Early in my Jacksonville Fire Department career, we responded to an elderly man in full blown Cardiac Arrest. Turns out, he had been on the USS West Virginia. The fella did not make it. It sucked to have to do chest compressions on him as I looked at a couple of photos of him ON the West Virginia. I do recall the man being EXTREMELY frail and in poor health. But it still was a call that bothered me. I thought back to allllllllllll he had been through and frustrated that there was nothing we could do. But after that and through my career, I had many encounters with WWII fellas AND gals that made my career.
People have asked me all the the time...What was your favorite thing about being a Fireman and I ALWAYS reply...Encounters with so many of the WWII generation.
