Pearl Harbor Day

I am sad to say that I didn't go anywhere today. I didn't do anything. I gave That Sprout a bath at some point, ate some food, and mainly half heartedly watched The Mighty Boosh on YouTube. . It was one of those days. A little cold, a little overcast, and a little "bleh". It wasn't until this afternoon, when a friend posted something about it on Facebook that I even realized that it was Pearly Harbor Day. If I had thought about it, I should have liked to have gone out into the world, on the off chance that I would run into a WWII veteran so as I could thank him for his or her service. Since I didn't, consider this my "thank you" to all the living WWII veterans of the world. I appreciate your service, your valor, and your sacrifice.

There are several things in this world that I am a little bit funny about. WWII veterans are one of them. My dad and several other important figures from my childhood were all WWII veterans. Sadly, I don't remember much of what my dad said about his time in the army and all I remember is that he was a crew chief working on planes in England. He may or may not have been in the Mighty Eighth. After over an hour of searching the Internet for any information regarding his time in the service all I could find were his enlistment records. I did find some information about the other veterans I remember from childhood: George Kepics and Colonel Sauls, both of whom were great men. Mr. Kepics was a turret gunner - probably the most intense job you could have had at that time, and he was damn good at it.

Emblem of the 613th
Bombardment Squadron

I decided to call my mother and she told me that my dad was in the 613th Bombardment Squadron. Knowing what I do about internet research and the Mighty Eighth, I was about to find the web site for his unit, the 401st Bomb Group. I now know that he was stationed at RAF Deenethorpe and that his unit, the 401st Bomb Group had both the best bombing accuracy and the second lowest loss ratio in the Eighth Air Force. My dad may have just been a mechanic, but somebody's got to keep the planes in the air, yes? Where internet research fails, a simple question succeeds. Now I feel like I didn't waste my Pearl Harbor Day and I did something good for myself, my family, and my dad's memory by making myself a little bit more informed. 

Since today is the seventh day of the FPN Extended Play Advent Calendar, I will leave you with yet another of my top 3 favorite Christmas songs, John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "War is Over". It's appropriate, don't you think?