Veterans Day

Image 1: Okinawa, Damaged plane graveyard, 1945
Andrew Selep is on the wing on the right side of the plane

Veterans Day has special meaning for me this year.  My father, a World War 2 veteran, passed away in October 2010 at the age of 89.  He lived a long, full life, accomplished many things, and loved his 9 children and 17 grandchildren.  He almost never mentioned WWII, and never brought it up.  Maybe once a decade he would answer questions about World War 2, and only when specifically asked.  

Image 2: Andrew Selep, 1942 - 21 years old

Looking now at photos he had from that time, I remember again the millions of people who did not survive World War 2. Americans have many blessings and freedoms today, and we owe our veterans, both the ones who came back and the ones that did not. 

These photos are worth a thousand words.  Dad was stationed in Okinawa at the end of the war.  He is 24 years old and sitting on the right airplane wing in Image 1 above.  Damaged planes where pushed to the side of the runway and used for parts to keep other planes flying. (Image 3 below.)

Image 3: Okinawa, Damaged plane graveyard, 1945

Like a kid he posed in the wreckage of these planes on Okinawa Island in 1945, reminding me of a adventuresome curiosity and interest he had all his life.  He was 21, and only 139 pounds when he enlisted in August of 1942.  By the end of the war he looks older, had significantly less hair.  He doesn't look like he weighed much more then he did in 1942.

Image 4: Andrew Selep - 24 years old, in damaged plane, Okinawa, 1945

The photo below shows him posing by a sign in Okinawa that someone had made that said "The $64 ?"  I won't go into the history behind the phrase, "the 64 dollar question", but I wonder what that phrase meant to the soldiers, and what soldiers thought the question was near the end of the war (They wouldn't have known the end of the war was around the corner.)

Image 5: Andrew Selep with $ 64 ? sign, Okinawa, 1945

My dad was definitely happy when he did get to leave Okinawa.  This photo shows him packed to leave Okinawa.

Image 5: Andrew Selep leaving Okinawa, 1945

Click on the images to see them enlarged.

 

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I am linking up to these memes:

Colorado Lady for Vintage Thingies Thursday (I was entry 49 of 52). 
Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday (I was entry 21 of 24).
Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration (I was entry 21 of 66).
Faded Charm for White Wednesday (I was entry 120 of 121).
Romantic Home for Show and Tell (I was entry 28 of 235).   
Jessica for Favorite Things Friday (I was entry 23 of 136).