[Boowhoknew]

was your uncle who died at Guadacanal a Marine? I knew a man who was badly wounded there and lived to be late 80s.A jap grenade went off in front of him while the fight for Henderson field was raging. He was in the Raiders. eventually was a pharmacist in my town. Solid, good man.

[tang-soo]

If I remember correctly, Okel was in the U.S. Army. My dad was 10 at the time and he always refers to him as his best buddy. He tells the story how Okel graduated from high school, got drafted, went somewhere (can't remember where) for basic training, then came home for 2 weeks before shipping out.

During that two weeks, he proposed to his sweetheart and picked out a hillside on my grandparents' Kentucky farm (Cordell near the big city of Blaine in Lawrence County) where he planned to build his home when he returned.

He jumped on a train that took him to San Francisco where he boarded a ship. Sailed to Hawaii where he spent a few days and mailed back a requisite picture of him with a Hula Hula Hootchie sitting on his lap with him wearing a big ol' country smile. From there they sailed to the battle field and stormed the beach with an amphibious vehicle. The moment they hit the beach, the whole team was gunned down by a Japanese fighter. Never saw any battle and died his first moments in action.

My dad (now 80) has a book about the battle, but I can't remember the name. I'll ask to borrow it this weekend and let you know the name.