This Veterans Day I remember my grandfathers who both fought in WWII. My maternal grandfather (Left) was trained at Ft. Riley, Kansas and deployed to the China, India, Burma theater of the Pacific War. There he became a member of the 475th Infantry Regiment formerly known as Merrills Marauders. The regiment was the cornerstone of the newly formed Mars Task Force that went on to finally clear the Ledo Road and assist the British and ANZACs in pushing Japanese forces out of Burma. He entered action in January 1945 and stayed with the regiment until the end of the war, even staying in China after the Japanese surrender to help rebuild parts of the country that had been destroyed during the war. My grandfather on my dads side was an aerial photographer with the US 8th Air Force in England from 1943-1945. His job was to document the missions, but most importantly to photograph the effectiveness of the bombing raid; this was known as Bomb Damage Assessment. He served with the 92nd and 351st Bomb Groups and survived 38 missions over Europe including six on D-Day. The life I enjoy now was made possible by the sacrifices they, and millions like them, made in the prime of their lives. They remind me that every generation has not only the opportunity, but the duty to right the wrongs of their respective times whether it be on battle lines or picket lines. Heres to them.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 17:40:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015