wonder how a society as brutal as Japan during those times can now be nearly the opposite.

good book though, excellent read

Both my grandfathers were in WW2. Both are dead now. One died in 1998 and the other died 3 months ago. The one that died in 1998 was my dads dad.
He was a pilot, Rank of Major when the war started and Lt. Col. when the war ended. He didnt talk about the war much, and didnt talk about 30 years of military service. I wish he would have and I wish I would have asked more questions. My granddad didnt see hardly any real action. He ran an airforce base in Florida through most of the war and taught other pilots to be how to fly. My granddad was born in 1914.

My other granddad was born in 1920 and drafted in 1944, he was out in 1945 after we dropped the fertilizer bombs on the Japanese.

I know a bit about orientals from personal experience. What the Japanese are today is not the opposite. It is the other side of the coin. They are still capable of what they did before and during WWII. All it would take is a generation or two and a different world and different set of beliefs.

The other nationalities in East Asia, such as the Koreans and the Chinese still have a deep distrust of the Japanese, for obvious reasons.

Christopher

I think he did grow up in the best of times with a most admirable generation. Very little respect is giving today for that generation and all they accomplished, sacrificed, and did it with grace and modesty.

James,
Thanks for the post! Think I had better give my 87 year Dad a call tonight (WW II and Korea veteran) - you just don't know how long the wisdom, knowledge and stories will be around.

As for zeke, joe or whatever, don't let him bother you cause most everyone has gotten him figured out.

Jim - but you can call me James

Great post James. I have a great uncle that was on the USS Enterprise durring the war. I can set and listen to him tell stories about the things he lived through for hours.

Dave

[b:654c4848f0]Joe Dan[/b:654c4848f0], I"d be interested in the story behind why you sued the U.S. Army.

I"m all ears.

I never get tired of listening to stories from the older generation. I find them very interesting. I used to love stories from my grandparents of when they were young. Truely a totally differnt world. I am sure you made that man"s day and he made yours. Have a great day!!

I'm sure glad someone brought the "other side" of those Bozo's !! They have waged an "economic war" on us for years. I like to collect items that say " made in occupied Japan"

Great post James,

Not only did you make a mans day , real history was relayed in real life.

You showed him respect that some on here will never learn.

Here's a link to the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Flyboys-Story-Courage-James-Bradley/dp/0316105848">Flyboys: A True Story of Courage</a> you mention.

great post and really enjoyed reading it. my dad also served in wwii. from n. africa to anzio beachhead, up the length of italy to france. wounded 6 times, the last 2 severely when he was captured by the germans near the rhine river. liberated 6 months later by allied british troops. dad never talked about his war experiences except about 10 years before his death in 1991 he was interviewed by high school students for a class project. today i treasure the cassette tape of that interview and listen to it often. from the son of one of the GREATEST GENERATION.

Good post James. Being an Ex Navy Vet during the Vietnam era I can relate. I was an aircraft director on the flight deck of the U.S.S.Coral Sea CVA-43. Those Navy Flyboys are great pilots. Try landing on an aircraft carrier at night with no lights in a rainstorm at 160 knots. Those pilots were great. Great story James,your WWII Vet is a fine example of priceless history and a true hero.

Great story. Those men from the "greatest generation" are fading away fast, and we had better listen to their first hand stories now or we will have lost the opportunity of a lifetime.

When I was younger I had a neighbor who was in France in WW1. I listened to a few of his stories, but now I wish I would have been a better listener. Jim

James, thanks for typing that up. I've had my moments with some members of the Greatest Generation over the years, but one has to respect them for standing up for their beliefs. Also I still enjoy looking at your and Nancy's videos from Texas (beautiful land). Mark.

Thanks for your post James, I could listen to those types of stories all day long. I used to get some stories from my dad when he felt like talking about when he grew up as a farmers son, apprenticing to become a blacksmith when he gets drafted into the German navy. He ends up in northern Africa as a radio operator and gets captured by the Americans and sent an Illinois peanut farm as a pow. After the war he was sent back to Germany where he married my mom then emigrated to Canada were they lived until they passed on. Sorry to ramble on here but after reading your post I started thinking about some of the fascinating stories I've heard mostly from people older than my 50 years that I realise that although I think I've lived and seen alot, I ain't seen nothing yet. My hats off to your acquaintance and others like him that have given us what we have today. Have a good one.

Thanks for sharing your story with us.

My mother's older sister, Aunt Ruth, married a man whose family immigrated from Germany to the U.S. after WWI.

Uncle John learned how to fly an airplane as a 13 year old boy.

When WWII came along, he became an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps and flew B17 bombers.

He flew missions over both France and Germany from a base in Italy.

Uncle John told me that he was shot down 3 times.

He said there was no problem for him escaping through "enemy" lines in either France or Germany because he spoke both languages fluently.

The real problem for him was convincing U.S. troops that he was an officer in the Army Air Corps once he made it back to the Allied line.

He said the during the Korean conflict he would fly B29's on bombing missions and would "strafe" targets on the ground.

Uncle John was real character and he loved flying airplanes.

This past summer my cousin went to Luxembourg, Germany which was Uncle John's birthplace.

James,thank you for telling us about the stranger in the waiting room. Stories like that reasure us the intire world has not gone mad after all. One only needs an open ear,mind and heart when the time comes. Hey,I hope the Doc's visit went well also.

...so many stories and adventures. For sure the greatest generation so far. Thanks again

Thanks James;
My dad's dad died in France in 1918 before my dad was born. Dad came home on leave just after I was born on May 22 1943. He left in June for the Pacific. US Army Engineers. New Guinea, invasion of Leyte, Philippians. He came home two and a half years later, end of November 45. Grandpa Rector raised me on the farm in IA. Mother and all of her family came from the MO. Ozarks, Oak Hill MO. Good stories if i knew more of them. Grandpa was Irish, grandma was German. Dad was from southeast corner of MN., Norwegian.
Charley Hellickson.

Hey there James;
I know this might be off little but, My Dad used
to tell about how he was washed overboard (at night, winter storm North Atlantic Jan 1918).
In "wartime" all ships were blacked out.
We would listen and as I got older I started to
doubt his "war story" until, one night as I sat at the "puter", I checked into his "war story".
I was shocked to find out, it was TRUE! its ALL confirmed in the US Naval Archives.
Bob
God Bless

What base was your Grandfather on in Florida? My dad was an instructor at Hendricks Field near Sebring for a good part of the war.

Perhaps the school system should bring these ole vets in and talk with the kids of today instead of the MJ crap.

Good for you; my Dad had 5 battle stars from the ETO. What has REALLY made my day........the posts of the resident troll have been transported to the Klingon Republic.

Great post James. Thanks.
I was at the grocery store about a year ago and saw an older fellow wearing a ball cap with USS Columbia CL-56 on the brim. So I asked him about the ship and he told me he'd served on it for the entire war. He wasn't a man of many words though so I just let him go about his business.
When I got home I goggled the ship and realized the old man had been to hell and back on it - from the Solomon Islands to the Phillipines where the ship was hit by three Kamikazes in Lingayen Gulf.
A couple of very famous photos of that event are of one of the Kamikazes striking his ship.
I wish I could have talked to him longer, especially after learning what the ship had been through.

I will have to ask my dad.

great post. you can learn sooo much by just lisenting to people. 2 vietnam vets came into my school last year and told us their stories. the one said he believes his best friend is still alive in vietnam. its sad to hear.

-thanks for the post james.

My wife's uncle just had his 85th B'day. He was also in the navy but he "sailed" on a D-8 bulldozer rather than a ship. He was a "Seabee" and worked building (and maintaining) an airstrip on Guam.
For years he never talked about the war but he will talk a little now. He told me for a long time he never got to leave his D-8; even had to sleep with it. These men were truly from "the greatest generation" and we should thank them whenever we have the opportunity because they are dying off at an alarming rate.

You did a good thing. There are not many of them left and they are going away fast. Probably all of them have stories that ought to be recorded so people can be reminded what really happened back then. A lot of them couldn't/wouldn't talk about that kind of thing.

At my uncle's funeral, I heard a few stories and I remember thinking to myself that here was probably the greatest man I had the opportunity to know, and never knew it.
Korean Vet- almost killed by a grenade at Chosen River Basin(?)

SDE

If stories like this interest you, go to your library and try to find an old copy of "Carrier Combat" by Frederick Mears. Although he did not survive the war, he left enough first person notes to make the book possible.

Some of the schools around here do. My great uncle who was on the enterprise the whole war goes around to local grade, middle, and high shcools to talk to the kids. Great deal for every one. Makes him feel good to tell his stories and the kids learn from first hand knowlege.

Dave