I just read a fabulous book that I highly recommend! I have always been a WWII history buff. Some of that has to do with the fact that both my grandfathers were in the war. My father's father was at the Bikini Islands when they were testing the atom bomb. During test runs, they just had the sailor's put their hands over their eyes. Not exactly a great radiation deterrent. My mother's father was a officer in the navy in both the European and Pacific theatres. His ship ran supplies to the troops.
I think I also admire how these men fought the war and lived their lives. They witnessed horrible things but were able to be thankful they survived and helped rebuild America after the war. They were, and still are, extremely patriotic. They were the last great cowboys who weren't subjected to the Oprahfication of America. I just admire them so much. I know that the veterans of this war are dying at an an amazing rate now. It is sad to me that this bit of American history is only really known to the 80 and 90 years olds.
I highly recommend the book, In Harm's Way. It is about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Of the nearly 1,200 sailors, only 317 made it through the 4 day ordeal after the ship was torpedoed and sunk. The navy didn't know that the ship was missing and subsequently as many as 50 sailors a day were eaten by sharks. Many more died from the elements. Can you imagine what CNN and MSNBC would do with this story today?
I have been thinking a lot about this part of history particularly because my Uncle Harold died two weeks ago. Uncle Harold and my great aunt had their first date the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. He then joined the service and was at the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. I just watched some home movies of him in 1994 after he attended the 50th anniversary of this event which he helped to organize. It is interesting to read his obituary and see the amazing things that he was apart of and to realize that he could have been just another person that you see in the grocery store. This is why I love working with the elderly! Again, I highly recommend this book as well as the book, Flyboys about the pilots in the Pacific who helped take Iwo Jima.
Had a thought.
16 hours ago
7 comments:
That sounds very interesting. My husband loves war books, that might be a good one for Valentines for him! On a completely different note: how did you turn your color pictures to black and white? The pictures are beautiful BTW.
I am not much on war books, but your review has me curious about this one. I also had an uncle at the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, and my grandfather was in the Navy during WWII (though I'm now exactly sure where). A submarine he was on for awhile is permanently docked near us in Charleston, SC. I would have to say though that probably one of the most interesting war veterans I have known was my neighbor growing up. He was actually at Pearl Harbor the day it was bombed (Air Force). He had been scheduled to leave that day.
I definitely need to read that book. I've always had so much respect for that war generation (possibly because my grandfather and several great uncles fought in WWII.) They went through so much, fought so hard, yet didn't come home selfish and complaining about this country. They were great men and women!
I am going to read the book. Let's always remember all the veterans. Our world has changed so much since WWII. I admire the courage of the men and women who today go willing to serve trying to keep freedom alive for us and others.
I hope my comment didn't sound as if I was saying anything negative about the soldiers of later wars and today. I have great respect for all who fight for our country. I don't have respect for those members of the media or certain political leaders who try to stir up controversy. Those people are the problem.
I agree, Heather.
Lisa-
My digital photos, I just photoshopped them to be black and white. I took my color negatives to my favorite photolab and they were able to convert them into b and w.
Eliz,
I just found out that my camera can take b n w pics. I decided to finally read the manual after having it for over a year. I bet yours does too!
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