Monday Morning in July - Off
The Bean Vine 11 29 05
Since 11-30-05
From: Thebeanvine@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2005 1:44 PM
To: Beansimple@aol.com; Thebeanvine@aol.com
Subject: Monday Morning in July Off TheBeanVine 11 29 05
November 29, 2005
"Rumors of my death have been
greatly exaggerated.."
Mark Twain
Greetings after a long hiatus,
Much has happened and I won't even act like I'm going to play
"catch-up" on issues and idiots. This issue will be several random thoughts
spread across a number of crop up items I've not commented on before. This
particular thought has been kicking around a while so it's time to let at
least this one free.
MONDAY MORNING IN JULY
~ It was back in July when the SOVA, Inc. Veterans Gathering was
held, as I mentioned before my absence, I was deeply involved in the
committee which puts on this fine event. The site of the Gathering is just
off Interstate 75 in Franklin, Ohio which is maybe 20 air miles or so from
Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, home of the Dayton Air Show.
The Dayton Air Show runs on the same weekend we held our event.
Those not familiar with this huge air show event should google it and take a
look at the event, very impressive display of vintage and modern aircraft.
Hurricane Dennis, a very "giving and sharing" storm had run over
the Midwest that weekend and both the air show and SOVA had felt the effects
of the storm's passing which gave us skies which ranged from bright and
clear to sullen gray drizzle to rolling storm and heavy downpours. Many of
the exhibition flights had been canceled or rescheduled or severely
shortened because of this and we, at the Gathering saw very few overflies
though we had normally seen quite a few in years past as Franklin was well
within the flight pattern for Wright Patt.
The event had ended officially Sunday, but I had to be back at
the park on Monday morning so the Queen City Golf Carts LLC, could retrieve
their Golf Carts we had rented (yes, that WAS a shameless plug..). I had
arrived waaaaaay to early and got three large cups of coffee from the local
burger death restaurant, went over to the park to wait. I climbed on the
cart I had used as my chariot-du-jour for the event and took a slow drive
around the park camping areas, checking for any lost items, rounding up any
debris and policing the area, mostly just killing time and reminiscing about
all the great vets and folks who had been here with us that past weekend.
Here's the site where my good friend "dadirty" and his family
had stayed, all the way from California. Over there is where we had our only
"casualty" when the Vet Rep from Warren County had run afoul of a wasp's
nest.
I drove past the place where HonorFlight.com had set up their
informational booth. These wonderful folks fly WW2 veterans to Washington,
DC to visit THEIR memorial. They charge nothing to the vet, in fact they
assume all costs from aviation fuel to cabs to a sit down lunch in
Washington. I had spoken to the booth operator when they had set up and he
commented that one of the main reasons they provide this free flight and day
to these veterans is because they are growing so few the ones remaining
should have a chance to see THEIR memorial before they were all gone.
One of the challenges that we as a committee faced was finding
an honoree candidate from WW2 service to stand and represent our WW2 vets in
our Saturday Ceremonial. Folks, there's just not that many of them left.
These men and women who seemed to be so numerous just a short time ago,
thought I, have become rarities, uncommon, and hard to find.
How did that happen, I wondered as I putted around the park,
more demanding the question "when did that happen?" These were our fathers,
uncles, the old guy down the highway, the fellows from the local Vets post
that marched in all the patriotic parades. When did they become "hard to
find?"
Of course, we know HOW that happens:
age, illness, attrition of many kinds take these veterans from us and it
happens every day. Not like a battle and the consequential casualty
reports expected from war but a slow daily attrition with no casualty lists
and little recognition. Knowing how it happened though still did not answer
the question of WHEN did it happen. I recalled that of all my family members
who had served in the Second World War, only two remain alive out of five
that served, one a Marine who fought on Iwo Jima, the other an Army truck
driver that hauled gasoline for Patton. The rest had passed on as elders in
a family will do but with little remembrance of the service they had done or
the foes they put down, it was just "Uncle Charlie died last week..." the
idea that Uncle Charlie had also fought in Italy wasn't really brought up.
When does this happen, thinks the bean, and sez I, it never
stopped happening, we just didn't remember them as their ranks grew thinner
and their deeds became more distant in time? The same thing happened to the
WW1 vets, the Spanish American Vets, on and on. How many of my readers know
if you had a relative who fought in a time distant war? The idea posed a
challenge to me and I resolved to go looking and find out. I know who served
in WW2 and since, even know one of my great great uncles had been a doughboy
in France, little more, and I suddenly realized there puttin' around on that
golf cart that I had to find out, not just for me, but for them.
As I casually drove around the empty compound I passed sites
where my friends had been staying up until yesterday. Hard not to ask
oneself, how many of them will be around next year? I also wondered at what
point the honors committee would no longer be able to locate a WW2 veteran
at all? a Korean Vet? a Vietnam Vet?
You remember I mentioned the Dayton air show? Well, as I came
out of the camping area toward the pavilion the sun broke from behind banded
gray skies making the cleared area before the pavilion, now empty of people,
bright and crisp which is how it would remain for the rest of that Monday. I
guess my ears first registered the sound kinda sub-threshold like. Somewhere
in the cobwebby corners of the bean's mind I registered "...aircraft noises,
multi-engine....approaching..." but I paid it no mind. The airshow had ended
as we did yesterday and there's commonly a lot of air traffic over this
corridor of Ohio. The sound grew louder and more persistent and I stopped
the cart in the middle of the clearing in front of the pavilion and looked
back over my shoulder to see what pilot was out here this early in the
morning and obviously flying pretty low.
The sounds crescendoed in a highly tuned deep growling noise and
I realized this pilot was REAAAAAALLLLL low. The engines were in no distress
and you could tell by the way the driver handled the throttles that was in
no fear of losing control nor any altitude he didn't intend to lose, just a
growing echoing rumble.
She broke out of the tree cover at my four O'clock position and
I twisted to face it as a B17G came cruising over the park at around 500
feet and 200 knots, every gun position had a mounted replica M2 50 cal or
two, the pilot was wearing what appeared to be issue WW2 cover and headphone
set, there was someone behind the left waistgun, I know because he waved to
me as they passed over. Flaps down, cowls open, gear down and locked, she
was lining up for a landing at Wright Patt and was low in the pattern too. I
imagine the air traffic controllers at WPAFB were probably giving the pilot
hell for being so low, just a guess folks, but it occurred to me WHY these
men and THAT machine had passed so slow and low over the heartland that
morning doing a low level tour-pass all the way to the end of the roll out
area on the runway: THEY WANTED TO BE SEEN.
Maybe.............they NEEDED TO BE SEEN
.....AND MAYBE THEY WANTED US TO SEE THEM AND REMEMBER.....
....AND MAYBE THEY NEED US TO
REMEMBER, WHO ELSE WILL?
Something to consider and above all.......
....think for yourself
beansimple said it with deepest honor and a twinge of guilt
Off The Bean Vine
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