I just wanted to introduce myself. I am new to this site, and reading through the boards a bit, ya'll seem like a fun and surly group.

I am retired Navy, from Kentucky, living in Florida now.

Steve

Thank you for your service. My grandfather was a Navy man, and I had the great pleasure of being a very close friend to a WWII Navy fighter pilot veteran, who passed away early this year at the age of 97. Boy, did he ever have some stories to tell....

Rank, rate and duty stations, boot.

Thank you. Yes it is always a pleasure to talk with WWII and other vets. Sadly very few remain as time marches on.

CTR1

FT Meade MD

Rota Spain

FT Gordon, GA

USS Briscoe

Sugar Grove WV

Stuttgart Germany

Whidbey Island,WA

USS Carl Vinson VAQ-134

Afghanistan VAQ-135

Pensacola FL

Absolutely, and it's very sad to see that generation disappearing. My friend was stationed on the USS Bunker Hill in the Pacific, and had taken off with his squadron shortly before it was hit by two Kamikazes.

Thank you for your service.

Pancakes or waffles ?

Do you like long walks on the beach ?

Daisy Mae or Ellie Mae ?

Do you like camping by the river ?

Cello on or cello off ?

Ginger or MaryAnn ?

David Lee or Sammy ?

Warner Oland or Sidney Toler ?

Have you been in a Turkish prison ?

Do you like gladiator movies ?

dogs or cats ?

Men or women ?

Wad or fold ?

Sit or squat ?

TP or bidet ?

Do sad movies make you cry ?

Butter or margarine ?

Pancho or Cisco ?

Welcome to the nut house. Enjoy your stay & don’t take anything to serious😂.

Aloha from Hawaii and mahalo for your service.

Back in ‘91, for the 50th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, I was the English voiceover for one of the Japanese pilots. Zenji Abe. While all I did was read the transcript, it felt like I was sitting in the interview. I learned for the first time that when they returned to Japan, the attackers were NOT considered heroes by the Japanese people. The sneak attack went against the Bushido Code thus they were thought to be cowards.

I tried once to talk to my FIL about his WWII experience (...he was an interpreter during the Okinawa campaign...) but all he would say was “You see things you never want to see again.” And that was all he would divulge.