Heroes and Regular People

I've been thinking about my father and how difficult the last few years have been - particularly this last year, with his advancing vascular dementia and all of its accompanying indignities. And, I've been thinking a lot about how the day-to-day life that, under some circumstances, allows you to accomplish heroic things is the very same day-to-day life that eventually wears you down.

Our perception of people is based on our own experiences and yet, there are other perceptions. Your peers often view you in a different light than your family. My friend Anita's significant other, Don, read Dad's obituary and said "Wow, this guy was a war hero!" But what kid, over the age of five, ever thinks of a parent as a hero? We located and framed the war medals when we moved Mom and Dad out of their long-time home, but there was little time for reflection. Don, as a combat veteran in Vietnam, had a better understanding of what those men experienced and it was a good reminder for me to look at things in a different light.

So Dad, this one's for you and all the brave men who served in the "China-Burma-India Theatre" during WWII. The names and positions were illegible on the back of the photo, but Dad is first row, far left. Not sure of the date, but it would have been in 1942 - their plane "Little Mike" was new and the men looked young.



I like this picture because he looked happy - in recent years, he spoke often about his time in the military and although we didn't understand the stories, it was obvious that he had a great deal of respect and admiration for his fellow soldiers. It's also the only photo I've seen of him that looks like my brother, Ed.



I don't know where they were, but they look cold and miserable out on a tarmac. Dad's far right in this shot.



We don't know a lot about his unit, but in this photo the "Little Mike" proudly boasts twelve camels - earned one at a time for each successful bombing flight over the Himalayas, or as the soldiers called it "the Hump". Needless to say, they look older and less naive. Dad is back in his position - first row, far left - and it's possible the photo was taken in 1945.



He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross Medal as an Aerial Engineer Gunner in B-17 and B-29 bombers - the "Little Mike" was a B-29. He also received an Air Medal with two clusters, the Southwest Pacific Ribbon and the Asiatic Pacific Ribbon with four battle stars.

I found this article, saved from a 2000 Houston Chronicle, documenting the death of the Hiroshima bombardier who was also part of their "C-B-I Theatre" unit. It was kept with these photos in a file with his military papers. Having known all these guys, this was something close to Dad's heart even in his later years.