Memorial Day Memories, 2025

 

I was born in 1936 in Hackley Hospital, Muskegon, Michigan. I share some Memorial Day memories dating back to the 40s. 

-I remember the attack on Pearl Harbor.

-I remember “black-out” sirens, and the fear I felt when every light in the entire city was turned off. Blackouts were implemented to reduce visibility from the air, making cities and potential targets less visible to enemy aircraft, particularly bombers.

-I remember nightmares, dreaming that Adolph Hitler was hiding under my bed.

-I remember Memorial Day parades that bore no resemblance to the celebrative processions of today. They were quiet, the atmosphere was somber, and mothers along the parade route wept.

-I remember seeing service flags in the windows of our neighbors, showing that they had sons or daughters serving in the military. These flags featured blue stars, with each star representing a family member in the service. The blue star was converted to gold if that family member died in service.

-I remember a similar flag, larger in size, on a post in our church sanctuary…blue and gold stars.

-I remember the sad experience of watching a blue star fall, with gold underneath, at the funeral service of my cousin who died in the service of his country.

-I remember, in our little Christian School classroom, singing “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.” Many years later I learned that this song originated from a priest at Pearl Harbor. On one of the damaged ships the men had formed an ammunition line to get ammo up to the guns.

-I remember the fear/hatred of fellow human beings: Germans and “Japs.”

-I remember taking a drive with my parents to the downtown area, where a captured German U-boat was on display.

-I remember having to be quiet at 6 p.m. daily, when my dad would turn on the family radio to hear commentator Gabriel Heatter, and his World War II-era sign-on, "There's good news tonight!”

-And, I remember that glorious day when the war was over! Cars flooded our city streets with horns blaring! 

That was more than 80 years ago! On Memorial Day, 2025, this old man concludes with messages from two former Presidents. 

"Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay." — Barack Obama

 And this reminder--- 

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter the words, but to live by them." — John F. Kennedy

 

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gregory John McCormick: 1964-2008

Itchy is dead. The lifeless body of this talented rock musician, whose band Shock Therapy was a popular group especially in Europe, was found in a field in Detroit last Wednesday, November 5. The Wayne County Coroner's office informed father Glenn McCormick that the body of his son Gregory, better known to all of us as Itchy, bore no signs of trauma. Glenn said that Itchy, who had been living at his father's dental lab in Detroit, had been drinking to excess for some time. While the toxicology report has not been released yet, the general consensus seems to be that he drank himself to death. Our agency, while still named INNOCENT, first got involved with Itchy in 2005. The Detroit native, who called Germany his home, got involved in some unfortunate activity that placed him in the Michigan State prison system on a charge of arson of a dwelling. It was really just a bonfire in an alley, but an alleged parole violation placed him in prison for 1-20 years. I personally sat w...
Read more

Half-a-race!

The HFP Drag-Racing Fund-Raiser had the potential of being extremely successful, and could have raised several thousand dollars. Let's just say it was partly successful. For background purposes I'll explain that I was racing a 1963 supercharged Studebaker Lark that has a reputation of being one of the fastest stock Studebakers in drag racing today. The engine was built by one of the finest Studebaker engine mechanics in the country, and the car many times has achieved quarter-mile runs in less than 14 seconds! We promised to make at least ten passes in the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags at Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton, Michigan, this past weekend, and we asked for pledges ONLY ON THOSE RUNS REACHED IN LESS THAN 14 SECONDS. On Friday, here's how we fared: Run #1 13.936 @ 101.24 mph Run #2 14.027 @ 101.30 mph Run #3 14.091 @ 100.88 mph Run #4 13.805 @ 102.84 mph Run #5 14.058 @ 101.26 mph By the 5th run we discovered that ...
Read more

What's in the brown paper bag?

I’d like to share a beautiful story...a story not written by me.   I feel certain that Luis Ramirez would be honored to have us pass along what he has written, but I can't ask him.   He's dead.   This message came to me from Texas Death Row in the early days of HFP. I was so touched by the experience that I vowed to keep the story alive. We generally re-publish it during the holiday season. May it remind us, again, that the names on death row represent real people. And, that the death penalty is dead wrong! Anyway, here’s my gift to you today...a story from the late Luiz Ramirez: (In all caps, just the way he sent it)   I CAME HERE IN MAY OF 1999...A TSUNAMI OF EMOTIONS AND THOUGHTS WERE GOING THROUGH MY MIND.   I REMEMBER THE ONLY THINGS IN THE CELL WERE A MATTRESS, PILLOW, A COUPLE SHEETS, A PILLOW CASE, A ROLL OF TOILET PAPER AND A BLANKET.   I REMEMBER SITTING THERE, UTTERLY LOST.   THE FIRST PERSON I MET THERE WAS NAPOLEON BEASLEY.   ...
Read more