In Honor Of

Today is Nov 11, in America we call this Veterans Day, inEurope it's called Armstice Day.  It's a time when we stop to remember the cost of freedom  and the men, women, children and animals that have paid the ultimate price.
     In honor of that, I have posted a picture of my Uncle Gene.  He was 19 at the time of joining the Army.  The Army made him a pilot and gave him the rank of Captain, he flew B 25's in WW2, based on Okinawa .  He flew over Japan, making bombing runs.  
    Towards the end of his life (79) he came to live with me in Florida.  He never spoke of the war, even when asked.  But I did hear him crying in the middle of the night or scream out from nightmares that he still lived with.  One night, after a particularly bad nightmare, he told me how his best friend was returning from a run, the plane was damaged and ran out of fuel.  Gene watched as the plane spiral to the ground, from the sky, and crash.  He went out, afterwards and collected the body parts that he could find, for burial in Oahu  at the Punch Bowl.
       Gene never complained though, he was proud of the this country and all that it stood for.  While it wasn't perfect, he felt that it was still the greatest country in the world and a wonderful place to live.

Today is dedicated to Gene, and every one and thing that gave the ultimate for us.