Veterans
Our veterans are remembered and recognized at this time of year. I do remember some of them from the Navy Street neighborhood.
There were two brothers that lived on Senator across from the schoolyard. They started as seamen on the Great Lakes and went to earn more money in New York as members of the Merchant Marine. Canada was sending war material on individual ships across the Atlantic. German U-boats sank many ships before the invention of Convoys. These two brothers never came back.
I remember a person that lived on the corner of Navy and Mullane. His parents owned a small grocery on that corner. In late 1939 or early 1940 he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. Canada was recruiting in the United States since they were at war with Germany. The RCAF was sent over to England to fight in the air war over London. He never came back.
Armond Palmer lived with his parents on Navy, next door to us. He joined the Army to serve in the Army Air Corps. I have blogged about him before. He was stationed in England and was attached to the Strategic Air Command. They flew over Europe to bomb factories, oil installations, railroad yards and air fields. His plane went down during a bombing of the Polisti oil fields in Romania. He never came back.
The Luria twins, Willie and Bill, with whom I played a lot of softball, lived on Senator near Mullane. Further down on Senator, almost to Lawndale, lived their cousin, Mike Di Angelo. Mike was one of the first ones drafted into the Army. He never came back. When it came time for the Luria brothers to go for their physicals for the draft it, was a big deal for Mrs. Luria. I was stranding in the street in front of their house when they returned from their physicals. As they walked down Mullane toward their house, Mrs. Luria was on the porch waiting for them. They gave some kind of signal (indicating they had failed the exams) and she ran into the street crying hysterically to hug them. She knelt down in the street and prayed out loud for thanks to God that her sons were spared. Neither of them served in the military.
Elmer Clark lived across the street from us and was drafted into the Army. He was sent to the South Pacific and served on Fiji Island. He came back on leave once and reported that the longer he was on that island the whiter the native girls became. He returned after the War and told us about the preparations that his unit had been making for the invasion of Japan. He was very pleased that Japan had surrendered after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Prior to that surrender he had felt that he was going to die in the invasion. He got a job with the Gas Company and eventually retired from there.
When I was about nine years old I was told never to go down on Mullane further than Gardner. There was a group of toughs down there known as the Lane Gang. These guys would rough up any non-gang member that walked into their teritory, Kahalen was the boundary. In 1943 I delivered the Detroit Times on Lane and noted the number of Gold Stars in the windows. Many of the Lane Gang did not come back.
When I was just learning to play softball in the school yard, Les Pierson organized the games and commanded a lot of respect. He was a very out going, affable leader and served as a dutch uncle to younger kids in the schoolyard. Les joined the Army because he was going to be drafted anyway. He was discharged in 1946. When he came back he was a different person and did not resume his previous area leadership role. I don't know why.
Ernest Butler, who lived on Lawndale, joined the Air Force and became a telegrapher. He served as radio operator for General Curtis Le May the head of SAC. This was the time when we had an Nuclear, airborne, umbrella over the Soviet Union 24/7. Ernie retired from the Airforce and lives in Panama City, Florida. He raised five children, two of whom became medical doctors.
Bernie joined the Navy for the Korean War. He was assigned as a seaman on an oil tanker. While off the Korean shore his ship was taking on supplies. Bernie was injured during the movement of those supplies. He very nearly drowned when the plane that was carrying him from Japan to Hawaii crashed into a rice paddy at the end of the runway. He was eventually given a medical discharge and received a 100% disability. He lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
There were two brothers that lived on Senator across from the schoolyard. They started as seamen on the Great Lakes and went to earn more money in New York as members of the Merchant Marine. Canada was sending war material on individual ships across the Atlantic. German U-boats sank many ships before the invention of Convoys. These two brothers never came back.
I remember a person that lived on the corner of Navy and Mullane. His parents owned a small grocery on that corner. In late 1939 or early 1940 he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. Canada was recruiting in the United States since they were at war with Germany. The RCAF was sent over to England to fight in the air war over London. He never came back.
Armond Palmer lived with his parents on Navy, next door to us. He joined the Army to serve in the Army Air Corps. I have blogged about him before. He was stationed in England and was attached to the Strategic Air Command. They flew over Europe to bomb factories, oil installations, railroad yards and air fields. His plane went down during a bombing of the Polisti oil fields in Romania. He never came back.
The Luria twins, Willie and Bill, with whom I played a lot of softball, lived on Senator near Mullane. Further down on Senator, almost to Lawndale, lived their cousin, Mike Di Angelo. Mike was one of the first ones drafted into the Army. He never came back. When it came time for the Luria brothers to go for their physicals for the draft it, was a big deal for Mrs. Luria. I was stranding in the street in front of their house when they returned from their physicals. As they walked down Mullane toward their house, Mrs. Luria was on the porch waiting for them. They gave some kind of signal (indicating they had failed the exams) and she ran into the street crying hysterically to hug them. She knelt down in the street and prayed out loud for thanks to God that her sons were spared. Neither of them served in the military.
Elmer Clark lived across the street from us and was drafted into the Army. He was sent to the South Pacific and served on Fiji Island. He came back on leave once and reported that the longer he was on that island the whiter the native girls became. He returned after the War and told us about the preparations that his unit had been making for the invasion of Japan. He was very pleased that Japan had surrendered after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Prior to that surrender he had felt that he was going to die in the invasion. He got a job with the Gas Company and eventually retired from there.
When I was about nine years old I was told never to go down on Mullane further than Gardner. There was a group of toughs down there known as the Lane Gang. These guys would rough up any non-gang member that walked into their teritory, Kahalen was the boundary. In 1943 I delivered the Detroit Times on Lane and noted the number of Gold Stars in the windows. Many of the Lane Gang did not come back.
When I was just learning to play softball in the school yard, Les Pierson organized the games and commanded a lot of respect. He was a very out going, affable leader and served as a dutch uncle to younger kids in the schoolyard. Les joined the Army because he was going to be drafted anyway. He was discharged in 1946. When he came back he was a different person and did not resume his previous area leadership role. I don't know why.
Ernest Butler, who lived on Lawndale, joined the Air Force and became a telegrapher. He served as radio operator for General Curtis Le May the head of SAC. This was the time when we had an Nuclear, airborne, umbrella over the Soviet Union 24/7. Ernie retired from the Airforce and lives in Panama City, Florida. He raised five children, two of whom became medical doctors.
Bernie joined the Navy for the Korean War. He was assigned as a seaman on an oil tanker. While off the Korean shore his ship was taking on supplies. Bernie was injured during the movement of those supplies. He very nearly drowned when the plane that was carrying him from Japan to Hawaii crashed into a rice paddy at the end of the runway. He was eventually given a medical discharge and received a 100% disability. He lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
posted by Marcel at
8:13 AM
2 Comments:
And what about the military experience of Marcel Beauregard?
By
John Beauregard, at 8:20 PM
I know I wrote about it in a previous blog, but I can not find it now. The gist of my experience was that, as a Draftsman, one of the duties for which I trained was to be put onto a hostile shore by submarine, search for targets and any information that could be used by an invasion force. Return to the shore at an appointed hour for evacuation by submarine. I belonged to Amphibious Group Two, it was Amphibous Group four that made the Inchon landings in Korea. I lucked out by assignment on the Atlantic shore.
By
Marcel, at 2:05 PM
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