In Memory...

Pictures of the USS Yorktown that I found when I was touring the USS Midway this past March in San Diego. I spent forever wandering around that ship wondering what it must have been like for my grandpa on a similar, though smaller aircraft carrier.

Today, we pause to remember those who have served our country, past and present. However, how many actually pause to remember. Too many are off to camp grounds and lakes without a thought of the reason they have the three day weekend to do that. Having grown up in a little bitty town, all stops on Memorial Day morning until all the crosses at the cemetery have been marked with flag by the little children. Only than does the town move on to the high school rodeo, picnics, and fishing at the lake.

So in the spirit of the day, I would like to remember my Grandpa. My Grandpa Keith was a member of the US Navy and flew off of the USS Yorktown during WWII. There were a lot of men who didn't make it home off that ship and of those who did, very few left. Grandpa never talked about the reason's his fellow soldiers never made it home. The stories he told were light hearted but usually had a lesson. Like the time a higher officer than he was lying on the beach during a day of R&R turning an obvious shade of nasty red. When my grandpa and a friend were kind enough to wake him up, they were told to "f off" and he went back to sleep. W ell, he ended up being court marshaled as getting a sunburn back than was an offense due to his subsequent inability to be useful on the ship because of his blisters and dehydration. Oops! One of my favorite stories involved the squadron getting lost. For all of those that have seen Top Gun, my grandpa's role was the same as Goose's. Grandpa rode behind the pilot and made sure he knew where they were going. Grandpa was super smart with numbers and such so if anyone should have that job it was him. The squadron took off and the lead plane had everyone in tow behind. As the flight went on Grandpa realized the squadron was lost and if someone didn't turn around soon, they would not have enough fuel to get back to the ship. I don't remember the details but for some reason the communication system between the pilots was not working properly. Grandpa convinced his pilot he needed to take the lead and turn the group of planes around. He says he remembered the lead pilot looking a tad surprised and a slight bit irritated when some rear pilot took the lead and turned everyone around. I can imagine! I just know they made it back to their ship that day.

I'm sure there were scary days and even scarier flights, friends made and friends lost. the only one of grandpa's navy friends I met was Jack Polcock who survived on the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor. He is a lot like my grandpa. He saw a lot of horrible things but never once talked about them. So today, hat's off to Grandpa and all his friends. Thank you!