Remembering a World War II Vet: My Dad

That's my father on the right.  He served in World War II as a Staff Sergeant with the U.S. Army Air Corps, which would later become the U.S. Air Force.

Pop was an expert on the famous Norden bombsight, the mechanized device used in our bombers that would fix on a target and guide the plane and drop the bombs at the precise moment.  It was terribly effective against enemy targets.  Because of his knowledge, the Army would not ship him overseas for fear that, if captured, he would be made to tell how it worked.  Pop repaired and maintained these bombsights and trained bomber crews in its use.

When a bomber was forced down in enemy territory, the crew would destroy the bombsite with a grenade to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.

Pop was already in the Army when Pearl Harbor was attacked.  He was in sick bay with the flu when he heard the news.

I guess my dad would want to join with President Obama and apologize to the Germans for Dresden...well, not really.  He married a German woman and figured that the Germans had their revenge!  I'm joking -- he really loved my mom.

Pop passed away in 1991 and I miss him every day.  I guess you could say that every day is Memorial Day for me and Bro.