War! Huh! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!
Those who were around in the 1960s will recognize that line.
Though rational people would prefer to avoid war, one thing that comes out of it: stories. At least it is good for stories. Many of the stories that come out of war are, as one would expect, grim and gruesome. Some are sad stories, some touching tales of humanity or the lack of it. And some are just downright funny.
My father, Arden Packard, was in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1934. Having been fascinated by flight since he was a lad, he applied for flight training, and was so assigned in 1937, at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. He became a carrier-based naval aviator and his first assignment as a naval aviator was to USS Yorktown. One story that came out of his days afloat concerned the commanding officer of a destroyer assigned to a carrier group. One night, after the captain had retired to his cabin for the night, one of the other ships lost control and began to drift into the destroyer's path. The captain was summoned to the bridge and quickly briefed. He began to give orders. "Now, everyone stay calm. Stay calm, like me," he urged. Then he barked out this order: "Two toots on the rudder; right full whistle." Dad never mentioned whether the ships collided or managed to avoid it.
There were sad stories about friends who never got to see peace restored. Dad had two best friends at the Academy. Their names were Edward "Ned" Worthington and James "Jimmy" Newell. Ned Worthington was killed at Pearl Harbor. Dad died in April of 1954 of pneumonia. Jimmy Newell outlived them both, and my mother and I visited him and his wife in Norfolk, Virginia, when I was in high school. The three Navy buddies had an agreement that they would each be cremated and their ashes scattered from a U.S. Navy aircraft. Ned Worthington's ashes were scattered off Koko Head in Hawaii. Dad's were scattered over Glendale, California. I don't know about Jimmy Newell, who most likely passed on many years ago now. My father assigned the nickname "Ned" to my brother, in remembrance of his friend.
[This post is a little late. I'm catching up.]
I wonder if they crashed.
ReplyDeleteWar seems to be continuous and never ending.
Looks like James Harold Newell died 1995
ReplyDeleteJames Harold Newell
in the U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010
Name James Harold Newell
Gender Male
Birth Date 16 Jun. 1911
Death Date 24 Feb. 1995
SSN 224525485
Enlistment Branch NAVY
Enlistment Date 31 May 1934
Discharge Date 30 Jun. 1964
Page number 1
Name James Harold Newell
Gender Male
Race White
Death Age 83
Birth Date abt 1912
Death Date 24 Feb. 1995
Death Place Norfolk, Virginia, USA
Spouse
ME Newell
Certificate Number 1995007792
War is terrible but at least your father made some good friends
@Anne Young: Wow! Thank you. I've been distracted by other things. I much appreciate your having dug that out. Yes, Dad made some good friends. I'm glad I at least got to meet the Newells.
ReplyDelete