I’m down to copyediting on my newest manuscript, “A Clean Sweep: VIII Fighter Command vs the Lufwaffe - 1942-45.” It’s the story of the greatest sustained air campaign in history. Between the first mission flown on August 17, 1942 and the last mission flown on April 25, 1945, the Eighth Air Force lost more men killed and wounded than the Marines did between August 7, 1942, the day they invaded Guadalcanal, and June 15, 1945, the day Okinawa was declared secure and the Pacific campaign ended.
Thanks, TC. I am thinking how important for all of us to create our own primary sources for our experiences of our times-- for the sake of our families and for history. We already know that too often the official remembrances of things past are versions that "disappear" whole swaths of us even long before we fade away in actual time!! The intentional and ideological erasing you describe makes it even more critical that we resist that effort but at the same time document our own experiences and entrust those to responsible "keepers" (so as to avoid the landfill!) I would have loved to have had diaries from my great grandmothers on immigration from Ireland and Germany and from my grandmothers and great aunts on how they lived through the 1918 pandemic and two World Wars. The ones I did know spoke so little of their feelings and experiences. And now I am the oldest holder of memories for a tribe of about 60 nieces, nephews, cousins and brothers and sisters 2 decades younger than I. Some of them want to know. It is a responsibility for those of us of a certain age to keep sharing the parts we have lived and to keep searching for how it really was for others, as you do in your many books.
So true. We are the "keepers of our stories." As the oldest in my family, I am also the "keeper" of all my dad's WWII memorabilia, which includes his letters to his mother and his jump lists and all sorts of historical items (he was in the 101st and a jump master - on D-Day he was dropped on Normandy to lay out communications in advance of the invasion.) But in addition to those stories, I am also the "keeper" of all the stories he and my mom shared about growing up in the Depression. As the oldest daughter of those two, I lived with "Depression Era" behaviors in our home - we saved EVERYTHING. Those habits still exist today! And growing up in the days without the technology of today, I can compute even when the computer is down! Two of my favorite volumes were given to me by my dad - "Foxfire." He said, "Keep these. They will come in handy one day when everything breaks down." You know, maybe that's going to happen sooner than later!
Yes! Several times! I am also in communication with a young Army officer who is writing about the 506 and who has asked to buy my dad's memorabilia (for now, we are keeping it in the family for the younger folks.) He sent me a memoir written by a fellow who was second behind my dad on that fateful jump. His memoir corroborates a story that our dad shared: the huge planes received such a pummeling, they were heading back to England instead of staying on course to their drop zones, so only three of the planes actually dropped their paratroopers as planned - and only one of them actually was even close to the target. Dad was supposed to jump first, kicking out the huge bag of supplies, which were on a separate parachute. When he kicked it, it wedged in the door and prevented him from jumping. All the other guys started yelling at him, so he jumped ON and OVER the supplies and dragged them out WITH him, further endangering himself because the chutes could have become tangled. They found themselves in an orchard and were soon surrounded by Germans. So Dad and the Lt. of the other plane agreed to surrender, as otherwise they would all have been killed. The memoir guy ended up in a hospital there in Normandy. Dad was marched off into Germany, strafed by friendly fire, and ended up spending the war in a German camp. He was liberated when the Allies liberated those camps at the end of the war. He was one tough guy, let me tell you! The memoir guy survived the entire war, all of what is shown on BOB, including Bastogne. He was a radio man like my dad.
TC, the 8th Air Force holds an annual reunion. We had 11 WWII vets in Savannah last October. My dad was part of the 351st Bomb Group stationed in Polebrook England flying B-17s. Clark Gable was with the 351st for part of his tour of duty.....not that my dad ever talked about it. Lots of info about their missions on 351st.org. We, the kids of the veterans, are trying to get the next generations interested so that the program can keep going. We didn't have any of our veterans this year. There really are very few left.
That's very interesting. When Gable was there, it was in the "hard days" in 1943. Losses weren't immediately made good, and men ended up in barracks with empty beds, more and more. A few committed suicide. When Gable was set to return to America, he had a meeting with 8th AF commander General Eaker and told him if things weren't changed for the better, he would go home and hold a press conference on the capitol steps and "Tell the mothers of America what you're doing to their boys." The policy changed before Gable left 10 days later. That's my favorite Gable story. Like Jimmy Stewart, who was also there as a pilot for 35 missions, he never spoke of his time over there.
The various unit organizations nowadays are run by the children, who over the years met each other because of their fathers. Yours isn't the only one doing that. Good luck!
TC your human history lesson tonight touched on the events and the lives of many millions of people; the war between good and evil; advancements and comradery; disappointments, victories, remarkable bravery and, yes, ageing, for sure. You stoked my memory and stirred a sea of emotions. We will make good memories through this morass and madness, too. It is so difficult and so worth all our effort. Thank you, TC, for your dynamic good self and for this history lesson..
"The goal of those who want to get books out of libraries and history classes out of school is because it’s their chance to erase the memory of all those events, all those times when people took history into their own hands and changed it for the better."
I stand against every one of these ignorant louts and deniers of reality. Your need to feel comfortable about your need to look away will is not granted.
Oh, TC, you are such a treasure! I can't wait to read your new book.
"This time, right now, is an important inflection point for authoritarian and fascist forces to wage a power grab, when there aren’t people around who will oppose them because they know what they’re looking at. When there aren’t people who can tell the rest of us what’s happening.
That’s what is going on today. Right now."
Keep on, keeping on speaking the truth and speaking truth to power!
TC, I believe this is my favorite of all your pieces! What an interesting life you have lived - your own as well as the lives you have met whose stories you are sharing with the world now. Thank you for that.
I am not old enough to have experienced much of that first hand, TC, but I distinctly remember going to bed during the 13 days in May, and saying my prayers that we would still exist in the morning. It is/was very real. I look forward to reading your new book.
13 days in October. 7 days in May was a book, and then a movie. (not a criticism - I actually had to laugh, not at you, but for the flip-flop). All them international crises run together (they do!)
What an excellent history lesson TC and so cogently written. Thank you. My dad, a WWII veteran told our family only the smallest snippets of his experiences in the war. Then my oldest son enlisted in the army, became a Special Forces soldier and the talks he and Daddy had were amazing to listen to. My son and my daddy were kindred spirits in so many ways, but Daddy felt like my son would understand what he went through.
Dang it, TC. This one made me cry. I’m sending it on today to all the youngins’ I know that are beginning to understand how much social media has deprived them from the real pleasure in meeting people, going to an actual library, conversation, written notes, engaging in local politics, questioning what one reads or what they are told and appreciating their inner fact checker.
Thanks, TC. I am thinking how important for all of us to create our own primary sources for our experiences of our times-- for the sake of our families and for history. We already know that too often the official remembrances of things past are versions that "disappear" whole swaths of us even long before we fade away in actual time!! The intentional and ideological erasing you describe makes it even more critical that we resist that effort but at the same time document our own experiences and entrust those to responsible "keepers" (so as to avoid the landfill!) I would have loved to have had diaries from my great grandmothers on immigration from Ireland and Germany and from my grandmothers and great aunts on how they lived through the 1918 pandemic and two World Wars. The ones I did know spoke so little of their feelings and experiences. And now I am the oldest holder of memories for a tribe of about 60 nieces, nephews, cousins and brothers and sisters 2 decades younger than I. Some of them want to know. It is a responsibility for those of us of a certain age to keep sharing the parts we have lived and to keep searching for how it really was for others, as you do in your many books.
So true. We are the "keepers of our stories." As the oldest in my family, I am also the "keeper" of all my dad's WWII memorabilia, which includes his letters to his mother and his jump lists and all sorts of historical items (he was in the 101st and a jump master - on D-Day he was dropped on Normandy to lay out communications in advance of the invasion.) But in addition to those stories, I am also the "keeper" of all the stories he and my mom shared about growing up in the Depression. As the oldest daughter of those two, I lived with "Depression Era" behaviors in our home - we saved EVERYTHING. Those habits still exist today! And growing up in the days without the technology of today, I can compute even when the computer is down! Two of my favorite volumes were given to me by my dad - "Foxfire." He said, "Keep these. They will come in handy one day when everything breaks down." You know, maybe that's going to happen sooner than later!
Interesting history, Ellen. Have you watched "Band of Brothers"?
Yes! Several times! I am also in communication with a young Army officer who is writing about the 506 and who has asked to buy my dad's memorabilia (for now, we are keeping it in the family for the younger folks.) He sent me a memoir written by a fellow who was second behind my dad on that fateful jump. His memoir corroborates a story that our dad shared: the huge planes received such a pummeling, they were heading back to England instead of staying on course to their drop zones, so only three of the planes actually dropped their paratroopers as planned - and only one of them actually was even close to the target. Dad was supposed to jump first, kicking out the huge bag of supplies, which were on a separate parachute. When he kicked it, it wedged in the door and prevented him from jumping. All the other guys started yelling at him, so he jumped ON and OVER the supplies and dragged them out WITH him, further endangering himself because the chutes could have become tangled. They found themselves in an orchard and were soon surrounded by Germans. So Dad and the Lt. of the other plane agreed to surrender, as otherwise they would all have been killed. The memoir guy ended up in a hospital there in Normandy. Dad was marched off into Germany, strafed by friendly fire, and ended up spending the war in a German camp. He was liberated when the Allies liberated those camps at the end of the war. He was one tough guy, let me tell you! The memoir guy survived the entire war, all of what is shown on BOB, including Bastogne. He was a radio man like my dad.
Thank you, Ellen, for these memories concerning your father's experiences as a soldier in WW II.
TC, the 8th Air Force holds an annual reunion. We had 11 WWII vets in Savannah last October. My dad was part of the 351st Bomb Group stationed in Polebrook England flying B-17s. Clark Gable was with the 351st for part of his tour of duty.....not that my dad ever talked about it. Lots of info about their missions on 351st.org. We, the kids of the veterans, are trying to get the next generations interested so that the program can keep going. We didn't have any of our veterans this year. There really are very few left.
We have got to remember.
That's very interesting. When Gable was there, it was in the "hard days" in 1943. Losses weren't immediately made good, and men ended up in barracks with empty beds, more and more. A few committed suicide. When Gable was set to return to America, he had a meeting with 8th AF commander General Eaker and told him if things weren't changed for the better, he would go home and hold a press conference on the capitol steps and "Tell the mothers of America what you're doing to their boys." The policy changed before Gable left 10 days later. That's my favorite Gable story. Like Jimmy Stewart, who was also there as a pilot for 35 missions, he never spoke of his time over there.
The various unit organizations nowadays are run by the children, who over the years met each other because of their fathers. Yours isn't the only one doing that. Good luck!
TC your human history lesson tonight touched on the events and the lives of many millions of people; the war between good and evil; advancements and comradery; disappointments, victories, remarkable bravery and, yes, ageing, for sure. You stoked my memory and stirred a sea of emotions. We will make good memories through this morass and madness, too. It is so difficult and so worth all our effort. Thank you, TC, for your dynamic good self and for this history lesson..
An Official Fern Compliment! I'm blessed. :-)
❤️
"The goal of those who want to get books out of libraries and history classes out of school is because it’s their chance to erase the memory of all those events, all those times when people took history into their own hands and changed it for the better."
I stand against every one of these ignorant louts and deniers of reality. Your need to feel comfortable about your need to look away will is not granted.
Laying it on the line as always and quite well done.
Oh, TC, you are such a treasure! I can't wait to read your new book.
"This time, right now, is an important inflection point for authoritarian and fascist forces to wage a power grab, when there aren’t people around who will oppose them because they know what they’re looking at. When there aren’t people who can tell the rest of us what’s happening.
That’s what is going on today. Right now."
Keep on, keeping on speaking the truth and speaking truth to power!
The next new one is Downtown, the second book on Vietnam, coming in May
I look forward to that one since my husband was active duty during that time and had a few stories from when he was there.
TC, I believe this is my favorite of all your pieces! What an interesting life you have lived - your own as well as the lives you have met whose stories you are sharing with the world now. Thank you for that.
I am not old enough to have experienced much of that first hand, TC, but I distinctly remember going to bed during the 13 days in May, and saying my prayers that we would still exist in the morning. It is/was very real. I look forward to reading your new book.
13 days in October. 7 days in May was a book, and then a movie. (not a criticism - I actually had to laugh, not at you, but for the flip-flop). All them international crises run together (they do!)
What an excellent history lesson TC and so cogently written. Thank you. My dad, a WWII veteran told our family only the smallest snippets of his experiences in the war. Then my oldest son enlisted in the army, became a Special Forces soldier and the talks he and Daddy had were amazing to listen to. My son and my daddy were kindred spirits in so many ways, but Daddy felt like my son would understand what he went through.
Dang it, TC. This one made me cry. I’m sending it on today to all the youngins’ I know that are beginning to understand how much social media has deprived them from the real pleasure in meeting people, going to an actual library, conversation, written notes, engaging in local politics, questioning what one reads or what they are told and appreciating their inner fact checker.
Tipping point. Balance beam. Tightrope. Narrow ledge.
Let’s keep our balance.
Light and Love!
Yes.....