To my fellow veterans, don't forget a toast to our fallen comrades today

I'm named after my Father's XO (I CO, 383d IN, 96 IN Div) who was killed on Okinawa after Dad was wounded during his Company's assault on Kakazu Ridge

They made a pack before the landing to name their 1st born son after the other if they survived

Here's to you Jimmy Redden

My dad was wounded on the same Island, Okinawa, believe in 1944.
He died in 1992.

We payed our respects yesterday.

My Dad never wanted anything to do with war but he went anyway. Survived a tour and a half in Viet Nam only to loose the battle with cancer 35 years later.
More then anything I wanted him to meet his grand daughter but it was not to be.

Walter L Stottlemyer 1/23/47-6/27/2006
7th Engineers B Co 1st Marine Div.



In protest of California's Prop 13. He was laid off for one day working for the city of Oceanside

Lost my Dad last November, another member of the greatest generation gone

Lost my dad in 1990. He was a litter bearer, and embalmer in the south pacific. He never would talk to any of us about it, only said it was too horrible to speak of. He was on Pelileu, (sp)and all the other nasty operations coming ashore after the Marines. To all veterans, Thank you, you have my undying respect and gratitude. DW

My Dad's welcome to Viet Nam was having to clean up a Fire base near Da-Nang 67' He was told to put bodies in body bag and load them on a truck.

Well there weren't that many bodies mostly pieces. So he asked " what the hell do we do now?" The guy in charge said "two arms, two legs, a torso and a set of dog tags goes in each bag".
WELCOME TO VIET NAM!!!!

I still have his Blasting cap crimpers, and a nice chunk of a B122 rocket that damn near killed him. Still has the the mud on it.

I went to Washington DC for a conference June 1 and rode the subway down for my first visit to the National Mall. From the subway exit, I walked about a mile past the Washington Memorial to the WWII Memorial and it made me think of my dad who died in 2000. He was a 2nd Marine Div veteran who survived combat on Guadalcanal, Tarawa and Saipan.

AND HAPPY D-DAY!!!

SR4759

Your Dad survived some tough battles

I've been to Saipan; you can still see the hulls of their landing crafts stuck in the coral