Saturday, December 7, 2013

7 December 1941 Remembrance and other stuff

 I thought I would provide a little update on our recent  happenings.
 
First I would like to remember 7 December 1941...The event that brought the United States into the Second World War and to honor the men and women that gave their lives that day...I worked at Headquarters Pacific Air Forces(PACAF) at Hickam AFB during the early/ mid 1990's...and had the privilege of being there and participating in the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor...Though The Navy bore the brunt of that Day, The Air Force also had loss of life and most of their aircraft was destroyed while sitting on the tarmac....The Building where I worked was a Barracks that housed over 3200 Airmen, plus had a couple Dining halls...and took several direct hits....In addition six  B-17s were approaching Hickam Field on the morning of December 7th. They did not have their guns mounted yet as they had been traveling straight from the factory... They touched down wherever they could.....most didn't make it...The Great part of that event was talking and spending time with the Men and Women who where their at that time, "The Greatest Generation".....The stories they told where profound to say the least.....I was proud to be an American!

Hickam Field Hanger
Hickam barracks being bombed
Tarmac and Hanger














Barracks now Headquarters where I worked

We’ve just returned from a trip from Kansas City...prematurely I might add...we decided to go there to spend Thanksgiving with FIL and the Twins...since one of the Girls couldn’t be there on Thanksgiving day, we left on Thanksgiving and arrived on friday....to have the “Turkey Feast”
on Saturday.... the Twin from Jefferson City, Mo. still was down and out with the Flu, so we
had an abbreviated Turkey Feast  and planned to visit her, SIL  on 7 Dec(today) and then head back to Texas....

The First Thanksgiving

Well On 4 Dec. I got up around 0530 went to the basement and worked on the treadmill for an hour, got coffee and watched the early morning news..... then I saw the extended weather report, and it was ugly...something about a storm named Cleon and a following one named Dion....and it was going to hit the Oklahoma City Dallas/Worth Area on Thursday evening and the next several days it would be below freezing leaving a nice “skating rink”.....from Oklahoma to Texas....and the following storm will hit Kansas, Missouri and south...I get on the computer check the details and decide the window of opportunity was closing in on us unless we decide to stay in KC for the next week....which we couldn’t do....so we made calls to all, packed and by 1030 where on the road...the freeze line was below Ft Worth...so 500 plus miles later we ended up at Comfort Inn a few miles north of Hillsboro Texas....we bedded down, got up early and got home mid day Thursday...good thing, because the freeze line got a little south of Hillsboro..talk about threading the needle....and its been cold here...last night got down to 27 degrees...and if you watched the news you know what the Dallas/Ft. Worth, and Oklahoma City  is going through....So the bottom line...a good decision , though a shorter visit then we wanted....so we will probably head back up for Christmas...we’ll see what the future as in store.
Last Year during Thanksgiving



No photo’s.... in fact I didn’t even take the laptop...oh well, here is one from last year....It now looks that I am not going to take a trip with Ms Casita until January.....I’m going to look and see what would be a good trip..... until next time ....Horst sends














10 comments:

  1. Safe traveling is very important. Congratulations on the safe trip.

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    1. I learned that driving to KC can present travel problems with very little notice....glad to be home, though its really cold here, especially with the wind....stay safe...Horst sends

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  2. Horst, I appreciated the Pearl Harbor history and photos. Also appreciated the First Thanksgiving photo. Our nation has such poignant and meaningful history, doesn't it?

    Sorry you didn't get to see everyone you wanted to, but glad you beat the freeze home. :)

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    1. Thanks Sharon...since I lived there for a while it always has held a special meaning for me....I'm glad to be home and after see the weather conditions on our homeward bound route I'm glad we left when we did....take care...Horst sends

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  3. That would not have been a good storm to be out in...you stayed ahead of it! Thankful for the history reminder...and remembering whose lovely lights!

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    1. After seeing the number of stranded cars and trucks on l-35 by Denton I knew we where lucky and glad we left when we did....sure wish we where on the Gulf Shores...enjoy....Horst sends

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  4. How fortunate you are into health and an early riser. Five or six hours later might have made a huge impact on those travel plans.

    Sure hope we have smooth sailing through TX in January.

    Enjoyed the history lesson and pictures.

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    1. Usually I don’t watch the news that early....if we hadn’t left we’d still be in KC.....However, its not that good here...woke up this morning and its sleeting....go figure...thanks for stopping by....hope all is ok in Tennessee..Horst sends

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  5. Glad you beat the storm, it would have been a rough one to be in for sure! Thanks for the reminder photos of Pearl Harbor and the history there...truly "The Greatest Generation.
    Glad you had safe travels.

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    1. If we had waited until the next day, we would not have made it home...probably be stuck someplace between Ok. and north Tx....for a week or more...Hope all is going well with you Guys...enjoyed the photos from your last trip...take care...Horst sends

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