Category: History

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USS Aircraft Carrier Found in the South Pacific

I am going back to sharing some military stories. Many are very recent. Some are short and some are very informative.

USS Hornet Found in South Pacific

The wreckage of a U.S. aircraft carrier famous for launching a bombing raid on Japan four months after the Pearl Harbor attack was discovered in January.

B-52 bombers took off from the Hornet took off on April 18th, 1942 to attack the Japanese mainland. The attack was led by Lt Col James H. Doolittle.

Six months later the Hornet was put out of commission after being struck by multiple bombs and torpedoes.

While being towed by the USS Northampton the Hornet was attacked again by 11 Japanese bombers.

To prevent its capture, U.S. ships scuttled the Hornet with 16 torpedoes. When it finally sank It took the bodies of 140 sailors with it.

The estate of Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder, funded the operation to find it.

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I have another interview to share with you from my upcoming book:

In my book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life,

I have many interviews. Here is part of one of many:

I had the honor of accidentally connecting with a WWII veteran while shopping at my local grocery store. I saw him as I walked down the first aisle. I walked past him and then thought, Why didn’t I say hello and thank him for his service.

Then when I came into the milk aisle I saw him again. I walked over to him and told him thank you for his service. He said he was in Okinawa during the war. That was one of the bloodiest battles of the war.

We said our goodbyes, and went on. Then I wondered why I didn’t ask him if I could interview him. I was very angry with myself.

I got all my groceries and was heading towards a register. They have those dividers between each register so you can’t see the head of the line until you get there.

I came around the divider and there was the WWII veteran right ahead of me. That did it. I quickly asked him if we could meet and let me interview him. He said he would be glad to do it.

He gave me a card with his phone number on it and we parted our ways.

The next day I arranged to meet him at his home.

Here is what happened during the interview

I sat on the couch close to him because his hearing wasn’t good. I found out he was 98 years old. He look great for that age.

I began to ask him questions

DB

What did you do while in Okinawa?

WWII VET

I was a Captain, and in charge of a company of shipping crews. We unloaded the ships as they came into the harbor.

DB

You actually unloaded the supplies, ammo, and equipment for those that were on the front not far from you? That was a pretty vital mission.

WWII VET

Yes it was, and we were being bombed by the Japanese constantly.

DB

What was your worst moment?

WWII Vet

I was on one of the ships and I fell overboard right between a barge and the ship. They were very close together. I had to struggle and swim to the end of the ship to get out.

I also had to keep our men safe from all the bombing.

There is much more to this interview, but you will have to buy the book to find out what else he said. (This is called a hook!)

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As a veteran, if you are struggling with the world as you know it, and having trouble mixing in the civilian world, you certainly are not alone. There thousands of your fellow brothers and sisters struggling along with you.

It is not showing you are weak by getting help. 22 veterans take their own lives every day. Many didn’t even try to seek help.

If you are struggling with PTSD, TBI, anxiety, depression, get help and do it now. There is a 24/7 connection for you to call at:

1-800-273-8255

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never ever, give up!

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National Defense Budget Signed Into Law

Thanks to all of you who have been joining me here. We help bring change to lives. The response has been wonderful.  We just past 4,000 new subscribers. That was a huge increase in 2017. We only had 1,000 two years ago. The year 2017 helped us to make it to 4,000.

We have reached our goal.  We will now be giving a prize to the person who is our 4,500th person to subscribe. We just passed 4,480.

+ If you haven’t noticed we are getting close to our next plateau. We only need 20 more subscriptions until we give away another prize. It is going fast so don’t miss out. It should happen in the next couple of days. 

Help us make it to 4,500 by subscribing today if you haven’t already. This shows you care for veterans. Just click on the icon right after the title of this post and click on FEEDBLITZ , and the posts will come straight to your inbox.                            ____________________________________________________________

Doug Bolton, the founder of the blog, Signs of Hope, which is at www.dailysignsofhope.com, has written a new book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” It reaches out the many military and veterans who may be battling anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, rejections, and the many other usual suspects. There are 22 military connected suicides every day. That is almost one every hour. Doug wants to help stop those statistics.  

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This is a new social network just for veterans. I joined it and made instant friendships with veterans who want to talk about what I want to talk about. Please check it out. You will be glad you did. 

https://www.rallypoint.com/join/spc-douglas-bolton

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They just passed a new National Defense Budget. See what it includes:

National Defense Budget Signed into Law

President Donald Trump signed the new National Defense Budget for the military. It is a $626 billion budget for defense programs and another 65.7 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Syria, and the war on terrorism.

Highlights:

  • $241.2 billion for operations and maintenance.
  • $46.2 billion for military personnel.
  • $33.9 billion for defense healthcare programs.
  • $15 billion for ballistic missile defense.
  • 10.7 billion for military construction and family housing.

Other good news:

Included in the new National Defense Budget:

  • 2.4 percent increase in base pay and a provision that restricts the President’s ability to reduce it.
  • Expanded protections for victims of sexual assault.
  • Many other new provisions

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It hasn’t been widely known, but there were “trans dressers, way back in the Revolutionary War.

There were many occasions when women dressed like men, and snuck into the military to help fight the war. Some examples:

  • Deborah Sampson. In May of 1782 Sampson took the name of Robert Shurtliff, and impersonated a man while serving with the 4th Massachusetts regiment. She was wounded on July 3, 1782. It was not until Oct. 25, 1783 that Sampson’s true identity was discovered when she contracted a brain fever. She was then discharged from the military.
  • Sally St. Clair masqueraded as a man so she could follow her lover into war. She was killed on October 9th 1779. It was only then that it was discovered she was a woman.

There are many more stories similar to these. Women fought alongside the men and no one knew.

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If you are a veteran and are struggling. You are not alone. Veterans like myself care for you. We want the best for you. Never give up. Never think you are not worth anything.

Life is tough enough in this world. Do not pile more burdens on yourself.

If you need help right now call:

1-800-273-8255

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

 

 

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Rosie the Riveter From WWII Has Passed Away

Thanks to all of you who have been joining me here. We help bring change to lives. The response has been wonderful.  We just past 4,000 new subscribers. That was a huge increase in 2017. We only had 1,000 two years ago. The year 2017 helped us to make it to 4,000.

We have reached our goal.  We will now be giving a prize to the person who is our 4,500th person to subscribe. We just passed 4,065.

Help us make it to 4,500 by subscribing today if you haven’t already. This shows you care for veterans. Just click on the icon right after the title of this post and click on FEEDBLITZ , and the posts will come straight to your inbox.                            ____________________________________________________________

Doug Bolton, the founder of the blog, Signs of Hope, which is at www.dailysignsofhope.com, has written a new book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” It reaches out the many military and veterans who may be battling anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, rejections, and the many other usual suspects. There are 22 military connected suicides every day. That is almost one every hour. Doug wants to help stop those statistics.  

______________________________________________________________

This is a new social network just for veterans. I joined it and made instant friendships with veterans who want to talk about what I want to talk about. Please check it out. You will be glad you did. 

https://www.rallypoint.com/join/spc-douglas-bolton

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We have just added a fantastic product for people who are suffering from PTSD. I have looked at the video myself. It is a little long, but it is very valuable. Go to   https://sites.google.com/site/v4vweaponspackage/  to see for yourself. It will change your life if you suffer from PTSD. 

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I am very impressed how the subscription rates have increased the last couple of weeks. We went from 4,000 to 4,065 in a lit over one week. This means you are interested in veterans. This means you want to hear more about veterans and their needs. This means I get to talk about my one of favorite things. HELPING VETERANS.

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As I started doing inmyloasrpost I will  be sharing articles that pertains to the military, and veterans. This one is a story about Rosie the Riveter. She passed away recently, but her posters are still an icon representing WWII.

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Fraley was a 20-year-old civilian working at the former Alameda Naval Air Station shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor when a news photographer snapped a photo of her wearing coveralls and a polka dot bandana, hunched over a lathe.

The aim was to highlight the strict dress code that the base commander had put down for women doing industrial jobs to boost the war effort: Slacks and turbans were mandatory. No sandals or open-toed shoes. Jewelry, including rings, was out.

The photo appeared in an Oakland newspaper with a caption that said the clothing policy “hasn’t made Miss Naomi Parker any less attractive.” Newspapers across the country also published it.

Fraley saved the newspaper clipping among her family papers, and mostly forgot about it in the years after the war, she said in an interview with the Bay Area News Group in 2016.

Then in 2009, she and her sister visited the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond for a “Rosie” reunion and saw the photo on display.

rosie the riveter dead

Accompanying information, however, identified another woman as the individual in the photo.

“I was amazed,” Fraley said. “I couldn’t believe it. There was another person’s name under my identity. But I knew it was actually me in the photo.”

Fraley and her family launched a campaign to prove she was the woman who inspired artist J. Howard Miller to paint the iconic image of the woman flexing her bicep.

(Miller created the poster for Westinghouse Electric to inspire the company’s workers. During the war, “Rosie the Riveter” was more associated with a hit song by the same name and a painting by Norman Rockwell of a brawny homefront worker on lunch break. Only in the early 1980s did Miller’s poster emerge in popular culture as an image of female empowerment — and since then it can be found on T-shirts, coffee mugs and refrigerator magnets).

Among those who backed Fraley’s claim as being the poster’s likely inspiration was James J. Kimble, an associate professor of communication and the arts at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, who spent six years researching the image.

Kimble was able to locate a copy of the original newspaper photo with the photographer’s information on the back, including the date March 24, 1942, the location, Alameda, and the caption, “Pretty Naomi Parker looks like she might catch her nose in the turret lathe she is operating,” according to the New York Times.

While the discovery helped cement Fraley’s claim, other researchers have said it remains impossible to know whether the artist ever saw the photo, and say that the woman in Miller’s painting may have been a composite.

A representative of the National Park Service, which runs the Rosie the Riveter museum in Richmond, said in an email to the Bay Area News Group in 2016 that it does not promote the identity of any particular individual as the inspiration for the poster.

The New York Times reported that Fraley, who worked as a waitress after the war, died at an assisted living facility.

Her survivors include her son, Joseph Blankenship; four stepsons, Ernest, Daniel, John and Michael Fraley; two stepdaughters, Patricia Hood and Ann Fraley; and two sisters, Ada Wyn Parker Loy and Althea Hill.

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Rosie the riveter was an icon for everyone during the war. He poster gave people strength to carry on and keep fighting.  We still need that strength in our world today, just like Rosie the Riveter did for the people in the 40’s.

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If you are a veteran and reading this please know that you are not alone. There is someone to help you if you need it. Just call this number and you will get help.

1-800-273-8255

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!