Mine's 87. He was too old for Viet Nam, but was working for a defense contractor during Korea. He didn't have to serve, but spent more than enough time in a converted B-26 flying a pattern around Eniwetok at 25000', with the top down, watching the sky through a telescope sticking through that hole in the fuselage, waiting for the early test ICBMs out of Vandenberg to re-enter the atmosphere. I can't image flying around in a former WWII bomber with a window open at 25k...
be glad too. from your stories, he sounds like a great dad to have. dave in pa. BTW, I have a photo of my dad with a shotgun and squirrels for supper on my wall here a home.
Salute. Sounds like he enjoyed life. Here's to your Dad.
My mother turns 97 in a couple months. She is still functioning, has her dementia moments but all in all she is in good health and that is after recuperating from a broken hip a couple years ago. Uses a walker outside but not in her apartment.
Here's a toast to your Father and to you Ken. He looks like a great man with dignity, vigor, and respect!!! Thanks for all you do. I'm sure he's looking down and very proud of you.
My dad would have been 99 this year. WWII Navy Veteran too. Did your dad do any time on Guam? Dad was there for the build-up for the invasion of Japan and then the dismantling of all the extra infrastructure he and his buddies had built.
Kenny, A toast to your father and a life remembered.
I am sorry for your loss. Think how lucky we were / are to have such fine men as fathers. The best payback will be to follow their example, and having that example, we are truly blessed.
My dad served at the end of WWII. Never saw combat (to his regret but not mine) since Harry dropped two big ones. Best man I will ever know. Feel terrible when I meet children with absent or bad dads. No idea if I would have been a success in my life without my role mod
And if I go, While you’re still here… Know that I live on, Vibrating to a different measure -behind a thin veil you cannot see through. You will not see me, so you must have faith. I wait for the time when we can soar together again, -both aware of each other. Until then, live your life to its fullest. And when you need me, Just whisper my name in your heart, …I will be there. Cheers, US Navy EOD
My dad fell between the wars. He was old enough to not be drafted, also working for too much to be drafted. Helicopters. I grew up asking him if he had "killed Commies today". Good men, whether my dad who helped it, or the young men who did it.
My Dad is long gone but I miss him. My oldest sister was bedside with him when he was in his last hours and was surprised that his thoughts were back in the air force in WW2. The comradeship was clearly a larger memory than the wife and kids. A good man and the most moral man I've known. Be comforted by the lingering sense of loss as it's a sign of enduring love.
Salute to all the father's out there - still here or in the light. There isn't a day go by I don't think of mine so I know what your father's birthday means to you. Beneath that gruff exterior, you're a good man Kenny Lane.
A glass of Guinness Stout raised to all who served and those who gave all. My father flew 24 missions in B-24s. 'Trouble Hunter' shot down on 24th mission, 13 months as POW.
Do you know which camp your dad was in? My dad was flying P-51D to escort bombers back from Ploesti when his oil pump failed; his plane went down like a rock, of course. He ended up in Stalag Luft III, from which the Great Escape happened. Unfortunately, the GE occurred in April 44 (IIRC), and he arrived in Oct 44 and stayed to the end of the war.
Dad was also Stalag Luft III, July 7, 1944. 492nd bomb group, 8th Air Force, B-24 Trouble Hunter. Dad said he was looking forward to his 25th and then transitioning to the P-51. Good links at http://www.492ndbombgroup.com/cgi-bin/pagepilot.cgi?page=showCrewPage&crewPage=611-HaagF&crewTitle=Haag%20F%20611
My dad flew out of Italy (I would have to look up the whole background). when I left active duty, my job required travel. I would look up various friends of his from his flight school (43-K in San Antonio), unit (see above), and camp, at his suggestion. Sometimes, I could find them. He passed in 89 (he would be 103, today), so is past asking anything.
My dad went home at the age of 68 in 2015. He was an iron worker, putting up buildings in Chicago and Detroit in the ‘60s, then, a Baptist preacher in East Tennessee for the rest of his life. He fought the good fight, he finished his course, he was a much better man than I’ll ever be. God bless all here.
Will do. Sorry he's gone.
ReplyDelete10-4. Consider it done, or soon to be.
ReplyDeleteI love that picture of him in his Pendelton firing the .41 Mag. Great times, great picture.
One of my favorite pictures of him.
DeleteSorry to remember and miss your Father. Mine passed at 83 and signed up for Navy the day after Pearl Harbor with older Brother.
DeleteDone.
ReplyDeleteEric.
Toasting him right now. RIP.
ReplyDeletePat
Let the Blessings Be for your and your family.
ReplyDeleteMine's 87. He was too old for Viet Nam, but was working for a defense contractor during Korea. He didn't have to serve, but spent more than enough time in a converted B-26 flying a pattern around Eniwetok at 25000', with the top down, watching the sky through a telescope sticking through that hole in the fuselage, waiting for the early test ICBMs out of Vandenberg to re-enter the atmosphere. I can't image flying around in a former WWII bomber with a window open at 25k...
ReplyDeleteHere's to your dad, and mine.
Will do..
ReplyDeleteSlàinte mhath
ReplyDeleteOn it, Kenny! Here’s to him and us and those like us! And fuck anybody who ain’t! Eod1sg Ret
ReplyDeleteHappy Heavenly Birthday Mr. Kenny's Father!
ReplyDeleteWill Do but please forgive me if I don't quit at "A" glass but after several.
ReplyDeletebe glad too. from your stories, he sounds like a great dad to have.
ReplyDeletedave in pa. BTW, I have a photo of my dad with a shotgun and squirrels for supper on my wall here a home.
Well,as we have snow and thus not working tomorrow now have a good reason to have a drink in your dads memory.
ReplyDeleteDone
ReplyDeleteSalute. Sounds like he enjoyed life. Here's to your Dad.
ReplyDeleteMy mother turns 97 in a couple months. She is still functioning, has her dementia moments but all in all she is in good health and that is after recuperating from a broken hip a couple years ago. Uses a walker outside but not in her apartment.
Done
ReplyDeleteErsatz Naugahyde
Happy Birthday, MR. Lane!
ReplyDeleteTom762
Slow salute.
ReplyDeleteHonored to honor him, Salute.
ReplyDeleteWill do Sir. It's an Honor to Honor a fine man, and his Son.
ReplyDeleteR.I.P. Looks like he was a badass! Like father, like son.
ReplyDeleteHe was, no doubt.
DeleteDone.
ReplyDeleteNifter
Knob Creek bourbon. Here’s to a brother.
ReplyDeleteHe probably wasn't much of a Scotch drinker, but that's all I have in the house now.
ReplyDeleteI'll pour a nice salute to him later, and hope he'll understand.
He was a Scotch man first and foremost.
DeleteThen an Islay malt would be appropriate.
DeleteJust poured it.
Done. Love that picture with the Blackhawk.
ReplyDeleteThat was the first time he ever shot my 41.
DeleteMy dad passed last summer at 94. Tonight I will raise a glass to your Pop and the good man he raised.
ReplyDeletehe looks hauntingly familiar. my dad was in from 63-66. SA-LUTE.
ReplyDeleteHere's to Mr. Lane. Thank you for your service, Sir.
ReplyDeletetrue MAN!
ReplyDeleteHere's a toast to your Father and to you Ken.
ReplyDeleteHe looks like a great man with dignity, vigor, and respect!!!
Thanks for all you do. I'm sure he's looking down and very proud of you.
Cheers. And may he rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteCheers
ReplyDeleteWill do!
ReplyDeleteGod Bless. Nickel on the grass...
ReplyDeleteHeading out for Taco Tuesday and will raise a glass in his honor.
ReplyDeleteMy mom's birthday, as well. She would object to me drinking to her, so this one is for Mr. Lane.
ReplyDeleteThanks for serving brother.
ReplyDeleteFiddler's Green WOPA, we'll meet and toast. regards, Alemaster
ReplyDeleteRespect & RIP.
ReplyDeleteWe were soldiers once, and young.
ReplyDeleteHe was part of the relief force at Ia Drang. His first battle.
DeleteKenny, God bless. I’ll raise a glass for him and tomorrow give a happy birthday wish to my father as he hits 100. WW2 navy veteran.
ReplyDeleteMy dad would have been 99 this year. WWII Navy Veteran too. Did your dad do any time on Guam? Dad was there for the build-up for the invasion of Japan and then the dismantling of all the extra infrastructure he and his buddies had built.
DeleteKenny, A toast to your father and a life remembered.
Bless his heart. I’m lifting a glass now.
ReplyDeleteSalute to you and your Father.
ReplyDeleteSteve in Ky
A toast. A tumbler of scotch and to good memories. May he be remembered. Bless you for putting forth your life and memories.
ReplyDeleteA (not so) wee dram of Talisker has been downed in his honor.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for your loss. Think how lucky we were / are to have such fine men as fathers. The best payback will be to follow their example, and having that example, we are truly blessed.
ReplyDeleteMy dad served at the end of WWII. Never saw combat (to his regret but not mine) since Harry dropped two big ones. Best man I will ever know. Feel terrible when I meet children with absent or bad dads. No idea if I would have been a success in my life without my role mod
ReplyDeleteDone. One Harp lager in memoriam.
ReplyDeleteDone!
ReplyDeleteAnd if I go,
ReplyDeleteWhile you’re still here…
Know that I live on,
Vibrating to a different measure
-behind a thin veil you cannot see through.
You will not see me,
so you must have faith.
I wait for the time when we can soar together again,
-both aware of each other.
Until then, live your life to its fullest.
And when you need me,
Just whisper my name in your heart,
…I will be there.
Cheers, US Navy EOD
Raised a glass for your father.
ReplyDeleteDuly noted, and glass raised.
ReplyDeleteHere's to you, Sir!
ReplyDeleteMay your neighbors respect you. Trouble neglect you. The angels protect you. And heaven accept you.
ReplyDeleteRIP,
R,
Happy Birthday soldier!!!
ReplyDeleteHoisted several times....
ReplyDeleteSalute
ReplyDeleteMy dad fell between the wars. He was old enough to not be drafted, also working for too much to be drafted. Helicopters. I grew up asking him if he had "killed Commies today". Good men, whether my dad who helped it, or the young men who did it.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad is long gone but I miss him. My oldest sister was bedside with him when he was in his last hours and was surprised that his thoughts were back in the air force in WW2. The comradeship was clearly a larger memory than the wife and kids. A good man and the most moral man I've known. Be comforted by the lingering sense of loss as it's a sign of enduring love.
ReplyDeleteThere's one for your Dad and one for mine, coming up on nine years now and I still miss him.
ReplyDeleteSalute!
ReplyDeleteI will have one tonight. Happy belated birthday to your dad. Good fathers are a blessing and mine would have been 94 this year if he had survived.
ReplyDeleteSalute to all the father's out there - still here or in the light. There isn't a day go by I don't think of mine so I know what your father's birthday means to you. Beneath that gruff exterior, you're a good man Kenny Lane.
ReplyDeleteSalute!
ReplyDeleteKenny, I thought we were contemporaries but your dad is only 9 years older than me. Sorry you lost him.
ReplyDeletelooks a little Steve McQueen like in that black & white crossed arm Vietnam photo. A toast to good fathers. We need em, and we need to be them.
ReplyDeleteIf I saw that look on his face when I was a kid, I knew he wasn't happy. Not pissed, just not happy.
DeleteA glass of Guinness Stout raised to all who served and those who gave all. My father flew 24 missions in B-24s. 'Trouble Hunter' shot down on 24th mission, 13 months as POW.
ReplyDeleteWas it still 25 missions and your tour was over at that time? Talk about shit luck.
DeleteDo you know which camp your dad was in? My dad was flying P-51D to escort bombers back from Ploesti when his oil pump failed; his plane went down like a rock, of course. He ended up in Stalag Luft III, from which the Great Escape happened. Unfortunately, the GE occurred in April 44 (IIRC), and he arrived in Oct 44 and stayed to the end of the war.
DeleteDad was also Stalag Luft III, July 7, 1944. 492nd bomb group, 8th Air Force, B-24 Trouble Hunter. Dad said he was looking forward to his 25th and then transitioning to the P-51.
DeleteGood links at http://www.492ndbombgroup.com/cgi-bin/pagepilot.cgi?page=showCrewPage&crewPage=611-HaagF&crewTitle=Haag%20F%20611
My dad flew out of Italy (I would have to look up the whole background). when I left active duty, my job required travel. I would look up various friends of his from his flight school (43-K in San Antonio), unit (see above), and camp, at his suggestion. Sometimes, I could find them. He passed in 89 (he would be 103, today), so is past asking anything.
DeleteHappy Birthday to Kenny's dad!
ReplyDeleteMy dad went home at the age of 68 in 2015. He was an iron worker, putting up buildings in Chicago and Detroit in the ‘60s, then, a Baptist preacher in East Tennessee for the rest of his life. He fought the good fight, he finished his course, he was a much better man than I’ll ever be. God bless all here.
ReplyDeleteRespect! mine would have been 106 on March 2nd. Australia,'43-'46.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, sir, and thank you for your service to your country.
ReplyDeleteWe lose too many each day! Clearly his Dad was a hero! Mine (veteran of WWII, Kerea and RVN) passed in 1978 at 56 yo ... thank you Agent Orange!
ReplyDeleteAgent Orange got mine too.
Delete