Veteran’s Day 2017: Honoring Our Heroes

November 10, 2017
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Veteran’s Day 2017: Honoring Our Heroes

In the United States, every November 11th, we observe Veteran’s Day. It is a day to honor those that serve and have served in the military, to protect our way of life. The following is a post I wrote shortly after the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, which honors one such special veteran.

But First . . .

November is

LUNG CANCER AWARENESS MONTH!

Kicking Cancer’s Arse! Lung cancer survivor Bunny, with former NFL Linebacker Chris Draft, of TeamDraft.org! Sadly, Chris lost his beloved wife Keasha to Lung Cancer.

Team Aux’s own Bunny Laverty is a recent survivor of Lung Cancer.

Please, join us in the fight against the most lethal and least-funded form of cancer!

Donate to former NFL Linebacker Chris Draft’s Lung Cancer advocacy charity, TeamDraft.org!

And, if you’d like to enjoy some literary aviation adventures while supporting the cause, grab a copy of There I Wuz! Volume IV. Half of all author proceeds go to TeamDraft.org!

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And Now . . .

Veteran’s Day 2017: Honoring Our Heroes

Originally published 17 December, 2016 on AirwaysNews.com, it is also a story you will find in

Reflections on a Life in the Sky, Section 7 of

There I Wuz!

Adventures From 3 Decades in the Sky

Volume IV

Now in eBook and Print.

Audiobook coming soon!

Veteran’s Day 2017: Honoring Our Heroes

December 7th, 2016:

A Date Which Will Live in Memory . . .

an Encore Blog Post

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with great humility and honor that I am happy to report that Bunny and I were able to attend this week’s ceremonies commemorating the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Many alive today may not appreciate the impact of Pearl Harbor had on the United States, and on the world. One may think of it as the “9/11” of the 20th Century. It forced isolationist America into World War II—and certainly changed the course of history.

az-mem-stannis December 7th, 2016: A Date Which Will Live in Memory

Nimitz Class carrier John C. Stannis, as viewed from Pearl Harbor Memorial Park. The Arizona Memorial can be seen across the bay, between the left two trees.

We had been invited by Blog Buddy Ross McDonough and his family to attend the ceremonies which would honor his grandfather, WWII veteran, Seaman First Class, Edwin Hamilton. Known by all of us simply as, Gramps.

Thanks to an effort spearheaded by his family—and by donations from YOU, our fellow Blog Buddies—we were able to raise the funds for 93 year-old Gramps to attend the ceremonies!

Through our efforts, we raised nearly $7,500, from an original goal of $5,000!

I AM PROUD OF ALL OF YOU BLOG BUDDIES—THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN!

gramps-parade-2 December 7th, 2016: A Date Which Will Live in Memory

Gramps is honored at the night parade in Waikiki!

Determined to join the historic events, several days of stress for Bunny and I ensued. We were concerned over whether, flying standby, we would even make it in time to the ceremonies. For, as December 7th approached, the world approached Hawaii as well. Thank the Lord, we made it in time.

aux-ma-ross December 7th, 2016: A Date Which Will Live in Memory

Bunny and I join Ross at his Waikiki accommodations!

Stress continued to abound, however, as we knew the entire island would descend upon the ceremonies, and first-come-first-served ruled the day.

Up at oh-dark-thirty, Bunny and I parked our rental at Aloha stadium and—rather than wait 30′ for a bus ride—took the 20′ walk to the event.

The main event would occur on Kilo Pier, where WWII vets and their close relatives had been invited. Somewhat bummed that we were not able to secure tickets to the main event, we did our best to make do at the public location, viewing it onscreen at Pearl Harbor Park.

pearl-survivor-kid December 7th, 2016: A Date Which Will Live in Memory

Young Thane meets a hero. Thane’s mother is a Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy. Thane is fascinated by the events of Pearl Harbor, and studies everything he can about it.

Fighting the hoards at 5am was no easy task, but we finally managed to secure a spot at the public site. Relieved, we awaited sunrise and the beginning of events, at 7:55 am . . .

The moment the first bomb dropped.

Then, something beautiful happened, and all our worries and all our stress melted away, as Bunny and I realized we were meant to be there, right where we were.

You see, I happened to overhear a conversation between an elderly gentleman, and a lady and her son. My ears perked up, as I heard the lady ask questions of this man.

“I was a Petty Officer in the Navy,” he replied, “although, now, I am legally blind.”

Mom-n-Dad-Sailor- December 7th, 2016: A Date Which Will Live in Memory

Mom and Dad Auxier.

My eyes grew misty. Those terms, “Petty Officer,” and “Legally Blind,” hold special meaning to me. My father, whom we lost in 1995, had been a Petty Officer in WWII . . . and later in life became legally blind.

jim-1 December 7th, 2016: A Date Which Will Live in Memory

Seaman Jim.

After the lady left, I introduced myself to him. Jim was his name, and he was a veteran of the Korean War. Bunny and I profusely thanked him for his service, but he seemed baffled by our gratitude.

With a twinkle in his eyes, he answered in the typical self-deprecating humor of his generation.

“All I did was peel potatoes,” he replied.

“Well,” I reminded him, “Napoleon said that an Army marches on its stomach.”

half-mast-2 December 7th, 2016: A Date Which Will Live in Memory

The U.S. flag perpetually flies at half mast over the Arizona Memorial.

Jim, it turned out, lived alone in Houston; his wife had passed away years earlier, and he had no children.

f-22-carrier December 7th, 2016: A Date Which Will Live in Memory

F-22 Raptor flyby, and Missing Man formation. See my live video casts on People of the Sky Facebook page.

Undaunted by his condition and advanced age—78—he was determined to travel all the way to Hawaii to honor his fellow military comrades.

And, today, all on his own, he’d taken a 1.5-hour bus ride to Pearl Harbor Park.

Bunny and I exchanged knowing glances; now, we both knew why we were there.

All the struggles, all the stress and worry, melted away. Suddenly, everything—the ceremony, the trip, struggles, the history—had become personal, intimate and meaningful for us.

Suddenly, we realized that we, too, had a date with destiny . . .

We had a date with Jim.

: Jim is awed by a modern a/c carrier

: Remembering the dead at the AZ Memorial

: Wall of those entombed.

: 8 quarts of oil still leak daily from the Arizona. Left to leak: 500,000 gallons.

Veteran’s Day 2017: Honoring Our Heroes

We escorted Seaman Jim for the rest of the day, including taking him on a tour of the Arizona Memorial.

Bunny drops orchids over the side of the Arizona Memorial, in memory of my father, her mother, and her recently-deceased father, all of whom served in WWII.

Overcome with gratitude for my new potato-peeler hero, I pin a commemorative badge on Jim’s shirt.

Throughout the day, random strangers continued to thank Jim for his service. He seemed genuinely surprised by the gesture. In all, easily a half-dozen people of all ages went out of their way to approach and thank him.

Afterwards, Jim stated he needed to catch the bus back. Bunny and I exchanged another glance; we would NOT let this honorable, heroic veteran potato peeler suffer another grueling solo bus ride to his lodgings . . .

We chauffeured him personally.

Pearl Harbor—and our date with Jim—taught us something that day . . .

jim-ma December 7th, 2016: A Date Which Will Live in Memory

Bunny escorts Seaman Jim to the boat launch over to the Arizona Memorial.

WE ARE ALL SURVIVORS.

Not just of Pearl Harbor, not just of WWII, but of life, of history, of destiny. Japan and the United States learned to forgive and heal along side one another, and to forge a prosperous future . . .

TOGETHER

As a 103-year-old Pearl Harbor survivor said in his rousing speech before the beginning of the parade, we must learn to put aside our past mistakes and grievances, heal together, and work toward a nuclear-free future, for the survival of ALL mankind.

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.Ronald Reagan

— — — —

Veteran’s Day 2017: Honoring Our Heroes

Throughout the ceremony, I did live podcasts, at “People of the Sky” Facebook page.

View them at: https://www.facebook.com/FlyingHumans/

Also for your viewing pleasure, here is the entire ceremony on YouTube, in HD. Below are time stamps for the highlights, if you want to skip to those parts.

Direct Link: https://youtu.be/xW_Isdz7_D4

Veteran’s Day 2017: Honoring Our Heroes

CEREMONY HIGHLIGHTS:

2:54 Moment of Silence/F-22 Flyby
6:30 National Anthem
10:19 Ships Honors
27:24 Story of Dec 7th story
40:14 Rear Admiral John Fuller Speech
DON’T MISS Admiral C-PAC Harry Harris’s speech!
- 45:00 Intro
- 45:55 Speech
- 46:38 Favorite moment!
1:04:49 Placing of Wreaths for vets of each armed branch
1:16:46 Applause for WWII Vets
1:18:24 Warbird flyby
- (Globeswift—descendent of P-40)
- 1:22:29 2nd flyby/closeup
- 1:24:43 3rd flyby/closeup
1:20:28 Rifle Salute/Taps