Kilroy was here
This past week was devoted mainly to us WW2 geezers because of the formal dedication of the World War II Memorial on the Mall in Washington, DC on the 29th of May.
Someone asked me if I watched these ceremonies and events about that war. My answer: "I didn't need to. I was part of that war."
Actually, I did watch some of the activities. As it was for some the returned memories were tough. Our particular army company did not lose any members to combat, but we did lose at least one member who was flying home on Red Cross leave and that plane was lost. I never found out whether it was by enemy action or some other cause, but it made little difference, our guy was gone.
Our XXth Bomber Command DID lose many planes and personnel. Too many of our B29s were involved in accidents (and loss of lives) but many were lost to enemy action. The flight crews had long missions from India to places in SE Asia or from our forward bases in China to Japan and back. Just flying over "The Hump" from India to our China bases was fraught with danger. Everything used on these missions had to be brought in, not an easy task.
I recall one major whose plane crashed in China walking out of China back to our headquarters in India. It took him a long time, altho he had help from our Chinese allies and the day he showed up at our HQs we all gave him a rousing cheer. We enlisted men had no idea he was alive.
On Memorial Day I remembered my best buddy, Tim Schwend, with whom I shared a lot more than the same birthday (Tim was a year older) and both of us returned home, but not together. We had no idea where the other was until after the war. We did not get together until 1987 when our signal company had its first big reunion. We then attended almost all subsequent reunions, became the co-chairs of that organization and kept in regular touch. Tim became very ill several years ago and passed away about two years ago. He was a great buddy; left a widow and a large adult family as well as several grand , along with his beloved dog.
I found no mention of "Kilroy Was Here" over the weekend. Kilroy popped up EVERYWHERE GIs were. Mention his name to any WW2 vet and his face will light up and he/she will probably remember a favorite story about Kilroy.
Kilroy has his own website. At this writing 864,631 hits on this site, at least 3 or 4 from the OzWiz. It's a site worth visiting regardless of whether you are a WW2 vet or not.
About that commemorative stamp the USPS issued on the 29th of May. I was at our local post office this morning to purchase several sheets and guess what? They did NOT have them! Unbelieveable!
What's that Postal Slogan about "neither rain, nor snow ... etc.?