I remember that day you brought Walt to the trading floor. Hell I almost cried. Shaking his hand was a highlight. THE definition of a hero and an outstanding member of the greatest generation. We can learn a lot from people like Walt.
I learned a lot from being around Walt. Initially, I wanted to learn leadership. Walt said they broke he and his brother up for D-Day. Walt and his brother had fought together through North Africa and Sicily. Walt was a first sargent. Given his new platoon which according to Walt was the "worst in the entire Big Red One", he broke the arm of a guy that was giving him lip to get everyone's attention! Eventually, I learned what a humanitarian Walt was. Amazing guy. You can search for videos on him all over the internet. I was very very lucky to be friends with him and I miss his Christmas cards.
Jeffrey, this is outstanding. Bringing Walt to the CME pits was genius. We just lost a beloved family member who was on the battleship California at Lingayen Gulf when a kamikaze hit, killing dozens of shipmates. Your posts get better all the time.
I cannot imagine what was going through his mind as that plane came in. When I was on the board of the museum one time we had a conversation about "You have to make a choice of which branch of service you will be in, and you will be in combat. You want to survive. Which do you pick?" My pick initially was the Navy until you read about Guadalcanal (see Hornfischer Neptune's Inferno). 1700 Marines died on the island. 7000 Navy men died at sea in Iron Bottom Sound. Subs were no good. Flying a perfectly good airplane had a gigantic death rate (I think only 20% of bombers in the 8th Air Force made it). The infantry looks pretty good.
My Dad’s only comment on D-day was that the Sargent on the landing craft yelled, “Men, do not die on the beach. The beach is a landing zone. Go inland to die.”
I remember that day you brought Walt to the trading floor. Hell I almost cried. Shaking his hand was a highlight. THE definition of a hero and an outstanding member of the greatest generation. We can learn a lot from people like Walt.
I learned a lot from being around Walt. Initially, I wanted to learn leadership. Walt said they broke he and his brother up for D-Day. Walt and his brother had fought together through North Africa and Sicily. Walt was a first sargent. Given his new platoon which according to Walt was the "worst in the entire Big Red One", he broke the arm of a guy that was giving him lip to get everyone's attention! Eventually, I learned what a humanitarian Walt was. Amazing guy. You can search for videos on him all over the internet. I was very very lucky to be friends with him and I miss his Christmas cards.
Best blog yet.
Great writing
JLM
www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com
High praise coming from you.
Jeffrey, this is outstanding. Bringing Walt to the CME pits was genius. We just lost a beloved family member who was on the battleship California at Lingayen Gulf when a kamikaze hit, killing dozens of shipmates. Your posts get better all the time.
I cannot imagine what was going through his mind as that plane came in. When I was on the board of the museum one time we had a conversation about "You have to make a choice of which branch of service you will be in, and you will be in combat. You want to survive. Which do you pick?" My pick initially was the Navy until you read about Guadalcanal (see Hornfischer Neptune's Inferno). 1700 Marines died on the island. 7000 Navy men died at sea in Iron Bottom Sound. Subs were no good. Flying a perfectly good airplane had a gigantic death rate (I think only 20% of bombers in the 8th Air Force made it). The infantry looks pretty good.
My Dad’s only comment on D-day was that the Sargent on the landing craft yelled, “Men, do not die on the beach. The beach is a landing zone. Go inland to die.”