Congratulations, Julie and Mark

Best wishes on your wedding anniversary.   I am sure you celebrated by wining and dancing.  We are joining your celebration by having red beans and rice, cornbread muffins and cantaloupe.

Captain of Pickens forces crew to get boot camp haircuts

We were just a few days away from San Francisco (1945).  We had been briefed and knew we would be there only long enough to take on troops and materiel before we went to Japan as the first invading force.  We were mostly young, many still teenagers, so our spirits were high because we would liberty somewhere than an empty island and there was a possibility of leaves.  Then came an order from the captain -- everyone must get a haircut. Not just a haircut but the kind we got in boot camp with our heads practically shaved.  We would be wearing ribbons and battle stars we had earned but with shaved heads we would seem to have just been released from the brig.  We protested; the chaplain and the executive officer even cursed the captain, but to no avail.  We lined up and had all our hair chopped off.  We knew the captain was a bastard but this was cruelty only an evil mind could conceive.

Awards and symbols of accomplishment can regain meaning

Among the massive amount of junk in our garage are boxes of small and large plaques earned by  one or the other of the former 4-H'ers in our family.  They would agree that the awarding of trophies was over-done and except for a few, such as for outstanding 4-H'er, are meaningless now.  However, I remember that for all of
them the winning of their first plaque was exciting  and a proud moment.  

Speaking of plaques I received my share of dust gatherers.  The early years of my time as editor of the Guardian-Journal I never considered entering contests sponsored by the Louisiana Press Association.  The one year I sent in some entries and to my surprise the newspaper received recognition and awards, including a first place plaque for Best Front Page. We sent entries in every year after that that I was editor, and the walls of the newspaper office was covered with plaques.  Many would consider a first for General Excellence the most distinctive, although the sweetest for me was the trophy for Best Editorial.  That editorial reflected a battle that was won for the people of the city, vital improvements to the light and water systems.

For several years after I left the paper, they kept plaques on the walls, finally taking  them down, later to replace with more modern awards.

If I have a point in this, it is that some trophies, using that word loosely, that I once never cared about have taken on a sentimental value now they they are misplaced or lost.  I am referring to items that have to do with the time I spent in the navy.  Norton Art Gallery, which recorded my oral history, posted pictures of those items I have lost.  They can be reached by searching for Roy Lowe navy and are my two honorable discharges, the notice of separation, the Astoria newspaper that reported on the dedication of the USS Pickens, the history of the ship, and a picture of me when I was in the navy.  The picture is all I have seen for several years.  I realize my family members have little interest in any of this now,  but World War II veterans are fast leaving us, and in the future these items could be interesting to others as they are to me now.  I have enjoyed establishing contact with some former shipmates and sons and grandsons of others.  I wish I could locate a shipmate who could send me a copy of the ship's history.

Remembering World War II veterans

I have just received some sand from the World War II Museum which I will keep as a tribute to those who fought on Pacific beaches. As VJ Day approaches, I hope others will remember the sacrifices many made for this nation.   Veterans are dieing and we must not forget them and what they did.  I hope the museum can soon receive donations to allow the completion of the campaign pavilion.   (The sand is from the beaches of Guadalcanal, Saipan, Tinian, Tarawa Chuuck, and Ponchartrain.)

I was not at any of these landings but I knew Marines that were, including a cousin, Cecil Roberts.Those victories put Japan on the defensive and allowed the United States time to build military strength and push on to final victory, the 66th anniversary to be observed August 14.

Unemployment is not getting better

In the more than two years since the stimulus went into effect, the United States has 1.9 million fewer Americans with jobs.  This is according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reportedt in February that 141.7 million people were employed.   By the end of May this year the number had fallen to 139.8 million, a difference of 1.9 million.

The employment situation is worse than those figures because an increase in jobs is necessary for this nation to enjoy prosperity.  More and more workers are losing their jobs while few new jobs are created.  The stimulus plan was an abysmal failure.

Another report is even more disturbing.  One in five American men are without jobs.  That is an unofficial unemployment rate, not just 9 per cent but 20 per cent.

I can't do anything personally but I do get angry.  Some company officials are  quoted as saying they have jobs available but cannot find workers with the skills needed so they move the jobs overseas.  Have people heard of training workers to fill the jobs?  Tool and die workers, for example, are not produced in a vacuum.. We have vocational technical schools; take advantage of what they offer.  Also, we can tailor training to fill jobs if they exist.  Our tax policies should favor the companies who provide jobs at home and penalize those who go overseas and employ shyster accounting to avoid paying taxes to the United States.  Hear me, big GE?

Permits for oil and gas drilling in Gulf would create jobs.

Any reader of this blog knows I have called time and again for drilling in the Gulf to be resumed in full.  We need the oil and gas and the jobs that have been lost, first by the moratorium and then by the refusal of this administration to grant permit.

Now an executive in the oil industry has pointed out that  a return to the oil and natural gas permitting levels of pre-2010 lead to an investment of more than 25 billion and create thousands of jobs, including 20,000 in Louisiana.  This investment and these jobs would not cost the government one dollar.

I say again as I've written many times, allowing full development of our energy resources could create hundreds of thousand of direct jobs, plus millions more.  While this administration opposes development of our resources, China is getting involved in energy development world wide.  China recently invested billions in Canadian oil sand, a resource this country once counted on.  It would not be a surprise if China began to acquire American energy resources while our government refuses to allow development by our country..

66 Years Ago Pickens nears San Francisco

As I was preparing some pictures of the USS Pickens to mail and thus got to thinking about where the ship and we aboard her were at  this time 66 years ago.  We were likely about two weeks from Saipan and a little more than one week away from San Francisco.  About this time we were briefed on what was  in store for us.  We didn't need to be told that our next battle would be the final one, the invasion of Japan.  Also, after our experiences at Okinawa, we were not surprised when we were informed  that the navy expected 50 per cent casusalties.  To my mind that meant one of every two would not come back.  Although the ship would not stay long in San Francisco, there was promise of the possibility of some brief leaves.  If you have read what I wrote last August, you will already know that I wasn't one of  those who was among the fortunate ones.