by Nancy
The title of this blog means "for my country" in Latin. I chose it because today is Memorial Day in the United States, a holiday for most of its people. Amid the sales and cookouts and vacation trips, the true reason for the day often receives comparatively little attention. This is the day to honor those who've served our country, some of them by sacrificing their lives. For men and women in the uniforms of their respective nations around the world, today is not a holiday.
As the daughter of two veterans, both of them gone now, I wanted to honor all members of the armed services, regardless of nation, today. My parents met in the navy. My mother was a disbursing officer, and my father was a hospitalman chief at the naval hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. As a disbursing officer, my mother required armed guards on payroll day because the sailors were paid in cash. The guards had to drive her into Memphis to pick up the payroll and escort her around the base as she disbursed it. She and my father met when he drew guard duty. Not until he was dying did it occur to me to ask her how a lieutenant (junior grade) and a chief petty officer could date without running into trouble. With a shrug, she answered, "It was a small base, and everybody knew everybody."
My father grew up in the Phillippine Islands, where he and two of his brothers, Robert and John, joined the navy in 1941. Stationed on the fortress island of Corregidor, which fell to the Japanese in May 1942, they became prisoners of war. Daddy was held in Manila for a while but spent his 21st birthday on a hell ship bound for Japan, where he remained until the war ended. Because there was no anesthetic for prisoners, he underwent an appendectomy without it. At least John and Robert were held in the same camp toward the end, and they were liberated together. Only when they reached the naval hospital in San Diego did they learn that their mother had been killed in the bombardment when the Allies took back Manila.
Daddy claimed no one told him his status as a former POW made him exempt from service at the front when the Korean War rolled around, so he shipped out as a hospital corpsman attached to a unit of marines. He lost his watch going over the side of the ship for the Inchon landing (pictured at left). While driving an ambulance to the front later, he sustained shrapnel wounds in his hand but made several more trips before receiving medical attention, conduct that earned him the Silver Star and the Purple Heart. He was eligible for the Bronze Star as a result of the Corregidor siege, but he never claimed it. When I asked him why, he said General MacArthur ordered them for all the men he left behind to be captured when the navy took him off in a PT boat, and Daddy felt it didn't mean much when awarded en masse that way.
His military service ended after he contracted tuberculosis in Korea and underwent a partial thoracotomy, the recommended treatment at the time. Medically retired from the service as a result, he spent 18 months in a VA hospital, where he took up leather working and started collecting coins. The leather working fell by the wayside, but he collected coins for the rest of his life. He filled a jar for each of his grandchildren with coins minted in the year of that child's birth. Thanks to the G. I. Bill, he was able to earn a college degree. Twenty-one years later, I graduated from the same college.
My mom joined the navy (WAVES ~ Women Accepted for Volunteeer Emergency Service) in 1944. Her twin brother was in the army, stationed in England, and I suspect she wanted to do something for the war effort, too. She started as an ensign after supply school, became a lieutenant (junior grade) and had been awarded promotion, but not actually promoted, to full lieutenant when she resigned her commission to marry Daddy.
They started their married life at Camp Lejeune, which was then known to the residents as "Swamp Lejeune." Their military service was such an important influence on their lives that we sang the navy hymn, "Eternal Father Strong to Save," as the concluding piece at each of their funerals. The minister at both was a navy veteran and former chaplain.
Daddy died in 2000 and Mom in 2005, but they commemmorated every Veterans Day and every Memorial Day during the 52 years they were married. My parents and my uncles were, obviously, among the lucky ones who survived the war. As we all know, many men and women died. As an elderly RAF veteran told a television interviewer about his comrades in the Battle of Britain, "They gave all their tomorrows for your today." On this particular one of my todays, I salute all of those veterans and everyone who came after them.
Today, the banditas honor the following veterans and active service members :
Nancy:
Thomas V. Northcott, HMCUSN (ret.) - World War II
(Pacific Theater;Corregidor, POW) and Korea
Eleanor Jackson Northcott, Lt.(j.g.)USNR - World War II, stateside
John F. Northcott and Robert Northcott, U. S. Navy - World War II
(Pacific Theater; Corregidor, POWs)
Edward W. Jackson, U. S. Army - World War II, European Theater
Tawny:
James Ramirez, U. S. Army 1987-1991
Beth:
Cpl. Laurence Burgoon, U. S. Army 101st Airborne, World War II (European Theater; D-Day, Operation Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge, POW)
Donna:
Currently serving in the U.S. Army 103rd Airborne, my two nephews: Lt. Thomas Lutz and (overseas) Daniel McGinnis. My brother, Major General Dennis Lutz in the Army Reserves, my brother Michael Lutz (Vietnam Signal Corp) and my father Sgt. Ralph E. Lutz (deceased) - WWII (European Theater, D-Day, Battle of the Bulge)
Joan:
Supply Sgt. Charles Kayse, U.S. Army, World War II, Philippines.
Sgt. Chad Chapman, Louisiana National Guard, U.S. Army, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Jo:
Sergeant First Class Benjamin Lewis, U.S. Army, World War II, Guadalcanal
Christie:
My grandfather, Lt. Colonial William Ready, WWII 413th Sqdn, 96th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force. Medals: The Silver Star, Distinguished Flight Cross, & Air Medals. He flew 18 combat missions, had 170 combat hours flying B-17s as pilot on missions, 13 in Group Lead or Combat Grp Lead position. Remained on active duty through Korean War
My father, Maj James Kelley, US Air Force, Ret. Served stateside during WWII. War ended just as his combat group was called to Europe.
My oldest brother, Capt. Jerrold Kelley, US Army Helicopter pilot, Vietnam. He was transferred to Vietnam as pilot of a gun ship, also flew into Nam to rescue injured soldiers, & later flew higher rank officers to view the battle sites. Awarded the Purple Heart and 2 Bronze Stars with valor, and 2 Distinguished Flight Crosses with valor,
Another brother, Chief Warrant Officer John Kelley, US Army did not serve during war time.
And two nephews, James and David Kelley, Army Reserves served in Kuiwat and Iraq
I also had a great-great uncle who was award the Medal of Honor. His heroic action resulted in the capture of 36 German soldiers and the seizure of the strongpoint.
Jeanne:
I'd like to honor the following stalwart Veterans:
My father, Corporal, Surgical Tech, US Army, James H. Pickering, WWII, European Theatre
My Uncle, James A. McDowell, US Army, WWII, European Theatre (deceased)
My Father-in-law, Pharmacists Mate, O. William Adams, US Navy WWII, Pacific Theatre (deceased)
My Uncle-in-law, Victor W. Adams, US Army, Meterorologist, WWII, (Various) (deceased)
My Uncle-in-law, Ralph Dowling, US Army, WWII, Pacific Theatre
My friend, Alex W. Poe, USMC, Vietnam
As well as ancestors serving in WWI, War of 1812, Civil War, French and Indian Wars, and the American Revolution.
The title of this blog means "for my country" in Latin. I chose it because today is Memorial Day in the United States, a holiday for most of its people. Amid the sales and cookouts and vacation trips, the true reason for the day often receives comparatively little attention. This is the day to honor those who've served our country, some of them by sacrificing their lives. For men and women in the uniforms of their respective nations around the world, today is not a holiday.
As the daughter of two veterans, both of them gone now, I wanted to honor all members of the armed services, regardless of nation, today. My parents met in the navy. My mother was a disbursing officer, and my father was a hospitalman chief at the naval hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. As a disbursing officer, my mother required armed guards on payroll day because the sailors were paid in cash. The guards had to drive her into Memphis to pick up the payroll and escort her around the base as she disbursed it. She and my father met when he drew guard duty. Not until he was dying did it occur to me to ask her how a lieutenant (junior grade) and a chief petty officer could date without running into trouble. With a shrug, she answered, "It was a small base, and everybody knew everybody."
My father grew up in the Phillippine Islands, where he and two of his brothers, Robert and John, joined the navy in 1941. Stationed on the fortress island of Corregidor, which fell to the Japanese in May 1942, they became prisoners of war. Daddy was held in Manila for a while but spent his 21st birthday on a hell ship bound for Japan, where he remained until the war ended. Because there was no anesthetic for prisoners, he underwent an appendectomy without it. At least John and Robert were held in the same camp toward the end, and they were liberated together. Only when they reached the naval hospital in San Diego did they learn that their mother had been killed in the bombardment when the Allies took back Manila.
Daddy claimed no one told him his status as a former POW made him exempt from service at the front when the Korean War rolled around, so he shipped out as a hospital corpsman attached to a unit of marines. He lost his watch going over the side of the ship for the Inchon landing (pictured at left). While driving an ambulance to the front later, he sustained shrapnel wounds in his hand but made several more trips before receiving medical attention, conduct that earned him the Silver Star and the Purple Heart. He was eligible for the Bronze Star as a result of the Corregidor siege, but he never claimed it. When I asked him why, he said General MacArthur ordered them for all the men he left behind to be captured when the navy took him off in a PT boat, and Daddy felt it didn't mean much when awarded en masse that way.
His military service ended after he contracted tuberculosis in Korea and underwent a partial thoracotomy, the recommended treatment at the time. Medically retired from the service as a result, he spent 18 months in a VA hospital, where he took up leather working and started collecting coins. The leather working fell by the wayside, but he collected coins for the rest of his life. He filled a jar for each of his grandchildren with coins minted in the year of that child's birth. Thanks to the G. I. Bill, he was able to earn a college degree. Twenty-one years later, I graduated from the same college.
My mom joined the navy (WAVES ~ Women Accepted for Volunteeer Emergency Service) in 1944. Her twin brother was in the army, stationed in England, and I suspect she wanted to do something for the war effort, too. She started as an ensign after supply school, became a lieutenant (junior grade) and had been awarded promotion, but not actually promoted, to full lieutenant when she resigned her commission to marry Daddy.
They started their married life at Camp Lejeune, which was then known to the residents as "Swamp Lejeune." Their military service was such an important influence on their lives that we sang the navy hymn, "Eternal Father Strong to Save," as the concluding piece at each of their funerals. The minister at both was a navy veteran and former chaplain.
Daddy died in 2000 and Mom in 2005, but they commemmorated every Veterans Day and every Memorial Day during the 52 years they were married. My parents and my uncles were, obviously, among the lucky ones who survived the war. As we all know, many men and women died. As an elderly RAF veteran told a television interviewer about his comrades in the Battle of Britain, "They gave all their tomorrows for your today." On this particular one of my todays, I salute all of those veterans and everyone who came after them.
Today, the banditas honor the following veterans and active service members :
Nancy:
Thomas V. Northcott, HMCUSN (ret.) - World War II
(Pacific Theater;Corregidor, POW) and Korea
Eleanor Jackson Northcott, Lt.(j.g.)USNR - World War II, stateside
John F. Northcott and Robert Northcott, U. S. Navy - World War II
(Pacific Theater; Corregidor, POWs)
Edward W. Jackson, U. S. Army - World War II, European Theater
Tawny:
James Ramirez, U. S. Army 1987-1991
Beth:
Cpl. Laurence Burgoon, U. S. Army 101st Airborne, World War II (European Theater; D-Day, Operation Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge, POW)
Donna:
Currently serving in the U.S. Army 103rd Airborne, my two nephews: Lt. Thomas Lutz and (overseas) Daniel McGinnis. My brother, Major General Dennis Lutz in the Army Reserves, my brother Michael Lutz (Vietnam Signal Corp) and my father Sgt. Ralph E. Lutz (deceased) - WWII (European Theater, D-Day, Battle of the Bulge)
Joan:
Supply Sgt. Charles Kayse, U.S. Army, World War II, Philippines.
Sgt. Chad Chapman, Louisiana National Guard, U.S. Army, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Jo:
Sergeant First Class Benjamin Lewis, U.S. Army, World War II, Guadalcanal
Christie:
My grandfather, Lt. Colonial William Ready, WWII 413th Sqdn, 96th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force. Medals: The Silver Star, Distinguished Flight Cross, & Air Medals. He flew 18 combat missions, had 170 combat hours flying B-17s as pilot on missions, 13 in Group Lead or Combat Grp Lead position. Remained on active duty through Korean War
My father, Maj James Kelley, US Air Force, Ret. Served stateside during WWII. War ended just as his combat group was called to Europe.
My oldest brother, Capt. Jerrold Kelley, US Army Helicopter pilot, Vietnam. He was transferred to Vietnam as pilot of a gun ship, also flew into Nam to rescue injured soldiers, & later flew higher rank officers to view the battle sites. Awarded the Purple Heart and 2 Bronze Stars with valor, and 2 Distinguished Flight Crosses with valor,
Another brother, Chief Warrant Officer John Kelley, US Army did not serve during war time.
And two nephews, James and David Kelley, Army Reserves served in Kuiwat and Iraq
I also had a great-great uncle who was award the Medal of Honor. His heroic action resulted in the capture of 36 German soldiers and the seizure of the strongpoint.
Jeanne:
I'd like to honor the following stalwart Veterans:
My father, Corporal, Surgical Tech, US Army, James H. Pickering, WWII, European Theatre
My Uncle, James A. McDowell, US Army, WWII, European Theatre (deceased)
My Father-in-law, Pharmacists Mate, O. William Adams, US Navy WWII, Pacific Theatre (deceased)
My Uncle-in-law, Victor W. Adams, US Army, Meterorologist, WWII, (Various) (deceased)
My Uncle-in-law, Ralph Dowling, US Army, WWII, Pacific Theatre
My friend, Alex W. Poe, USMC, Vietnam
As well as ancestors serving in WWI, War of 1812, Civil War, French and Indian Wars, and the American Revolution.
Anna S:
I'd like to honour all the British troops, past and present, living and deceased, who have done so much in so many conflicts. We're very proud of you. A special tribute to my father-in-law, Fred G Sugden - RAF - WWII and to my brother-in-law Steve currently serving in the RAF.
YouTube abounds with tribute to the services, Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard. Is there a service member you'd like to honor or a tale of heroism you'd like to share? What's your favorite book or movie with military characters?
YouTube abounds with tribute to the services, Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard. Is there a service member you'd like to honor or a tale of heroism you'd like to share? What's your favorite book or movie with military characters?
