i was 2 yrs old when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor...WWII was suppose to be the War to end all War...

i remember the mood...the black out curtains...the fear of submarines prowling off our coast

after all if they could fly to Hawaii... they could fly to San Diego...and why wouldn't they

we were and are a Navy town...a Marine town...a military town...

my Da was so happy we had moved away from Bancroft Street near Park Ave out to La Mesa ...it was a much safer place then living so near to where all the aircraft plants and military bases were located

Da worked at MCRD and North Island as a civilian carpenter...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/25/24976/

he worked there for nearly 40 years and my mother worried everyday about him during the 1st year of the war...she even dreamed about planes with big Red zeroes strafing the base...Da was to old to go to war so he treated every young man at MCRD with great respect because they were headed over there

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/25/24977/

everyone was so quiet when FDR was speaking on the radio...and he often did have fireside chats to update the public about how the war was going...he was always a straight shooter and my Da appreciated that about him

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/25/24979/

OMG...i just realized.....i am from the age of radio....

i consider myself a 70's to 80's gal...

not an Elvis fan

but an ear blasting devotee of Pink Floyd Rock and Roll*

for a very long time i didn't fully comprehend what it meant to be a member of the military in wartime...i, of course, along with most of the baby boomers, hated Viet Nam and took little or no interest the youngsters who were over there

i was a Kent Stater...an immigrate to Canada type...a dove of the first order

i'm ashamed to admit that now...i can make many appropriate excuses...i was busy..raising 5 kids alone...altruistically simply didn't believe in war....it certainly didn't meet my intellectual imperative...i mean what were trying to do there and why were we there

oh that's right ..i remember now....hold back communism

create a Democratic society...that sounds a lot like what was up in Iraq eh?

it took a Viet Nam vet to set me straight on the warrior side of the picture....a picture of a 19 year old who wanted to be a Marine because his dad was one...he was gonna get drafted anyway ... so joined up to get the service of his choice

and both of the men i married were vets of 2 different wars...Korea and Viet Nam

this tells the story better then i can

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byCCmBwRjGw

have a blessed Memorial Day everyone...much respect for all of you who are serving or have served...and try to remember everyone... as much as we all might hate it....and in many cases disagree with it

Freedom is very expensive and it's never Free

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2RwRi2TjA0

here's 2010's blog 4 Memorial Day...a remembrance of my days spent in Smallville Oregon...it's a great read

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/come-rattle-my-cage/2010/may/30/small-town-memorial-day/