Today is the 67th anniversary of the sneak attack on our men at Pearl Harbor. I would like us all to remember this day with vigilance. The local rag can never resist running stories about how horrible the dropping of the atomic bomb was 63 years ago whenever they come to that time of year when the bombs were dropped (summer) but you and I may find it queer they never remember Pearl Harbor, or God forbid- the Bataan Death March.
As a matter of fact the Town of Rotterdam is even having a memorial service at Town Hall at 1pm today, which I think is a wonderful thing, and shows reverence and respect for our veterans and to those who gave all during those terrible and dark days.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
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Ockham
December 7, 2008, 6:51pm
Guest User
Seems that local rag couldn't resist running an appropriate article on Pearl Harbor either.
Don't shoot Ockham! They DID????? i am shocked. Maybe I spoke too soon!
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
Strange as it is GB, we agree completely on this one where it relates to those who fought: Tom Brokow’s Greatest Generation. I think every generation of warriors looks back at those who preceded them with a certain sense of awe. I certainly do. That’s not to diminish our soldiers of today one bit. It’s simply looking at what the men and women who fought WWII both on the fronts and here at home and admitting that, at no time was I ever that courageous. For those of you who ‘don’t get it,’ take the tour of the Slater when it returns to Albany next spring and ask yourself if you’re good enough to even fill the cooks’ shoes.
When I was a kid, these were the adults I grew up among, so I never gave them much thought at the time. They were our adult relatives and neighbors. Last time I visited the Slater, three years ago, there was still one veteran giving the tour. Maturity had taught me that I was in the presence of a very special individual.
Ockham, the best post you have printed by far! I love it!
As my Dad (greatest generation member) would say "A stuck clock is even right twice a day."
harharhar, in all sincerity, thank you!
ps- Dad's WW II and vintage expressions would fill a book. How about this one- "If BS were electricity, you would be a powerhouse" or better yet "You look awful melancholy- you have a head like a melon and face like a collie." ...but the best were the simple FUBAR and Cluster _ _ _ k I heard when I messed something up as a teenager. Straight out of 1944, I swear!
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
I agree....in awe of the places and things folks did.....even if they were a Rosie the Rivitor......all kinds of things sacrificed for the cause...... then the future happened and here we are.....now where do we go.....working in a nursing home I wonder this about EVERYTHING!
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
My dad fought in WWII. He served under Patton and fought in the Battle of The Bulge. He never spoke about his war experiences. Actually, he avoided it. But it wasn't until after he died, I watched a show on the History Channel about the Battle of The Bulge. To be perfectly candid here, it made me cry. It was horrific! My dad was just a kid then who left his wife, pregnant with their first child (not me, it was my brother) My mom said that my dad was never the same when he came back.
I'm sure I am not the only one with a war story. All wars and the experiences that comes with it, are horrific. God bless our troops and the families that wait for them to come home.
I too grew around WW2 vets. My grandfather was in the 45th Inf, Sicily, Salerno, and Anzio (where he was wounded). I have a great-uncle who died at Cabantuan, the prison camp at the end of the Bataan Death March. Heck, all my great-uncles served in some capacity, even if it was "only" as a Stevedore supervisor at the NY docks.
An aside here. In the military the only enlisted men who are given salutes are holders of the Congressional Medal of Honor. It is not a requirement (all officers must be saluted) but a tradition, and one I approve of. Personally, I also saluted anyone with a Purple Heart (even though I knew that there were a few 'shaky' members of this brotherhood), and anyone who had the right to wear both the Second Ranger Company badge and a Korean Service medal. I met three of the last of this group way back in the 60s. Their conduct in battle defines the word 'incredible.' Never heard of them? Well, you see, it was the early 50s, and they were Negroes.
An aside here. In the military the only enlisted men who are given salutes are holders of the Congressional Medal of Honor. It is not a requirement (all officers must be saluted) but a tradition, and one I approve of. Personally, I also saluted anyone with a Purple Heart (even though I knew that there were a few 'shaky' members of this brotherhood), and anyone who had the right to wear both the Second Ranger Company badge and a Korean Service medal. I met three of the last of this group way back in the 60s. Their conduct in battle defines the word 'incredible.' Never heard of them? Well, you see, it was the early 50s, and they were Negroes.
Remembering the heroes of Pearl Harbor Veterans who were there mark 67th anniversary of the attack on U.S. base
By CAROL DeMARE, Staff writer First published in print: Monday, December 8, 2008
COLONIE — Bill Langston was finishing his mess duties, serving breakfast in the sailors' quarters on the battleship USS West Virginia, and was about to take a break when he heard the call for "General Quarters."
It was a Sunday, just before 8 a.m., and there was no way the alarm would be sounding on a Sunday morning for a drill, Langston recalled. In fact, he said, after the sailor shouted "General Quarters," the command to man battle stations, the announcer cursed to let the sailors know this was for real.
At the Joseph E. Zaloga American Legion Post on Sunday, Langston quietly talked about his experiences of 67 years ago as though they happened yesterday.
The 87-year-old Latham resident was one of four survivors of the Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor who attended as guests of honor at a memorial observance held each year.
They listened as speaker after speaker thanked them and told them that on Dec. 7, 1941, when the United States was thrust into World War II, the men and women who served the country home and abroad were later to be known as the greatest generation.
The West Virginia — one of 21 ships destroyed or damaged during the two waves of attacks — took six torpedoes on the port side and two bomb hits before sinking.
Langston, a 20-year-old fireman first class, ran to his battle station in the lower engine room, "and the first thing that crossed your mind was the Army was fooling around with a test drill, but that quickly ended when torpedoes started hitting the ship," he said.
How did he survive? "I don't know." His station was "way down below, and I stayed down until the order to abandon ship." With a couple dozen other sailors, they began "searching for a safe path to get out," Langston recalled.
Once topside, "someone grabbed me out of a hatch like a sack of potatoes and pitched me out on the deck," he said. "You were on your own then."
He jumped overboard and, being a good swimmer, took off for Ford Island about 100 yards away, a spot used as a landing strip for Navy planes.
Asked if the bombs were still dropping as he swam, without missing a beat, Langston's answer was emphatic — "Yes!"
The West Virginia had a crew of 1,600. Ten percent, or 160, died, most of them drowned after being trapped in the engine room.
The ceremonies at the Zaloga Post on Everett Road began at 1 p.m., the time it was in the eastern U.S. when many learned from radio newscasts that the American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor and Army Air Force planes at Wheeler Field were under attack.
"Paradise became an instant hell for 2,500 soldiers and sailors," post Commander Harvey Martel said in opening remarks. "Remember, Pearl Harbor galvanized a nation."
Joining Langston at the table were John Sloboda, 89, of Cohoes, a staff sergeant with the 18th Fighter Group at Wheeler Field; Charlie Ebel, 89, of Westmere, a seaman first class aboard the USS Curtiss; and Robert "Gus" Grimm, 87, of Schenectady, a carpenter's mate on the USS Cummings.
I dont have a salute face on here...... but,I do have a smile......
That's a good article, but as good as it is, it pales in the face of reality. Not mentioned was that three times they were completely surrounded and cut off, so they just fought their way out. One anecdote is that one of them ran back to a supply cache they'd dug to get a box of grenades. By the time he returned to his position, the box was empty; he'd had to use them all. Also not mentioned, or stated anywhere, is that the unit was quickly broken up and its surviving members 'redistributed.' The real truth is that these guys were so good they embarrassed every all-white outfit in Korea. We're talking about one company of men here - usually around 100 (company sizes range from 60 or so to nearly 200).
A final anecdote: during an interview, one of these soldiers was asked what even frightened him most during the war. He related that, at one point, the CO called artillery fire in on their own position. That wasn't what frightened him. He got frightened when he went to dig a foxhole and found that there was nowhere he could do that - the corpses of the soldiers they had killed completely covered the ground.
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but,I do have a smile......
