The "Memorial Day 2015" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Looking at my new publication that just came in the mail from Reminisce Magazine.  Those of you who subscribe to the publication know that the magazine targets the older population with stories from the past that are primarily written by the readers of the magazine.  Well, todays publication is a 162 page hard-cover book titled "We Pulled Together ... And Won!"  The book has personal memories of the World War II Years.  Being that today is Memorial Day in the United States (the day we honor our war veterans) I thought I would publish a few of the photos submitted from readers  with a brief sentence or two that will explain what the photo illustrates.  All photos and stories that follow were sent to the publication by readers of Reminisce Magazine.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The USS California is hit by two torpedoes and a bomb.  It was one of 18 warships crippled or sunk at Pearl Harbor.

The USS West Virginia and the USS Tennessee were hit by Japanese bombs and torpedoes.

New troops give a farewell kiss to their sweethearts before shipping out.  

Women were called on to become skilled at countless industrial tasks.  These four grandmothers were working in a shipyard machine shop.

A Gold Star in the window of a neighbor indicates that they had lost a son in the war.

This officer is practicing her bugle calls while standing on the roof of a hotel that had been stripped down for military use.  

A Catholic priest is saying Mass on the Birmingham.  Many soldiers said that the chaplains were the war's unsung heroes.

The Eniwetok All-Stars were a Navy fast-pitch softball team stationed on the Marshall Islands.

I found this photo and story very interesting.  This is a POW who is moving through the chow line in the United States.  My father was a guard at a POW during the war.  This fellow's life was spared by an American GI and is now a U.S. citizen.

This camp was named in honor of the canned meat that they ate so often.  Span needed no refrigeration so it was the perfect fighting man's food.  About 100 million pounds of Spam was shipped during WWII to feed Allied troops.  

Mail call on Navy warships was the highlight of the week for most sailors.  

These two color drawings were referred to as Envelope Art.  Some wives or girlfriends of troops decorated the envelopes or post cards they sent to them.  Really brightened up the mail call.

More than 14,000 service personnel crammed the decks of the Queen Elizabeth as they sailed into New York City after the war ended.

Huge crowds gather in Times Square on V-J Day.  This celebration lasted throughout the day and into the evening.

As you can see from these photos, many people have many different memories of WWII.  The Reminisce Magazine book was a treasure trove of memories sent to the magazine by servicemen and women as well as family and friends for publication in this very interesting and informative book.