John Landry, 85, in the kitchen of his Thetford Township home, Landry fought for the NAVY in WWII as a top turret gunner and as a ground soldier in the battle of Okinawa in Japan. Landry has never talked about his experiences during the battle of Okinawa until recently, when he decided he wanted to tell his story "I didn't talk about the war because I didn't want people to hear about it, " Landry said.
This is very inspiring to me. How often do we see these old guys in Walmart and Sears and many other places barly getting along. We, and I forget that they were young strong men at one time, and the stories they must have to tell. I am very pround of our past heros, but for them we may not be here. I found this on Facebook, and wanted to share it with all of you.
THETFORD TWP., Michigan -- He wasn't even supposed to be there.
John Landry never spoke about the island, the scattered bodies, the smell of death -- but six decades later, nightmares of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II woke him up from his sleep soaked in sweat.
"They were things I could never talk about, but it's time I told it like it was," said Landry, 85, whose buried memories began haunting him after he saw scenes of the Iraq war on television.
"I don't want to leave this world and take it with me."
The most gruesome chapter of the veteran's life happened in the Battle of Okinawa -- the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific theater of the war.
It was a small mistake that landed him there.
If only he hadn't broken the U.S. Navy's dress code.
After getting in a scuffle because he was wearing his Navy cap the wrong way one day, Landry faced a choice: Get shipped to the Pacific or face military jail and a possible dishonorable discharge.
"I could've spent the rest of my career in San Diego drinking iced drinks," the blue-gray-eyed vet mused, sitting in his Thetford Township home near medals that include two Purple Hearts.
Instead, the upstate New York native who had returned to the U.S. after flying 32 air missions in England, returned to a war he thought he was finished fighting.
It was 1944 and the then-18-year-old top turret gunner was perched at a bar in San Diego where he was to spend the rest of his service teaching gunnery. That's when someone behind him brusquely pushed down his hat.
A teenage Landry, who had had a couple of drinks, sharply swung his body around, knocking the shore patrolman who had corrected Landry's hat position to match West Coast Navy codes.
"The next thing I knew I was in a patrol wagon being sent to the brig (the Navy jail)," Landry recalled.
Facing a severe charge of assaulting a shore patrolman, Landry went back to war to clear his record.
"I would have been court-martialed," said Landry, who stayed three days in the military jail. "I couldn't disgrace my family like that."
So he found himself on a cargo ship among a group of other sailors "who had also gotten into some trouble."
And that's how the Navy first class petty officer ended up on Okinawa Island in southwestern Japan in 1945, fighting in one of the fiercest battles of the war.
"The things that went on on that island are things you never forget," Landry said. "Death was all over the place."
Except for a long time, Landry did manage to push down those memories.
Only recently have the long-blocked scenes started to come back to life.
He can suddenly see mothers clutching babies and leaping off cliffs into the water. He can see the natives fleeing into caves engulfed by fire minutes later from grenades.
"What got me was these people were trying to get away from us, and it was their island," he said. "I hadn't seen the destruction we were doing from the air. Now I'm on land and I'm seeing the bodies, the kids. I could smell burning flesh, which is something if you ever got near it, you never forget."
The ferocity of fighting in the 82-day-long bitter battle from March to June 1945 caused among the highest casualties of any WWII engagement, earning it the nickname "Typhoon of Steel."
Hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed or wounded or attempted suicide.
Had he followed the rules, his last war memory would have stayed in Europe.
He would have continued to tell his family the only part he has always told -- about the roughly eight months he spent performing air missions for the British Coastal Command.
And how he served in the same squadron as Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. -- President John F. Kennedy's brother who died in a plane crash. How he ate dinner next to and walked the town with the sociable pilot.
"I was very proud to have known him, whether his brother was president or not," Landry said.
But about five years ago, Landry was reminded of the untold stories when he was combing his hair and a sliver of what he believes was shrapnel from Okinawa fell from his head.
"He'd tell us about his flying days, but he never talked about Okinawa," said his wife, Patricia. "I think he wants to get it out in the open. The World War II veterans are dying off, and their stories are getting lost."
Landry, who spent much of civilian life as a construction heavy equipment operator, joined the Navy "because I liked the navy-blue suit" and was drawn to romantic sailor tales.
The father of five sons said Okinawa scenes have started coming back in bits and pieces, many times through nightmares.
"I'm lost and I can't get to where I want to be," he said of his dreams. "I think it's because I don't want to do what I have to do. I don't want to wake up in a foxhole or in the dirt."
He has finally began sharing with his family the details he had intentionally forgotten.
"I've been through what I've been through, and I changed because of it. I just want them to hear it," he said. "But I'm so lucky. I've got my mind, a beautiful wife and a beautiful life. I wouldn't change anything."
Friday, August 28, 2009
World War II veteran can finally open up about horrific battle- "Death was all over the place"
Thursday, August 27, 2009
My Blog
Times have been getting pretty hectic at work lately, and I have not been able to get on line at all. When I get home, I am so tired that all I do is have a couple of beers relax for a little while eat supper and go to bed. I do get to visit some of my friends at times, and I hope this will get better soon. I guess it is a good thing though that we are doing so well at work. Anyhow don't be offended because I haven't visited lately.. I feel pretty good tonight so I took an hour to pay my respects to some. I am now going to bed now and it is only 2030 hours. My best to all of venture onto my little part of the blogdom.
Sphere: Related ContentWednesday, August 26, 2009
Wednesday Hero
Sgt. 1st Class Donald Johnson, the electronic warfare officer of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Multi-National Division-Baghdad, talks with local Iraqi kids while on a patrol.
Photo courtesy of United States Army
Taken by Pfc. Evan Loyd
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Infant cut in men's battle over biscuits
This has got to be some of most messed stuff I have ever heard of. These folks need to be put away, just for being stupid.
DALLAS -- A 6-month-old girl was cut with a butcher knife during a melee early Thursday between a grandfather and grandson over who ate some sausage biscuits.
Walter Reed Booker, the child's great-grandfather, was in the Dallas County jail facing charges of injury to a child and aggravated assault. Booker, 52 and a convicted felon, was held in lieu of bail totaling $40,000.
Police responded to a report of a domestic disturbance about 1:15 a.m. at Booker's home in the 2200 block of Dathe Street, south of Fair Park.
Tory Kirk, Booker's grandson and the infant's father, told police he and the child's mother had arrived home and placed the infant on the bed to go to sleep.
Kirk then went into the kitchen to get something to eat and "discovered that somebody had eaten all of the sausage biscuits that he had purchased earlier."
He asked the child's mother whether she had eaten them. She said she hadn't. He then asked Booker whether he'd eaten them, causing him to become enraged.
Kirk and Booker began fighting before Kirk retreated to the bedroom and shut the door.
"Booker, now armed with what was described as a butcher knife, kicked the door open and went after complainant Kirk in an attempt to stab him," the report said.
Booker lunged at Kirk, who was on the bed, but Kirk evaded him. The infant suffered a cut on her arm.
Kirk and the child's mother were uninjured.
Booker has been convicted in Dallas County of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and felony DWI.
Pasadena police officer fatally shot by suspect in trailer park
This is a damn shame.
PASADENA, Texas—A Pasadena police officer was fatally shot in the line of duty at a trailer park Friday morning.
It happened around 6: 30 a.m. near the intersection of Shaver and Queens.
Pasadena officer shot
Raw aerials from the scene
August 21, 2009 View larger E-mail Clip More Video Pasadena police said the officer was responding to a disturbance call, talking to the suspect’s mother on the front porch of the trailer when the suspect’s wife, who was inside the home, shouted, “He’s got a gun!”
Within seconds, the suspect came out and shot the officer in the head.
The suspect was also shot in the head, though police said it’s unclear if the slain officer or his backup pulled the trigger.
The mortally wounded officer was airlifted to Memorial Hermann, where he died just after 7 a.m.
Police said the officer was 29 years old and had a wife and young kids. He’d been an officer with the Pasadena Police Department for four years, and before that he was a dispatcher.
Police said the suspect was airlifted to Memorial Hermann, where he remained in critical condition.
Investigators don’t believe the suspect and his wife lived in the trailer park, and they said the suspect may have mental health issues.
Both the suspect’s wife and mother were cooperating with police.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Wednesday Hero
Pfc. Tavonte Johnson, a field radio operator with Headquarters Company, 7th Marine Regiment, provides security after a simulated attack by a suicide bomber on Aug. 8, as part of 7th Marine Regiment�s pre-deployment training exercise.
Photo courtesy of United States Marine Corps
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Man carrying assault weapon attends Obama protest
This is kinda spooky.
PHOENIX (AP) -- About a dozen people carrying guns, including one with a military-style rifle, milled among protesters outside the convention center where President Barack Obama was giving a speech Monday - the latest incident in which protesters have openly displayed firearms near the president.
Gun-rights advocates say they're exercising their constitutional right to bear arms and protest, while those who argue for more gun control say it could be a disaster waiting to happen.
Phoenix police said the gun-toters at Monday's event, including the man carrying an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle slung over his shoulder, didn't need permits. No crimes were committed, and no one was arrested.
The man with the rifle declined to be identified but told The Arizona Republic that he was carrying the assault weapon because he could. "In Arizona, I still have some freedoms," he said.
Phoenix police Detective J. Oliver, who monitored the man at the downtown protest, said police also wanted to make sure no one decided to harm him.
"Just by his presence and people seeing the rifle and people knowing the president was in town, it sparked a lot of emotions," Oliver said. "We were keeping peace on both ends."
Last week, during Obama's health care town hall in Portsmouth, N.H., a man carrying a sign reading "It is time to water the tree of liberty" stood outside with a pistol strapped to his leg.
"It's a political statement," he told The Boston Globe. "If you don't use your rights, then you lose your rights."
Police asked the man to move away from school property, but he was not arrested.
Fred Solop, a Northern Arizona University political scientist, said the incidents in New Hampshire and Arizona could signal the beginning of a disturbing trend.
"When you start to bring guns to political rallies, it does layer on another level of concern and significance," Solop said. "It actually becomes quite scary for many people. It creates a chilling effect in the ability of our society to carry on honest communication."
He said he's never heard of someone bringing an assault weapon near a presidential event. "The larger the gun, the more menacing the situation," he said.
Phoenix was Obama's last stop on a four-day tour of western states, including Montana and Colorado.
Authorities in Montana said they received no reports of anyone carrying firearms during Obama's health care town hall near Bozeman on Friday. About 1,000 people both for and against Obama converged at a protest area near the Gallatin Field Airport hangar where the event took place. One person accused of disorderly conduct was detained and released, according to the Gallatin Airport Authority.
Heather Benjamin of Denver's Mesa County sheriff's department, the lead agency during Obama's visit there, said no one was arrested.
Arizona is an "open-carry" state, which means anyone legally allowed to have a firearm can carry it in public as long as it's visible. Only someone carrying a concealed weapon is required to have a permit.
Paul Helmke, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said people should not be allowed to bring guns to events where Obama is.
"To me, this is craziness," he said. "When you bring a loaded gun, particularly a loaded assault rifle, to any political event, but particularly to one where the president is appearing, you're just making the situation dangerous for everyone."
He said people who bring guns to presidential events are distracting the Secret Service and law enforcement from protecting the president. "The more guns we see at more events like this, there's more potential for something tragic happening," he said.
Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said armed demonstrators in open-carry states such as Arizona and New Hampshire have little impact on security plans for the president.
"In both cases, the subject was not entering our site or otherwise attempting to," Donovan said. "They were in a designated public viewing area. The main thing to know is that they would not have been allowed inside with a weapon."
Representatives of the National Rifle Association did not return calls for comment.
Make-A-Wish grants Texas boy's 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' dream
I think this is a wonderful story and wanted to share.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of North Texas granted its 4,000th wish to a young boy who has dreamed of sitting in the hot seat on "Who Want to Be a Millionaire."
"I got to go up there on the stage and sit in the hot seat," said Austin Webb, who was born partially blind and suffers from a tumor in the very spot where his nervous system comes together.
"The doctor says eventually something will happen," said Frances Webb, Austin's mother. "He can't give us a date, but because of the location and the size of it, something will happen one day. We just don't know the severity of it."
A still image showed Webb throw his hands in the air as he met host Regis Philbin.
"He was in heaven, complete heaven," Webb said. "He couldn't get Regis to ask him a question fast enough."
Then came the big moment, the million-dollar question.
"Who drives the number 14 Old Spice race car?" Austin said while remembering the last question. "And guess what the answer was? Tony Stewart ... It was right from the top of my brain. I didn't have to use any of the lifelines or anything like that."
"This moment was about him and just him," Webb said.
Austin proudly displayed the $1-million check.
"I love [the Make-A-Wish Foundation]," he said. "They helped make this dream true."
Austin said he plans on buying a nice car and a 12-story mansion with the money.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Fort Campbell Welcomes Home Vietnam Vets
Many of us remember how it was when we returned home, and will never forget how we were treated. I see men sometimes wearing the Viet Nam Vet hat, and I never fail to go up to them and shake their hand, thank them for there service and welcome them home.
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- Tears filled the eyes of some Vietnam veterans who were warmly greeted with cheers from their family and friends Sunday in an re-enactment of their original return from the war, when they were often met with angry demonstrators and harsh headlines.
The ceremony was a first for the 101st Airborne Division and the Army, said Maj. Patrick Seiber, an Army spokesman based at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.
"Our hope is that other units and other posts will follow our lead in having this type of ceremony," he said.
Mickey Leighton, a 72-year-old Army veteran from Naples, Fla., said listening to the applause and praise from the community was very emotional.
Leighton, who started his military career at Fort Campbell in 1956, served two tours in Vietnam including the Tet Offensive. He returned in 1972 in the midst of angry anti-war protests that often placed blame on the individual soldiers.
"We were treated very shabbily," he said. "In some cases they would throw eggs at us, they would throw empty beer bottles at us and they would call us baby-killers."
He said many soldiers would immediately change clothes because they didn't want to wear their uniforms in public in the late 1960s and early '70s while traveling home after returning from war.
"Never in the history of the military have I known of any division or any military installation providing a specific welcome home for Vietnam veterans," Leighton said. "This is very touching."
In contrast, Fort Campbell soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are welcomed back with a ceremony after every deployment, with many completing three or four tours since the wars began.
Army leaders and the community around Fort Campbell collaborated for the Vietnam ceremony, Seiber said. The 101st Airborne Division Association, a group for former soldiers from the division, helped to organize and get the word out.
"I can't think of a better community to do this in than the Fort Campbell community," Seiber said.
Although many veterans had ties to Fort Campbell, the ceremonies included those from almost all the services. Many wore pieces of their old uniforms such as pins, awards and ribbons. Relatives filled the bleachers holding up signs that read "Welcome Home" and "Thank you for your service."
Gene Jones, 67, of Louisville, went to war in 1964 and 1965 with the 101st Airborne. He spent two years in the hospital recovering after he lost his leg in the fighting.
"The American public didn't support the war," he said. "I was there because I thought I was doing the right thing," he said.
"Evidently I was doing the right thing because of the turnout like this. We were long due," he said of the ceremony. "It brings tears to your eyes."
Seiber said he expected more than 1,500 veterans to participate during multiple ceremonies.
Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division, said the time had come to do the right thing.
"We realize that many of you did not receive the honorable homecoming you deserved as American heroes," Campbell said. "We wanted to make sure that another day doesn't go by when you did not have a proper welcome home."
Pools and Their Problems.
I have been having fits with my pool for the past month or so. The water was so clowdy I couldn't see more than a foot or so under the surface. I brushed it, shocked it with massive amounts of chlorine and still no help. I had my water tested and everything balanced as it should. I had gotten to the point where I was ready to drain 26,000 gallons of water out into the street. I did some google searches and found out about using liquid bleach. I made a trip to wallyworld and bought 8 gallons. I put it in the pool, and the next day the water began to clear. Well to cut this story short, my pool is now back as it should be. I now add one gallon every few days and it is looking good. I had been buying 25 lbs of shock for around $65.00 which would last for about a month, well those days are over. Bleach is $1.50 per gallon and works much better. Actually I had gotten to the point that I was thinking about turning it into a fish pond, and I may still.
