The moving, poetic tribute begins at about the 20 second mark…
Today is ARMED FORCES DAY!
These Marines were fortunate to have mail call out in the Pacific during WWII. A package from home – with new socks perhaps being the ultimate gift – provided huge emotional uplifts.
During WWII, receiving a package from home was the ultimate morale booster for our boys in uniform. These packages brought tremendous joy to the men, especially when they were near or at the front, subjected to the brutality and extremes of environments.
Upon experiencing the joy of receiving a parcel, very little could surpass finding the lingering scent of their girl’s perfume on a knitted muffler; candy and gum ranked up there, too. Socks were also in high demand as socks wore out much more quickly than sweaters or mufflers and dry socks were essential necessities to ward off trench foot. Indeed, trench foot¹ and frostbite took their toll on our boys in battle more than being wounded…
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Dad was born nearly a century ago.
It’s amazing when you think of it that way.
February 25, 1919 in Seattle, WA to be exact. Over 99 years ago.
The fifth of seven siblings born to Hisakichi and Kono Kanemoto, both legal immigrants from Hiroshima.
…but Dad passed away quietly at 99 years of age on Good Friday, March 30, 2018 in Los Angeles, CA – at the same facility where his older sister, my Aunt Shizue, passed away just a few years earlier at 95.
Just an eulogy in photographs of Dad:
And my last video of Dad:
Dad, I wish I were a much better son… but I know you are joyfully back playing “oninga” or jump-frog in front of your Hiroshima home with your favorite brother Suetaro. I hope you have all the odango you can eat now. You will be forever young.
https://p47koji.com/2012/06/03/theres-no-toilet-paper-in-the-jungle-of-burma/
At 99 years of age, Dad quietly passed away yesterday – Good Friday.
While of course sad, I am happy he had a full life as he loved to eat; that was what he loved to do in his last days. He passed away contently, just about half an hour after he had a good lunch. We took him his favorite Japanese sweets – odango – just a few weeks ago and for that, we are happy.
The firebombing of Tokyo took place in March 1945. I reblog this factual story without any political intent whatsoever.
I wrote this about four years ago, I think… and it is not re-blogged to change anyone’s mind on a topic, especially if you eat soap pods. More so, it is re-blogged to let others know they are not alone in how they feel. Remember, this was written about four years ago.
My feeble attempt to express my opinion…
Our United States has become less of a nation.
It is more than just split in half. A nation cannot survive split in two.
Think of our country being not much more than local drug gangs fighting for their drug turf.
Their own street corner in their perceived territories.
Each gang with their own beliefs, their own mini-economies, their own cultures and in-fighting for control.
And killing those who invade their boundaries.
One gang is right. The other gangs are wrong.
And they choose to ignore their neighborhood if not hold them hostage.
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To me, our nation no longer has collective major goals.
Heck, we Americans now may actually have less commonage with other Americans than ever before.
In my opinion, segregation by race fueled the beginning of disunion.
No. I don’t condone segregation. Of course not. However, since the intense focus…
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I just watched the movie “Churchill”; it’s a fine piece theatrically… But unlike Star Trek which is clearly pure fiction, “Churchill” shows the hideous, subliminal mindset of Hollywood, using free license and its influence in another sad attempt to re-write history.
In it, it presents Churchill adamantly opposed to D-Day when in fact, he used his power to support it. There was some truth in it, sure: Churchill did love his cigars (like me), wished to sail with the invasion fleet into harm’s way on D-Day but did not only on the orders of his King and his bouts with depression… but it reminded me of his wonderful speeches of which I wrote about a few years back.
Sir Winston Churchill and his cigar. From http://www.express.co.uk/news/
While avoiding any political endorsement of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, he did lead England to victory over Hitler’s Germany during World War II.
It was a grave time for England¹. While I am certainly not a military historian, his famous speeches – with his distinctive speech and delivery which helped keep the British morale bolstered – always intrigued me. They were always stirring. Why is that, I thought.
As an example, an excerpt of one of his more famous WWII speeches follows, broadcast to the free world at the end of the Battle of Britain¹. He pays homage to the brave, young RAF pilots who flew countless of sorties in defense of their homeland against numerically superior Nazi warplanes. The radio broadcast recording is set to start moments before his famous words of “Never in the field of human conflict…
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My supercharged Grabber Orange Mustang lived outside 24/7 for her first five years. Old Man Jack’s driveway is to the very left; he would on occasion call me over to his garage to chat.
I was out front one morning, enjoying a gorgeous holiday weekend. While pointing in my general direction, Old Man Jack said to me from across the street, “Koji, she needs to come in at night.” My car was in between Jack and me. He loved my car…almost as much as his F4U Corsair.
Why would he tell me to put my Grabber Orange Mustang into the garage? He knows it’s parked outside 24/7 because the aggravating ex took away my garage without saying a word beforehand.
“Say what, Jack?” asked I…
I was humbled shortly thereafter by this exceptional and aging WWII combat vet who went to war as a young boy.
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Indeed, I…
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GPCox’s post on how political leaders’ personal agendas lead us into war and then onto political coverups compliments my series on FDR, Pearl Harbor and broken secret codes. https://p47koji.com/2014/03/30/what-did-fdr-know-part-1/
People around the nation, including some vocal congressmen, asked why America had been caught off guard at Pearl Harbor.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt said he would appoint an investigatory commission. Supreme Court Justice Owen Roberts — a pro-British internationalist friendly with FDR — was selected to head it. Also appointed to the group: Major General Frank McCoy, General George Marshall’s close friend for 30 years; Brigadier General Joseph McNarney, who was on Marshall’s staff and chosen on his recommendation; retired Rear Admiral Joseph Reeves, whom FDR had given a job in lend-lease; and Admiral William Standley, a former fleet commander. Only the last seemed to have no obvious fraternity with the Washington set.
The commission conducted only two to three days of hearings in Washington. Admiral Standley, arriving late, was startled by the inquiry’s chummy atmosphere. Admiral Harold Stark and General Marshall were asked no difficult or embarrassing questions. Furthermore…
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Masako and Spam Musubi 