Hi Wheels,
If you do get back to Ft. Pierce with more time to spare, check out the Navy UDT-SEAL Museum there. The Museum is located on the ground recognized as the 'birthplace' of the U.S. Navy Frogmen. I have a good buddy that was with one of the first classes of Underwater Demolition Teams through there in '43. He was with Team 21 of the 34 UDT teams that were established. He saw action across the Pacific in every major amphibious landing including: Eniwetok, Saipan, Guam, Tinian, Angaur, Ulithi, Pelilui, Leyte, Lingayen Gulf, Zambales, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Labuan, Brunei Bay, and on 4 July 1945 at Balikpapan on Borneo which was the last UDT demolition operation of the war.
As a footnote he was assigned to the Team that entered Tokyo Bay the night of 30 August, 1945. The forts at Futtsu Saki had to be approached and demobilized before the U.S. Fleet could enter the Bay safely. There was someone with his Team from Naval Intelligence that for him they broke into a Bank so he could take pictures of a document.
He has never said but in my mind the only document worth a night mission into Tokyo on the early morning of 30 August 1945 would be the Document of Surrender signed by the Japanese Emperor, that had been announced in Japan on 14 August, 1943. Until 2 September 1945 in Tokyo Bay, when representatives of Japan's government and her military signed the Instrument of Surrender on board USS Missouri, I feel that President Truman would have wanted to known that the Document of Surrender had been signed by the emperor as announced 14 August.
I do have a pair of two 'War Bonds' taken by the Team while NI was busy getting his photographs of whatever it was he was getting!
I sure do hope those oranges and grapefruits are sweet...
With Love,
CtrlAltDel aka Dave
C4/5 Complete - 29 Years Post
Texas, USA
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[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
I did something crazy this weekend. 5pm Friday, I drove down to southern
Florida and
arrived at 7pm on Saturday Night. Slept 8 hours and took off Sunday morning
at 8am
and was back in Chicagoland Monday Night by 7pm to watch Monday Night
Football.
I'll never do that again. The only social thing I did was stopping at a
Fruit Stand in
Florida and picked up 3 bushels of fresh oranges and a big bag of ruby
grapefruits.
80 miles an hour down there and back. Man did I see the Mobil homes being
towed
down 65, 24 and 75 by the FEMA trucks. Must have seen 1000 of them during the
entire trip. I wouldn't suggest trying this to anyone. Port St. Lucie was
my destination.
W
In a message dated 11/8/05 1:48:55 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< Once the sun goes down it gets cold, so I try and get as warm as I can...
It ! gets freezing once the sun goes down, As low as 64.............. brrrrrrrrrr
Greg
>>
