A Memorial Day remembrance: an original 1945 1¢ and a ‘conserved’ aluminum piece.

Swampboy

My earliest Memorial Day memories revolve around parades in my home town; the brass bands, the soldiers marching down main street, my Mom selling poppies, my brother and I playing on the cannon on the lawn of the American Legion Hall after the parade while the flags were being lovingly stowed.

My Dad had been lucky to return home as a U. S. Army Air Force veteran and passed on to his children a deep appreciation for the sacrifices of all vets, especially those who did not return from the war.
So this post is my small appreciation for all our veteran board members, for those members who put themseves in harms way right now in our defense, and for all those here who have lost or who have now loved ones who serve.

While serving our flag in the 381st Bomb group my father was shot down over Germany. Not all of his fellow crew members survived to see the end of the war in 1945. This was a hard fact that he lived with and a lesson he passed along.

In his memory today here is the finest 1945 cent I have.





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This weekend I received a gift without price.
My wife and children presented me with a once in a lifetime gift.
A ride on a 1945 Boeing B-17.


I won’t bore the members by sharing the emotions I felt sitting at my father's position and imagining what it must have been like on bombing run after bombing being shot at and shooting back. I will share this; I did manage to get a tiny glimpse into a world of terror and courage those defending me have lived and continue to live in.


This image posted by LeeG in the Weekend Copper thread conveys how I feel much better than any word I can come up with this weekend…..





So please post a 1945 piece and if you care to, have a look at this quick 48 second video I have made
I had been sitting in amazement for a few minutes at a positon forward of my Dad's when I thought to turn on my video camera.
Thanks for reading this.

Video

Zubie

This article has been going around on some of the pilot websites recently....


He writes: My lead flight attendant came to me and said, "We have an H.R. on this flight." (H.R. stands for human remains.) "Are they military?" I asked.

'Yes', she said.

'Is there an escort?' I asked.

'Yes, I already assigned him a seat'.

'Would you please tell him to come to the flight deck. You can board him early," I said..

A short while later, a young army sergeant entered the flight deck. He was the image of the perfectly dressed soldier. He introduced himself and I asked him about his soldier. The escorts of these fallen soldiers talk about them as if they are still alive and still with us.

'My soldier is on his way back to Virginia ,' he said. He proceeded to answer my questions, but offered no words.

I asked him if there was anything I could do for him and he said no. I told him that he had the toughest job in the military and that I appreciated the work that he does for the families of our fallen soldiers. The first officer and I got up out of our seats to shake his hand. He left the flight deck to find his seat.

We completed our preflight checks, pushed back and performed an uneventful departure. About 30 minutes into our flight I received a call from the lead flight attendant in the cabin. 'I just found out the family of the soldier we are carrying, is on board', she said. She then proceeded to tell me that the father, mother, wife and 2-year old daughter were escorting their son, husband, and father home. The family was upset because they were unable to see the container that the soldier was in before we left. We were on our way to a major hub at which the family was going to wait four hours for the connecting flight home to Virginia .

The father of the soldier told the flight attendant that knowing his son was below him in the cargo compartment and being unable to see him was too much for him and the family to bear. He had asked the flight attendant if there was anything that could be done to allow them to see him upon our arrival. The family wanted to be outside by the cargo door to watch the soldier being taken off the airplane.. I could hear the desperation in the flight attendants voice when she asked me if there was anything I could do.. 'I'm on it', I said. I told her that I would get back to her.

Airborne communication with my company normally occurs in the form of e-mail like messages. I decided to bypass this system and contact my flight dispatcher directly on a secondary radio. There is a radio operator in the operations control center who connects you to the telephone of the dispatcher. I was in direct contact with the dispatcher.. I explained the situation I had on board with the family and what it was the family wanted. He said he understood and that he would get back to me.

Two hours went by and I had not heard from the dispatcher. We were going to get busy soon and I needed to know what to tell the family. I sent a text message asking for an update. I saved the return message from the dispatcher and the following is the text:

'Captain, sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. There is policy on this now and I had to check on a few things. Upon your arrival a dedicated escort team will meet the aircraft. The team will escort the family to the ramp and plane side. A van will be used to load the remains with a secondary van for the family. The family will be taken to their departure area and escorted into the terminal where the remains can be seen on the ramp. It is a private area for the family only. When the connecting aircraft arrives, the family will be escorted onto the ramp and plane side to watch the remains being loaded for the final leg home. Captain, most of us here in flight control are veterans. Please pass our condolences on to the family. Thanks.'

I sent a message back telling flight control thanks for a good job. I printed out the message and gave it to the lead flight attendant to pass on to the father. The lead flight attendant was very thankful and told me, 'You have no idea how much this will mean to them.'

Things started getting busy for the descent, approach and landing. After landing, we cleared the runway and taxied to the ramp area. The ramp is huge with 15 gates on either side of the alleyway. It is always a busy area with aircraft maneuvering every which way to enter and exit. When we entered the ramp and checked in with the ramp controller, we were told that all traffic was being held for us.

'There is a team in place to meet the aircraft', we were told. It looked like it was all coming together, then I realized that once we turned the seat belt sign off, everyone would stand up at once and delay the family from getting off the airplane. As we approached our gate, I asked the copilot to tell the ramp controller we were going to stop short of the gate to make an announcement to the passengers. He did that and the ramp controller said, 'Take your time.'

I stopped the aircraft and set the parking brake. I pushed the public address button and said, 'Ladies and gentleman, this is your Captain speaking I have stopped short of our gate to make a special announcement. We have a passenger on board who deserves our honor and respect. His Name is Private XXXXXX, a soldier who recently lost his life. Private XXXXXX is under your feet in the cargo hold. Escorting him today is Army Sergeant XXXXXXX. Also, on board are his father, mother, wife, and daughter. Your entire flight crew is asking for all passengers to remain in their seats to allow the family to exit the aircraft first. Thank you.'

We continued the turn to the gate, came to a stop and started our shutdown procedures. A couple of minutes later I opened the c**ockpit door. I found the two forward flight attendants crying, something you just do not see. I was told that after we came to a stop, every passenger on the aircraft stayed in their seats, waiting for the family to exit the aircraft.

When the family got up and gathered their things, a passenger slowly started to clap his hands. Moments later more passengers joined in and soon the entire aircraft was clapping. Words of 'God Bless You', I'm sorry, thank you, be proud, and other kind words were uttered to the family as they made their way down the aisle and out of the airplane. They were escorted down to the ramp to finally be with their loved one.

Many of the passengers disembarking thanked me for the announcement I had made. They were just words, I told them, I could say them over and over again, but nothing I say will bring back that brave soldier.

I respectfully ask that all of you reflect on this event and the sacrifices that millions of our men and women have made to ensure our freedom and safety in these United States of AMERICA .

SkyMan

To all who have served, thank you VERY much!!!

pakasmom

Swampboy, Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your ride in the B-17.

Zubie, We should all shed a few tears for our fallen. Thank you, for helping me do so.

Broadstruck

Swampboy, Great post, super cool video, and what an incredible gift!!!

1945-P Broadstruck Crusty Washie.

lkeigwin

In memory to all who served to protect our freedom, and to the families of the fallen.
Lance.

lcoopie

Zubie

your story reminds me of a movie I saw last night called
Taking Chance
Taking Chance is a 2009 historical drama based upon the experiences of Lt. Col. Michael Strobl (Kevin Bacon) escorting the body of a Marine, PFC Chance Phelps (posthumously promoted to LCpl), back to his hometown from the Iraq War.[1][2]

A very good movie IMO

melvin289

Not going to post a coin here, just the words I saw on an Editorial Cartoon.

"They gave up all their tomorrows so we can have ours."

Thanks to all those that served.

Ron

WoodenJefferson

“Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway”

LeeG

Very Nice Story!


A coin I used to own:

Outhaul

Salute.