tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post6158873660266464259..comments2024-03-28T02:27:45.688-07:00Comments on Chant du Départ: A Date Which Will Live in InfamyOldAFSargehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-46802330706586980172012-12-09T12:30:47.925-08:002012-12-09T12:30:47.925-08:00You and me both. But I think we need to standby fo...You and me both. But I think we need to standby for heavy rolls.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-76670849985330483712012-12-08T20:49:18.260-08:002012-12-08T20:49:18.260-08:00I don't think I'll forsake them.I don't think I'll forsake them. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-82946730297574868862012-12-08T16:54:43.989-08:002012-12-08T16:54:43.989-08:00My Dad had just turned 17 in the summer of '45...My Dad had just turned 17 in the summer of '45. He dropped out of school to join the Army, where his two older brothers were already serving. Had that war lasted longer, it is very possible that my Dad would have wound up in the Pacific instead of occupying Berlin. Not a stretch to think that he and perhaps one or both of my uncles might not have come back.<br /><br />And like I said it a post earlier this year, if you're going to go to war, then go to war dammit. Leave nothing on the table, hit the enemy so damn hard that he'll never bother you again. Nor will others.<br /><br />You hit the nail straight on the head Dan. And I'm in total agreement.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-91343499276332407012012-12-08T16:49:34.836-08:002012-12-08T16:49:34.836-08:00Wow. Kinda leaves me speechless. Your connection t...Wow. Kinda leaves me speechless. Your connection to Arizona is indeed very personal. Thanks for sharing that Dave. My best to you and your wife.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-12061040965323077472012-12-08T14:49:26.516-08:002012-12-08T14:49:26.516-08:00My wife's maiden name is Van Valkenburgh; Fran...My wife's maiden name is Van Valkenburgh; Franklin was her great uncle. It made visiting the Arizona a very personal experience. We found out later that my great uncle was Franklin's classmate at the Academy.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01164142345802237163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-91768998520869007582012-12-08T13:48:43.700-08:002012-12-08T13:48:43.700-08:00When anyone gives me a load of crap about our drop...When anyone gives me a load of crap about our dropping the nukes on Japan I always remember two things: the malicious surprise attack on this infamous date and the fact that my dad, who was 26, was drafted along with 1000s of other guys in March of 1945 to be a part of the invading force should Truman have not decided on the bomb. I've read that those nukes saved over half a million GI's lives and I know it made a major statement to anyone thinking about attacking us again as we were on Dec. 7, 1941. Dapper Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01230099347154360809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-3921717085134837292012-12-08T09:51:22.909-08:002012-12-08T09:51:22.909-08:00I often wonder if we're on watch for the same ...I often wonder if we're on watch for the same country that our forebears made, then fought and died for. My motto is to soldier on, keep one's weather eye open and pray. There are still a lot of good folks out there worthy of our efforts and our sacrifices. Let's not forsake them because of the crazies.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-39269216312267799672012-12-08T01:05:35.322-08:002012-12-08T01:05:35.322-08:00I don't know anyone who fought at Pearl Harbor...I don't know anyone who fought at Pearl Harbor. Except the USCGC Taney. That cutter was actually in port Honolulu, but she engaged enemy aircraft because, well, they were attacking the general area in a promiscuous manner. And don't think my Coastie Chief dad let me forget every time we saw her because she was the last US warship that participated in the defense against the 1941 attack to be decommissioned, in 1986.<br /><br />My dad wasn't old enough to be at Pearl Harbor. He barely made it into the war, being 17 in 1945. One of his extra-curricular activities, when he wasn't doing what the Coast Guard told him what to do, was take pictures of the graves of family friends so they could get an idea of how and where they were buried. He was there, the other families needed to know, so his parents asked him. Cheerful.<br /><br />Then I spent 20 years in the Navy operating in the same territory my dad did, and his friends who died. <br /><br />Are we still on watch for the same country they died for? If we're not, why are they under my keel?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-62911980906046293622012-12-07T10:42:47.255-08:002012-12-07T10:42:47.255-08:00Thanks Buck.Thanks Buck.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-8532858422152206112012-12-07T09:33:58.818-08:002012-12-07T09:33:58.818-08:00What I said at The Place For Us All.What I said at <i>The Place For Us All.</i>Buckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05319116022465066060noreply@blogger.com