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This is an awesome WWII post Dolly. Thank you for your service Wheelbarrow.

My father served in the Naval Air Force, and father in law served in the Navy during WWII. My husbands uncle was also in the Navy and was killed aboard the USS Gilligan, burned alive at his gun after a Kamikaze pilot crashed into the ship.

My FIL is still living but is blind and has Alzheimer's, he's 79 and he told a story about his age when he entered the service at age 16. Said he was at sea in the Pacific for 18 months straight one time, they went into ports for supplies but never left the ship. He also spent some time on the Atlantic ocean and said the Atlantic ocean is much rougher than the Pacific.

Thank you Aqua and thanks for the info on your family. Do you have a pix of your dad & maybe do a little write up about him? I am hoping FReepers will feel excited about being able to share about their special WW2 people with stories & pix.

I wish I knew more about my dad's WW2 experiences. Like many men of the era, they didn't relish talking about the actual battle/war related stories..

Gratefully some have & we do have good records,

I am going to put together a tribute to my dad w/ pix hopefully sometime today or tomorrow for this thread & for "the record".

An aside, we share an interest in jewels, cabs, geodes etc.. and we all know that "diamonds are a girl's best friend".. Did you see the movie Blood Diamond? VERY graphic movie/violence but a story that needs to be out there.

My friend Mark used to invest heavily in diamonds before he was aware of the situation in early 90s.. He saw the movie on my recommendation & said also it made a powerful impression on him

Yes, I guess, one could say it is an "agenda" movie, but to a degree they all are.

Dear Aqua. Alzheimer's is indeed a tragedy. Many prayers for your FIL. I have never seen such a devastating disease in my life... not in my family... but what I witnessed and related to in one of the nursing homes where my Mother lived for awhile.

My Mother absolutely loved the memory of working during the war at Douglas Aircraft. She was not exactly a Rosie the Riveter, but at first she was a messenger, then she worked in the parts department. The interesting thing was that the aircraft plant was covered by a camouflage "town," complete with "neighbors" talking across the fence. There was one actual attack in Santa Monica Bay also.

My father was a "planner" at Douglas but I only learned this decades later by searching family history records. My parents parted before I was born and he was never part of my life. I have never even seen a photo of him.

Anyway, I am also so proud of your father's and your husband's father's and uncle's service. May they all rest in peace yet know how grateful we are that they served our country.