Posted on 09/20/2017 6:49:25 PM PDT by dila813
Since my memory isn't the best, label this historical fiction but this is my best recollection. I am sure I am missing a lot of colorful language and emotion. The man was teared up and by the end everyone was teared up.
Vet: What I would say to anyone who doesn't respect our flag. Let me tell you my experience son.
When I cover my heart, I think of my friend Lojo. That was what everyone called him.
We were best friends and bunkmates. We played cards every night because there was nothing else to do.
He and I worked on bombers on an island in the Pacific, we were both mechanics.
One night right before Dusk we were attacked by the Japanese.
I want to remind everyone that the Japanese wanted to enslave all of us. We were inferior to the Japanese in every way in their imagination. The Japanese are vicious to everyone they captured or ruled over who wasn't Japanese. We were constantly reminded by this by the summary execution of the men surrendering to the Japs.
So when we were attacked, no one was thinking about their own lives, they were thinking of their family back home, their loved ones and how they didn't want them to experience the viciousness of Japanese Rule.
It turned out that it was only a few Japanese planes attacking, seemingly not much of a threat. They strafed our planes on the runway not doing much damage.
Expecting them to leave soon, ground crews including us were out trying to protect planes against fires that have broken out. (I think he said something about tracers or something)
Then the planes did something unexpected, they turned into a dive on the bombers before we knew what was happening.
Lojo was by one of the bombers that the plane struck.
I was nowhere near where the plane strike happened and at the time I didn't know Lojo was seriously hurt.
Apparently the pilot of the plane lived, how nobody knows.
Lojo was lying severely burned on the runway the the Japanese pilot took his bayonet disemboweling Lojo as an MP shot the pilot.
Lojo lay mortally wounded as he asked for me. Some of the ground crew hastened me to Lojo and I found him.
The sight of Lojo lying with his insides being held in by the medics initially caused me to break down. I jumped into action and started pushing on his insides trying to put back in what didn't belong on the outside.
Just as I started to recover from the shock Lojo died and I again I went into shock.
Next thing I knew, I woke up in a hospital bed.
Over the next two days the shock of the loss of my best friend washed waves of grief over me.
How could someone as evil of these people exist. How could they be allowed to live one more day on this earth.
My grief because anger, an anger that I can't control to this day.
Let me tell you, Lojo didn't have any family. I still have his coin box and his card deck. I also have the bayonet that killed him.
People who disrespect the flag and don't know the proper respect to pay to the flag are an insult to Lojo and what he died for.
(at this point they handed out little booklets on the proper display and care of the United States Flag)
Why would anyone spit on the grave of Lojo?
I got to meet one of my childhood heroes around 1995 at a historical society meeting in Georgia.
General Robert L. Scott was charismatic even at 90. Also still tack sharp. He had written 12 books including “God Is My Co-Pilot”.
From his books I remember he didn’t care for the Japs. I asked him about them and to my surprise he said “they were fighting for their country, just like I was fighting for mine”. I guess he had softened with age.
World War II was a meat grinder. Although the U.S. lost a small percentage compared to Germany, Japan, Russia and China, there were still a lot of grieving parents in America.
“Why would anyone spit on the grave of Lojo?”
My Mom, God rest her soul would have said they were raised as heathens.
at the time, I only asked the dumb question was it Low Joe and he spelled it out for me. No it was LoJo, that’s one thing I know I got 100% correct.
Now that I am older, I think maybe it was some kind of play on the name of GI Joe.
Not all of the Greatest Generation were so great. What generation was behind (as in instigating) the radical hippie movement? Most of the Greatest Generation were awesome beyond compare but there were some bad apples.
That was their kids, this guy was in his 70s or older at the time he gave this speech.
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