Please join me in paying respect for a beloved Free Republic poster who served America during WWII in the Pacific Theater, and in two tours of Korean Conflict battles.
As a young Army man, he served under General Douglas MacArthur in the major Pacific engagements - back at home, he entered the ministry, and continued his full Army service career as a Military Chaplain.
This dear man not only comforted and counseled thousands of military personnel and their families, but he personally escorted home many of those who perished while on active duty on foreign soil.
Even in retirement, this highly respected man was called by President Ronald Reagan to accompany back to America a group of 13 fallen in Korea returned by North Korea many years after cessation of hostilities.
He was very active in the formative years of Free Republic - the Whitewater Years that made us what we are today, Jim..:))
I came to know him well in the summer of 1998.
Because I remembered so many things about his era, having two older sisters, and knew most of the songs of which he is so fond, we forged a friendship, rooted even deeper by love of the Lord and His blessings.
In September of 1998 when Susan McDougal was being tried in California for alleged misuse of the personal credit card of Nancy Mehtah, for whom she worked, I *innocently* proposed to our Billie she and I quietly take said credit card and go out to lunch with it, while no one was looking.
Freepers being Freepers, others invited themselves along, and Invictus chimed in with: "If things under Clinton get much worse, I plan to head back to the South Pacific - specifically to the one place I found during WWII that "knew no war."
That proved to be located in the Marquesa Islands, and where he for many years returned for annual retreats during the winters here - if my memory serves me correctly, to the village of Taiohae on Nuku Hiva.
Gregarious and adventurous souls that we are, some of us decided to sail back there with Invictus to experience A Perfect Life..:))
We dubbed the place where we entrenched Freeper Island, and the rules were closely followed:
* There will be no dissension nor disrespect - only heartfelt civility.
* Great care will be taken to ensure a peaceful and happy civilization.
Our Miss Billie was called "Empress." I became The Princess.
There were regular Friday night luaus held, at which she and I gave hula lessons to the fellas - slow learners that they were..:))
The hazards were great - like the day before one luau when ChiefNegotiator 'accidentally' mowed down our hula skirts to 4" lengths! (We hastily substituted palm fronds bound together)
The gathering place was established by A1stus as the SOPAC Saloon, which Billie and I perpetually tried to 'redecorate.' We succeeded in being allowed to place upon the moose head above the door seasonal decor for holidays, decorative neckties,sunglasses, etc.
Never, though, were we allowed to remove the...um...velvet painting behind the bar..:(
LOL
The discourse in the Saloon was the height of hilarity - the most divergent views expressed with utmost civility, and the execution of that became a Fine Art!
(We also were prone to *intrude* upon threads in danger of igniting into full-fledged flame wars, gently grinding the ugliness to a halt with our silliness..:))
One of the highlights was a recipe Invictus gave for a native delicacy - Poisson Kru, which we lovingly referred to as Poison Krud....
Billie, in computer crashes I have lost my links to Freeper Island and The Poisson Kru Recipe contained therein.
Can you please post it for today's Freeper Friends?
Invictus has not been actively posting here the past year and a half due to a vision problem, but to my delight when he popped up with Freep Mail on my birthday celebration on May 7th, I learned his grandchildren scan his mail and sometimes Free Republic for him.
I am in awe of the fact he uses touch typing, nonetheless, and manages his replies himself!
(even with good sight, I fumble and have to correct every reply)
Invictus, I want you to know how respected and loved you are by all who know you, and how grateful every one of us is for who and what you are... our ideal of an American Patriot, with a heart full of love for our God and all His Children - and a delightful sense of humor...
( Invictus will be apprised by his grandchildren, I'm sure, of this post and any side Freep Mail you might wish to send him. )
