Early in my career, we CONSTANTLY responded to or had contact with the WWII folks. It was always a joy for me to chat with them. I have 15-20 great stories that I could tell but just don't have the time. Some made me smile and some were very heart breaking. One of my favorites was running into an old fella in the Grocery Store when we were on duty. He had a CV-8 hat on. I asked if he was on the USS Hornet. He stood tall...His Wife gave me a sweet "You've done it now!" grin. He told me......"From her Commissioning at Norfolk till the Japs sank her from under me at the Battle Of Santa Cruz. We chatted for 10-15 minutes.
One that has haunted me was an old timer who we went to regularly. He did not talk much at all. But I did know he was a WWII US Navy Vet. We responded to him about 4 times over a year and a half. The last time I would see him, he was VERY weak with a rapidly failing heart. In his living room was a painting of a "Tin Can" / small Destroyer. I asked if that was his ship. All he said as he stared at it from the Stretcher.........Crew of 190. I was one of the lucky 71. I helped get him set up in the Rescue (Ambulance). Assisting with the I.V. n such. As I did so, I made damn sure he knew how much he and his generation met to me. As I closed the back door, I tapped his foot and told him "Hang in there". He gave me a tired grin but with a gleam and said....."Thanks for caring". UUUUGH! Someone's cutting onions as I type this. Needless to say, I never saw that fella again. That was about 12- 13 years ago.
I'm rambling but what I wanted to say is that the number of contacts I had with WWII Vets or even their generation dropped VERY VERY drastically to absolutely NONE on my last year on an Engine before I went back to Airfield Crews. I hardly even see them these days. TOTALLY breaks my heart!
