Today, we honor the men and women who died in the attacks on Hawaii late in 1941. In the photograph below, the Officers and Crew line the flight deck of the USS Ronald Reagan, CVN-76, as they salute the war memorial at the resting place of the USS Arizona.

More than ever, we must honor our Veterans and those who serve today in the best military in the world. God Bless them in this holiday season and always.

This Veterans Day, I would like to remember our two very special veterans. My Dad, Jack and Verna’s Dad, Bill. Both of them are gone now, but we remember and thank them for their service and for their devotion to their families.

The photos of Jack (left) and Bill were taken in 1944 and 2004, respectively.

Jack was aboard the USS Brooklyn, CL-40, from Casablanca for the east coast 17 November 1942. Between January and July 1943 The Brooklyn made three convoy escort voyages between the east coast and Casablanca and then steamed to the Mediterranean where she carried out screening and fire support duties during the invasion of Sicily.

On 15 August 1944 the USS Brooklyn furnished part of the heavy naval gunfire which preceded the landing of Allied troops on the coast of southern France. She remained on duty in the Mediterranean until 21 November 1944 when she departed Sicily for New York, arriving 30 November.

Bill, served in U.S. Naval Aviation. He was stationed at Gibraltar in 1948 where Navy Patrol Squadron 26 had a detachment in those days.

The Cold War was fully in progress, and Bill’s Squadron was right in the thick of it all. Bill was a flight crew member and flew missions on the Navy version of the old B24 - the PB4Y-2 ‘Privateer.’ He flew missions all over the Mediterranean, Europe, the North Atlantic Ocean and back to the US for logistics and repairs.

We’re proud of all of our veterans and salute them on this day. And we’re especially proud of our Dads.

Twice today, these two large military helicopters - Blackhawks, I believe - flew over our house. One flight of two helicopters passed overhead (see inset) flying toward LAX. Later in the afternoon, they both flew over again going in the opposite direction. It’s unknown if they were transporting VIPs or it was a flight for some other purpose. As a former helicopter pilot and US Naval aircrew member, it always gives me a thrill to see these guys go overhead

Both and I salute our military and we support them via the USO and Wounded Warrior Project.

Click on the image to enlarge.

One of our charities is the USO. Today, their magazine On Patrol came in the mail. Inside, there was a nice article about how the Disney Studios created characters and films in support of the troops. The poster Mickey Salutes America was featured - I thought he was cute so I’m posting him here too.

Yesterday, on our way back home from Arizona, we got out to stretch and walk the dog at the General George S. Patton Museum, located along Interstate 10 in the California Desert.

While we were walking around in front of the museum, I snapped an image pair of this bronze statue of the General to merge into the 3D anaglyph image seen here.

According to Wikipedia:

The General George S. Patton Memorial Museum of Chiriaco Summit, California is a museum erected in tribute to General George S. Patton on the site of the entrance of Camp Young, part of the Desert Training Center of World War II.

Exhibits include a large collection of tanks used in World War II and the Korean War, as well as memorabilia from Patton’s life and career, especially in regards to his service at the Desert Training Center and that of ordinary soldiers who trained there. Development of the Colorado River Aqueduct and natural science exhibits are displayed as well. In addition, a 26-minute video is shown, detailing Patton’s military service and the creation of the Desert Training Center.

Though Patton only spent less than four months at the Desert Training Center, his establishment of the training grounds directly impacted more than one million troops.

The museum is at the Chiriaco Summit exit off Interstate 10, 30 miles/48km east of Indio.

Click on the image above to view the full-sized anaglyph. If you don’t have your free pair of 3D glasses, you can see the 2D version here.

On this first Veterans Day after Verna’s Dad passed away, we would like to re-post this information about our favorite veteran . . .

Dad and Navy Patrol Squadron VP-26

It has been over sixty years since Verna’s Dad served in the U.S. Navy. He was stationed at Gibraltar in 1948 where Navy Patrol Squadron 26 had a detachment at the time.

The Cold War was fully in progress, and Dad’s Squadron was right in the thick of it all. He was a flight crew member and flew missions on the Navy version of the old B24 - the PB4Y-2 ‘Privateer.’ He flew missions all over the Mediterranean, Europe, the North Atlantic Ocean and back to the US for logistics and repairs.

Image: PB4Y-2 similar to ones in Dad’s squadron.

I did the research on his old squadron and brought him a package of information and history about VP-26, complete with pictures and the squadron patch seen above. That triggered a lot of old memories and discussions with Bill about his adventures in VP-26.

This mission statement is taken from the VP-26 Website:

Patrol Squadron VP-26, a member of Patrol Wing FIVE, is a Maritime Patrol Squadron with a worldwide theater of operations. Mission areas include: Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Anti-Surface Warfare (ASU), Command and Control Warfare (C2W), Command, Control, and Communications (CCC), Intelligence (INT), Mine Warfare (MIW), and Mobility (MOB). Although the “TRIDENTS” are homeported at U.S. (Naval Air Station) NAS Brunswick, Maine, their reputation is known throughout the world. The Tridents have demonstrated success in all of these tasks and in all the services performed, one thing remains constant: Team Trident is at the ready, supporting the mission… Anytime… Anywhere!

I downloaded the history file that I found on the VP-26 website and have made it available here in case you want to read about Dad’s old squadron. Click here for the Complete VP-26 History (PDF).

The following text may be seen at the WikiPedia article on the Patton Museum:

Image: Patton Tank in 3D - click to enlarge. If you don’t have your 3D glasses handy, you can see the 2D version here.