A Bit More WWII
I was gratified to find some mainstream sites with articles on Pearl Harbor – it seems (like with 9-11) that some years significant anniversaries get ignored.
One significant milestone: No Pearl Harbor survivors were able to attend today’s ceremony there.
Survivors of the 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor have long been the center of a remembrance ceremony held each year on the military base’s waterfront.
But today only 12 are still alive — all centenarians — and this year none is able to make the pilgrimage to Hawaii to mark the event, scheduled for Sunday.
Other than 2020, when the ceremony was cancelled due to Covid, survivors have come ever year. Last year, there were only two in attendance.
Lou Conter, who was the Arizona’s last living survivor when he died last year at 102, told the AP in 2019 he liked to attend to remember those who lost their lives.
“It’s always good to come back and pay respect to them and give them the top honors that they deserve,” Conter said.CNN/AP
World War II veterans Orval Legget, left, Frank Smith, Keith Goman, Donald McPherson and Donavan Diller. (Christina Lyons/Beatrice Daily Sun via AP)
Another linked article said that we missed the death of Donald McPherson August 14. (who sounds familiar but a Google search of our archives comes up with bupkis.) Mr. McPherson was considered the last fighter ace of WWII extant.
While serving as a Navy pilot of F6F Hellcat fighters aboard the USS Essex in the Pacific theater, McPherson shot down five Japanese planes — the minimum number required to be considered an “ace” pilot, The Associated Press reported.
It may have been “only” 5 kills, but bear in mind: if it’s you or him, your odds of wining are 1 in 2, right? Of winning 2 engagements, 1 in 4. Becoming an ace – 31:1 odds right? When you are betting your life, those are not encouraging.
His service during World War II earned him the Congressional Gold Medal — awarded to those who have made a significant impact on U.S. history and culture — as well as three Distinguished Flying Crosses, according to AP.
Both the American Fighter Aces Association and the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum have recognized McPherson as the last surviving American ace pilot from the war, according to AP.Fox News
Category: We Remember
All too soon there will be no living Veterans of WW 2. They will have faded away as did those of WW 1 and the Civil War. All we can do is remain steadfast in remembering the sacrifices they made and appreciate the freedom for much of the world that they paid for.
May they all Rest in Honored Glory in the arms of their God and perpetual light shine upon them.
Amen🇺🇸🙏
I was fortunate enough to have met one of the last Canadian 2nd Boer War Vets when I was much younger. WW1 Vets were still plentiful then.
At our annual Veteran’s Day dinner, last year there were no WWII vets in attendance. This year, we had just 1.