From the September 14, 2020, Union (California County, Nevada) by Elias Funez.
Grass Valley's WW II hero and USS Arizona survivor, retired Lt. Cmdr. Lou A. Conter, was celebrated Saturday with a drive-by salute for his 99th birthday.
He knew nothing of it, but representatives of nearly every local law enforcement, firefighter and community, including state parks and Forest service took part.
Colter said that he would be missing this year's commemoration at Pearl harbor on December 7, but has plans to go in 2021.
Said Mr. Conter: "Ken Potts is the only other survivor from the USS Arizona. I talked to him a couple of weeks ago. He's in Utah, he and his wife bought that house in '47 when they got out of the service. And, they're still living there. He was 99 on April 15, he's five months older than I am. There's just the two of us left."
He was on board the Arizona that day when it blew up and helped rescue crewmen afterwards and dove into the wreckage to recover bodies in the days afterwards.
Later in the war, he became a VP-11 Black Cat pilot and was responsible for helping rescue over 200 Australian Coastwatchers stranded in Northern New Guinea.
Happy Birthday Mr. Conter!! --GreGen
We agree that we are under attack by the coronavirus. We agree that it can strike Americans of all personal and political persuasions. And, not just us, but anyone in the world.
But, while we have taken steps to deal with this medical transgressor, those steps have not been uniform or coordinated, and they often seem to be more about politics than public safety.
The coronavirus is the problem, but as Pogo once put it, the enemy is us.
The world learned from the World War II generation that when we're united no outside force can defeat us.
A few months back, the writer of the article, E.J. Montini, received a letter from a reader who was describing the difficulties of living through the pandemic. He related how his 18-year-old son was going off to college not knowing whether he would be able to move into a dorm or participate in sports or even leave his parents' house.
"This pandemic is his generation's 9/11," the man wrote.
Except, it's not.
My parent's generation, the WW II one, recognized a common enemy and came together to defeat it.
Likewise, with 9/11, Americans of all personal and political persuasions united in sorrow and and in resolve against those who attacked us.
It isn't that way now.
--GreGen
From the September 11, 2020, AZCentral "The COVID-19 pandemic is not this generation's 9/11" by E.J. Montini.
On December 7, 2001, E.J. Montini went to the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor held each year at the USS Arizona Anchor Memorial at the Arizona State Capitol where he saw a group of elderly gentlemen, some in suits, some in casual Hawaiian shirts, but all of them wearing blue and white garrison caps with a "Pearl Harbor Survivor's" insignia on one side. They'd be sitting in a reserved seating area.
After the ceremony, he struck up a conversation with one of them, thanking him for his service. He then related the tale of how his father was 20-years-old on December 7, 1941, and enlisted soon afterward. His father was working at a steel mill at the time and crazy for a 17-year-old waitress at a place called the State Soda Grill.
They'd get married shortly before he shipped off to Europe with the Army.
I told the old vet that my parents recalled hearing President Franklin Roosevelt on the radio saying that that day would "live in infamy." And, how all the years of their remaining lives the date of December 7 meant something for them.
And, then....
--GreGen
I was with my buddy Dennis today as he was working on putting in a battery in my 1985 Firebird in preparation of starting it for the first time in two years. To say that effort did not go as planned is an understatement. Nothing went right with the removal of the battery or the installation of the battery I had bought yesterday.
We finally ended up going to the O'Reilly's in Fox Lake, Illinois, where I bought a battery that could be used on an '85 Firebird. I sure didn't know that you had to have specific batteries for specific cars. Foolish ol' me felt that when it comes to batteries, one size fits all. It sure "don't."
Anyway, Dennis said he sure remembered 9/11. He said he was working for Jay's Potato Chips and thatthe was on a delivery to a store when he first heard about it.
And, that was the topic of conversation along his route for the rest of the day.
--GreGen
From the September 9, 2020, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois) "Looking Back."
September 9, 1945, 75 Years Ago.
"Col. Forrest W. Edwards, Camp Grant (in Rockford) commander, is urging all employers of German prisoners of war to take steps toward replacing them with civilian workers (Americans) in anticipation of the gradual repatriation of the prisoners.
About 2,500 German prisoners are being used by private contractors under supervision of Camp Grant mostly in agricultural and food processing work."
If you had to be a prisoner of war, these Germans by far had it better than anyone else. As a matter of fact, a lot of the Germans returned home, settled their affairs and then moved to the United States where they became American citizens.
Another Way to Tell That the War Was Over. --GreGen
President Trump gave a 15-minute speech and declared Wilmington, North Carolina, as the nation's first World War II Heritage City. "With this designation, we proudly declare that we don't tear down the past, we celebrate our heroes. We cherish our history, we preserve our history and we build our future."
The North Carolina Shipbuilding Company, based in Wilmington, was the largest employer in the state during the war, with 23,000 workers at its peak and built almost 250 merchant ships (mostly Liberty Ships) for the war effort.
During the war, Wilmington was called "The Defense Capital of the State." The North Carolina General Assembly passed a resolution in 2017, asking the federal government to recognize Wilmington for its war contributions.
The city became a "wartime boomtown," with its population more than doubling in size.
Wilmington's strategic position and contributions made it a target for attack by German U-boats. Merchant ships were sunk off the entire Atlantic and Gulf coasts as well as off Wilmington. One German U-boat reportedly surfaced and fired its deck gun at a chemical plant near Fort Fisher, just south of the city.
Standing in front of the battleship USS North Carolina which fought in WW II, the president called it "an enduring symbol of American greatness."
--GreGen
From the September 2, 2020, Spectrum News "In visit to Wilmington, president marks city's WW II history, criticizes protesters" by Charles Duncan.
Standing in front of the battleship North Carolina, President Trump recognized Wilmington's role in World War II as the nation marked the 75th anniversary of Japan's signing of the surrender document on board the USS Missouri that ended World War II.
Sadly, the USS North Carolina was not in Tokyo Bay on September 2, but one of the battleships sunk at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the USS West Virginia, was. Other battleships there were the USS South Dakota, Iowa, Colorado, New Mexico, Mississippi, Idaho and the British battleships HMS Duke of York and King George V.
The president said that Wilmington and North Carolina made extraordinary contributions to the war effort. "Nearly two million American servicemen trained for combat in North Carolina, more than any other state," Trump said. "Over 11,000 North Carolina patriots fought to their very last breath.
--GreGen
