Korea, ---When I was there we were on a ridge resting before going to the next ridge . the Battleship Missouri was firing over our heads It was totally awesome to look up and actually see those shells going over with their rather slow whoop, whoop, whoop ,sound, I was amazed that I could see them- I found out much later that those shells were as tall as me , almost 6 feet , and weighed as much as a small Volkswagen. ---Wow! -----think about that a minute throwing that shell 20 miles or more,- unbelievable! when it finished .firing. in came the navy gull winged corsairs (pretty planes) we were cheering them on and guessing which of the pilots were married and those that were not. --If he came way down almost brushing the trees if there were any left, he was single, If he stayed up a couple hundred feet he was married. then after them came the little fat fighter bombers, I don't know what these were, someone said they were the Marine carrier planes they were very daring also,
WE all bitched about the other services -Navy had it easy -Air force eating a hot meal every night -Marines getting all the good stuff , but WE WERE THERE which formed some kind of bond that will last as long as we do -I take my hat off to flyer's and ships that helped us dog faces.THANKS guys A lot of us old and young veterans run into each other on the streets and stores,lots of us wear hats with the units we were in on it, no matter which branch - We smile at each other, sometimes shake hands or just nod , because we really are a band of brothers,.
Portland, OR