In Mikes own words"Dime store cowboy."In our lexicon , not an insult. About 30 days before he enlisted.
Gammy and Dad ay the Palace of Fine Arts, S.F. Cali.
Papa and Mike at the Presidio, S. F. Cali.A huge thank you to all Armed Forces members both past , present and future.
Papa , my Grandfather, was an accountant , he left a young wife and 11 year old boy to join the NAVY and serve in the Pacific. I know that he was stationed in Hawaii for a while, then on board ship although I don't know the name.
Papa was a good man and he and Gammy used to pick my sisters and I up in the summer and drive all over these Great United States. It is thanks to him that I have my love of maps as I was the navigator. We saw about 25 states and I believe 27 National Parks by the time I was 16. When you voluntarily subject yourself to being confined in a VW bus with three kids I think there is a little bit of saint going on there.
My Dad Mike was a MARINE. I know that he served 2 tours in Korea ,the first as a machine gunner on a crew served weapon , most likely a Browning .50 cal. The second tour he was in charge of a forward mess and cooked 3 squares for 250 men a day. He would never talk about his first tour , although as a kid I asked more than once. The only insight I ever got about that first tour was a conversation I overheard between he and John Yeager . When they realized I was listening all conversation was redirected. That kind of talk will change forever how a young boy looks at his Dad.
Dad gave me many things, my intense love of nature and our Great Sierra Nevada. My love of music of all kinds, cooking, fishing, precision shooting, the Big Pond (Pacific), photography, reading, literature, Hemingway , Christmas , lobster, trains and much much more.
One of my proudest moments was on my winter double Trans Sierra when I called SO dispatch from the top of Mt Gabe and Dad replied with a "Well done boys." He knew we were on our way back and that a double by the route we had taken in winter was likely a first. It wasn't until later that one of the dispatchers told me that Dad had followed us by radio every day of the 10 we were out.
I miss you Dad and Papa .
Thank you for your service and may God bless you both.
Papa , my Grandfather, was an accountant , he left a young wife and 11 year old boy to join the NAVY and serve in the Pacific. I know that he was stationed in Hawaii for a while, then on board ship although I don't know the name.
Papa was a good man and he and Gammy used to pick my sisters and I up in the summer and drive all over these Great United States. It is thanks to him that I have my love of maps as I was the navigator. We saw about 25 states and I believe 27 National Parks by the time I was 16. When you voluntarily subject yourself to being confined in a VW bus with three kids I think there is a little bit of saint going on there.
My Dad Mike was a MARINE. I know that he served 2 tours in Korea ,the first as a machine gunner on a crew served weapon , most likely a Browning .50 cal. The second tour he was in charge of a forward mess and cooked 3 squares for 250 men a day. He would never talk about his first tour , although as a kid I asked more than once. The only insight I ever got about that first tour was a conversation I overheard between he and John Yeager . When they realized I was listening all conversation was redirected. That kind of talk will change forever how a young boy looks at his Dad.
Dad gave me many things, my intense love of nature and our Great Sierra Nevada. My love of music of all kinds, cooking, fishing, precision shooting, the Big Pond (Pacific), photography, reading, literature, Hemingway , Christmas , lobster, trains and much much more.
One of my proudest moments was on my winter double Trans Sierra when I called SO dispatch from the top of Mt Gabe and Dad replied with a "Well done boys." He knew we were on our way back and that a double by the route we had taken in winter was likely a first. It wasn't until later that one of the dispatchers told me that Dad had followed us by radio every day of the 10 we were out.
I miss you Dad and Papa .
Thank you for your service and may God bless you both.
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