1.22.2010

one night in okinawa


When Dad joined the Marines during World war II, at basic training he took a test to see how well he could shoot. Due to visits to his grandparents (and uncles) in Munford, he could shoot quite well. So well, in fact, that they decided to retest him. He aced the marksmanship test again. The Paris Island brass shrugged and said, "Well I guess that boy really can shoot."
Nonetheless, he was assigned to intelligence, largely map reading and liaison with the OSS (precursor to the CIA). As such, the sharpshooter did more getting shot at than shooting.
One night in Okinawa, zipped into a jungle hammock with a canvas roof and mosquito netting, a shell exploded nearby. He flipped the hammock upside down, tore open the top, fell on the ground and found himself under the mess table before he properly woke up. And never slept in one of those damned hammocks again.

4 comments:

  1. Quite the handsome fellow! I've never met nor even seen a picture of your other brother, but Chris sure does look like him. You should post a picture of 'other brother' --- enquiring minds want to compare familial resemblance.

    ReplyDelete
  2. P.S. Since I'm not British, that should be inquiring...but it's sooo late...er, I mean early.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Holy shit, Danne, what are you doing awake?
    Actually my other brother, Ben, looks more like my father, I think. Check out his pic at http://visionsound.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think there is a good book or story in this character...you are doing some good research...tell us more please

    ReplyDelete