There goes the darn monitor, getting all burry again.
Tell your father THANK YOU FOR HIS SERVICE and that we appreciate all that he did for us and that we are grateful!
I've heard it said that the first wave of American troops at Omaha was essentially wiped out, to the last man.
The only reason the landing on Omaha succeeded was that this overheated the German machine-guns, jamming them and allowing the second (and subsequent) wave to survive, and eventually, prevail.
My Dad was there too. On Omaha beach. We could never fully understand the sacrifices they made for us!
bttt for the brave and courageous
My uncle, Lee "Tex" Gibson, was a togglier/gunner on the Piccadilly Lilley (B-17)and member of the Peterson crew. He flew 33 missions and they only missed one target. Two of their missions were at Battle of the Bulge and Dunkirk. All the members of their crew are still living. Uncle Lee is an official member of the Lucky Bastards Club.
There is a book written about their squadron titled Two Ladies and Nine Gentlemen from Hell.
Sorry everyone, in my blondeness I'm realizing that I posted on a D-Day invasion thread.
cool, my Uncle was navigator with the 458th Bomb Group in a B-24 that morning. Leo Penn, Sean Penn's father, was a bombardier in the same group that morning.
words cannot describe the sense of humility, pride, awe and love within my soul for the man that your father - and the millions others who served in WWII - is.
When I contemplate their lives; when a son of a hero is kind enough to share a glimpse of these miracles with me, I can only think of one thing: that these men are Americans, and that I feel myself the luckiest man alive to know that they are our - indeed, mine - fellow countrymen.
Give your dad many, many great and strong bearhugs. Tell him in all the little things how much he means to you; thank God for him everyday. Tell him that despite the clouds on the horizon, there are millions of us who give thanks to God for men such as he, and that we will not forget. We who know what your father and his brothers did will never dishonor him.
And as you live every minute of your life in honor of your father, there will be no need for words... you will see in his eyes that everything he has done, all the dangers he has faced... all his dreams in you have come true.
God Bless you both, and God Bless America
CGVet58
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Brigadier General Frederick W. Castle 1908-1944
Castle Air Force Base located in Atwater, California was named in honor of Brigadier General Frederick W. Castle. General Castle earned a Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions while leading a 2,000 aircraft bomber formation over Europe on December 24, 1944. General Castle was born October 14, 1908, in Manila, Philippines. After serving two years in the New Jersey National Guard he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. After graduating from the Academy in June 1930 he was assigned to the Air Corps for flight training at March Field, California, and Kelly Field, Texas and completed his training in October 1931.
General Castle served as a pilot and Assistant Operations Officer with the 17th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field, Michigan, until February 1934 when he resigned and returned to civilian life, holding reserve status with the New York National Guard.
Reentering active service in January 1942, General Castle was one of eight officers selected to accompany Major General Ira Eaker to England to form the Eighth Air Force.
Promoted to Colonel he took command of the 94th Bomb Group and in April 1944 he became the commanding officer of the 4th Combat Bomb Wing. He led many combat missions, including a mission to Regensburg and in November 1944 he was promoted to brigadier general.
On December 24, 1944, on his 30th bombing mission, General Castle was killed while leading an air division of B-17s over Liege, Belgium. En route to the target his plane lost an engine, forcing him to drop from the lead of the formation and his aircraft was then attacked by German fighters. Since he was flying over friendly troops on the ground General Castle refused to jettison his bombs to gain speed. All of the crew except General Castle and the pilot were able to escape before the plane exploded.
His Medal of Honor citation reads, in part, " ... Repeated attacks started fires in two engines ... realizing the hopelessness of the situation, the bail-out order was given. Without regard for his personal safety he gallantly remained at the controls to afford other crewmembers an opportunity to escape. Still another attack exploded gasoline tanks ... and the bomber plunged earthward carrying General Castle to his death. His intrepidity and willing sacrifice of his life to save members of the crew were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service."
His military awards and decorations include the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, Legion of Merit, the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak leaf clusters, and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters.
I thank your dad for his service.
My Father-in-law was running a Higgens boat onto Omaha Beach, your dad probably flew over him.