Gotcha!

I did not expect the recent "debate" of Republican candidates for president to be a debate.  I knew it would be a range of questions and some answers, but I was not expecting the moderators to have so many "gotcha" questions for each candidate. They had plenty of time to ask those questions weeks ago.

What I was hoping for was learning from the debaters what they considered the worst problems the nation faces and how they propose to solve them. What will they do to fix the economy? How would they handle Isis? We have many problems and want to hear how  they can be fixed.

Hopefully, the next "debate" will help us come closer to learning who has the best answers to serious questions.

Bomb dropped on Nagasaki 70 yers ago today

Seventy  years ago, August 9, 1945, the atom bomb was dropped on Nagasaki,  just three days after the first ever atom bomb shocked the world when it was dropped on   Hiroshima.     

We continued to prepare the USS Pickens and take on  members of the Black Hawk division.  You can imagine the excitement and the question of whether Japan would surrender or continue the war. Whatever Japan would decide we would go to Japan, to fight or to occupy.

One month in Israel

One month has passed for Jessica in Israel.  She has been able to return to her apartment  after spending two weeks in a cave. Jessica and volunteers from several nations taught some 50 boys and girls and led them in activities such as completing a tile mosaic and painting to decorate the walls of a new kitchen area.

Jessica was able to shower and rest after returning to her apartment, but she had to share her dwelling with ants.

 While she has a few days free before beginning another   activity, Jessica and the girl with whom she shared a cave will tour Galilee and other places in Israel.

The right decision

Seventy years ago, August 6, 1945, the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and the world changed, never to be the same again.  President Truman had to make the decision to drop the bomb, hoping it would persuade Japan to surrender.

Three days later, August 9, an atom bomb was dropped on Nakasaki, and Japan surrendered August 12.

Some historians fault the use of the bomb, insisting Japan could have been defeated by an invasion.  They don't consider that military leaders at the time  predicted American would suffer more than a million casualties. Veterans of Okinawa, including me, who were preparing to invade Japan, are convinced the atom bomb saved their lives.

President Truman had a tough decision to make but he made the right one.

No leave for me

We had been in San Francisco two or three days, joining other ships, the Army and the Air Force, in preparing to invade Japan.  Excitement was everywhere, and some lucky sailors were given a few days of leave.I was not one of them.  I did not get leave after boot camp, nor after radar school, and not even when I got out of the hospital.

I have called the day I was told no leave the saddest day of my life.  I wasn't afraid to go to Japan but I  wanted to see my family first.

An August like no other

August, 1945, 70 years ago, was a month like no other, for me in particular, and for the world.  Our ship arrived in San Francisco August 3, joining  other ships, the Army and Air Force in preparation for an invasion of Japan.   The next day, August 4, I learned I would not receive a leave.

We were to prepare the ship and take on the Black Hawk division, which we were to land on Japan. The first atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6 and another bomb hit Nagasaki  August 9. Rumors of a possible Japan surrender were flying and became a reality August 12.

In addition to the world spinning, I was 19 years old on my birthday August 21.  Nothing unusual there except  I did not remember it until we were on our way to the Philippines several days later.

Guiding the Pickens into Frisco bay

Today is the first day of  August, a date  I remember because on August 3, 1945, the USS Pickens sailed into San Francisco after 11 months in the South Pacific, beginning a month of excitement. 

For me, it was a tough time beginning with the early entrance into the foggy bay.  I was on the radar with the task of guiding the ship by spotting the buoys and keeping the ship from sinking any fishing vessels. I don't know how to explain the difficulty I had in   telling the difference between a buoy and a bat as depicted on the radar.  Both were only blips, with the boats the ones moving.