Daughters of WWII: Sharing Their Stories
Do you have a story to share about your father or mother's service in World War II? The Daughters of World War II are collecting these stories to share and preserve the legacy of these cherished veterans. Please send us your stories and photos to info@daughtersofww2.org
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Carolyn Wright-Sanders - Lifetime Member
Read about her father Adell Wright
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Victor Hancock - Read his heartfelt letter
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Daddy and his Bronze Star (which he did not receive until his 84th birthday, but that is another story.
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E. Diane Lapointe of Florida writes:
I am the daughter of deceased Army Air Corps Tech Sgt. Ellis Reece Bethany, who served in WW II, ending his wartime experience on Tinian Island in charge of the Propeller Shop.
The day before he died in Tidewell Hospice House, Palmetto, FL, the Veteran's Group from Hospice House honored him with a ceremony. At the end of the ceremony, they gave him an opportunity to speak. He recounted a story I had never heard about his experience, and the gathering around his bed listened with respect. The next evening, he passed away peacefully in his sleep.
Our family members have always been in awe of my father's service, and as a result, my 2 brothers, 3 of their children, 2 of my children, and 1 of my grandchildren have served in the Navy and/or Army. One of my sons served in Afghanistan and his daughter spent 10 months in Iraq. All are humbled by the dedication and comittment of our WW II veterans.
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My dad is in the khaki shirt on the back row, 2nd from the left. At the time, he was 24 years old. They were all so young to be having such big responsibilities of ending a World War on their shoulders.
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During the last year of the war, my dad was stationed on Tinian and in charge of the Propeller Shop. He was awarded a Bronze Star for that service because ALL of the B-29s that pounded Japan during the final months of the war were able to go and return safely to Tinian and Saipan as a result of the repair work done in that Shop. This included the Enola Gay and Bockscar.
Enola Gay's mission to Hiroshima was successfully completed as planned, and the plane safely returned to Tinian, but Bockscar had little fuel left after its mission to Nagasaki on landing at Okinawa because of tactical mistakes. My father had been responsible for alerting Col. Tibbets as to how to synchronize the propellers to conserve fuel for his trip. The weight of the atomic bombs would have made a safe return trip impossible without this modification.
Another little known fact is that the planes and crews for the mission to drop the 1st Atomic Bomb were secreted away from the B-29s flying regular missions, on the far side of Tinian, and unknown to the other crews. Col. Tibbets came to see my father to get the information under top secret conditions.
- Respectfully written and submitted by E. Diane Lapointe
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Margaret Connor Reppond gives us a riveting account of her life with WWII Solider George William Reppond in her story, "My Life," edited by Norma Nichols of McKinney, Texas. Mrs. Reppond resides in Frisco, Texas with her daughter, Janet Alexander.
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Before You Go - WWII
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Please read to the end and then click on "Before You Go".
The elderly parking lot attendant wasn't in a good mood! Neither was Sam Bierstock.. It was around 1 a.m., and Bierstock, a Delray Beach , Fla. eye doctor, business consultant, corporate speaker and musician, was bone tired after appearing at an event.
He pulled up in his car, and the parking attendant began to speak. "I took two bullets for this country and look what I'm doing," he said bitterly.
At first, Bierstock didn't know what to say to the World War II veteran. But he rolled down his window and told the man, "Really, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you."
Then the old soldier began to cry.
That really got to me," Bierstock says.
Cut to today.
Bierstock, 58, and John Melnick, 54, of Pompano Beach - a member of Bierstock's band, Dr. Sam and the Managed Care Band - have written a song inspired by that old soldier in the airport parking lot. The mournful "Before You Go" does more than salute those who fought in WWII. It encourages people to go out of their way to thank the aging warriors before they die.
"If we had lost that particular war, our whole way of life would have been shot," says Bierstock, who plays harmonica. "The WW II soldiers are now dying at the rate of about 2,000 every day. I thought we needed to thank them."
The song is striking a chord. Within four days of Bierstock placing it on the Web, the song and accompanying photo essay have bounced around nine countries, producing tears and heartfelt thanks from veterans, their sons and daughters and grandchildren.
"It made me cry," wrote one veteran's son. Another sent an e-mail saying that only after his father consumed several glasses of wine would he discuss " the unspeakable horrors" he and other soldiers had witnessed in places such as Anzio , Iwo Jima, Bataan and Omaha Beach . "I can never thank them enough," the son wrote. "Thank you for thinking about them."
Bierstock and Melnick thought about shipping it off to a professional singer, maybe a Lee Greenwood type, but because time was running out for so many veterans, they decided it was best to release it quickly, for free, on the Web. They've sent the song to Sen. John Mc Cain and others in Washington . Already they have been invited to perform it in Houston for a Veterans Day tribute - this after just a few days on the Web. They hope every veteran in America gets a chance to hear it.
GOD BLESS EVERY veteran.....and THANK you to those of you veterans who may receive this!
CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO HEAR THE SONG AND SEE THE PICTURES.
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Original News Clippings
These are copies of the original news clippings that Paul Sine donated to the Daughters of World War II.
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