... including my Dad who enlisted the day he turned 17 during WWII and served 2+ years in the Pacific on the USS Oakland. He had broken service, but eventually retired as a Master Chief Gunner's Mate (E-9) with 27 years active duty.

My father-in-law was landed at Omaha Beach in the first wave on D-Day and fought all the way across Europe until the fall of Berlin. After leaving the Army, worked at the Defense Depot in Memphis, Tenn., for more than 30 years.

I was a West Pointer (Class of 1967) and took a Navy commission when I graduated (could do that because my Dad was active duty Navy at the time). Served one tour in Vietnam and left the Navy after four years, final rank of Lieutenant.

My younger brother Larry was one of the men lost in the collision between the American destroyer Frank E. Evans and the Australian aircraft carrier Melbourne. The Evans was cut in half and sunk in the South China Sea during a SEATO training exercise in 1969. My Dad was one of the survivors of that collision (swam away from the sinking bow half of the ship). My brother was a BT3 (Boiler Tender 3rd class) at the time.

My wife's younger brother Mike served four years in the Navy in the early 1970's, spending most of his active duty on the carrier John F. Kennedy.

Sometime soon, JB, I'll post more on my Dad's career, including the story of how he personally shot down a kamikaze plane during WWII.

----- jim o\-S