Pete,
Every year as long as I can remember the town of Raritan, NJ. holds a parade and celebration in Sept. in the memory of John Basilone. It's quite an event and almost makes you feel as though you are back in 1942. We still have relatives there so we make the trip with my parents and enjoy a truly small town America event. I forget to mention my dear friend of 35yrs., Howard Donahue who flew B-17's in the 8th AF out of England during the war. He was only 20yrs. old at the time and flew over 33 missions as the pilot of this wonderful aircraft. I wish I had video taped his stories. He was a wonderful story teller and quite a character. He sold me my first Parker, which I still have, and taught me how to reload, drink bourbon and eat raw beef w/onions. He wrote a fascinating book on the Kennedy assassination, "Mortal Error". You can find his TV interview about his book on You Tube. I wish I knew how to provide the link but if anyone is interested you should be able to find it. I could'nt imagine being that young with that much responsibilty thrust upon me. They really were the Greatest Generation.
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