Update: In September I wrote of Maynard Hoover when he was bitten by a copperhead. Thank you to a daughter that lives in Florida who contacted a friend and shared that as a very young child she remembers some of this event. After being bitten in the finger, he drove himself home holding his hand up. When arriving home his family was ready to immediately rush him to the hospital, but Maynard was set in “washing up first”. We must have our priorities in order. Even though the bite did not appear life threating if it was me, I believe I’m ready to go now! I can wash later! I thank the friend of the family member for her call with this update.
As unbelievable as it seems, November is here. By the time some of you are reading this we will know who the next president will be, yes, Election Day November 5th, 2024. Another day that always holds a place in my heart is Veterans Day, November 11th and, of course, Thanksgiving which falls on November 28th.
Now for my full moon report-Full moon-November 15th and is most commonly called the Beaver Moon. Why is this? Because it is the time of year when beavers began to take shelter in their lodges now having plenty of food laid up for the long winter months ahead. The Dakota and Lakota tribes called the November full moon the Deer Rutting Moon for it is the time of year that the bucks search out the does to mate.
My feature for this month is to focus on Veterans. Do you know that over 18 million veterans live in the United States today? The majority are from the Vietnam era which puts them in their 70’s, a war that is controversial even today.
This story happened in the late 60’s, this soldier’s tour of duty was from February 1966 to September 1969, and you could say he saw the world. His field of operations was not a jungle, but a sea, matter of fact, the South China Sea. You would never think a young man from Bergton would ever end up flying over the South China Sea. By the way, from Bergton head east and 8,800 miles later you would be at the South China Sea which has a surface area of approximately 1.4 million miles. Be a bad place to get lost! His aircraft was a Grumman OV-1 Mohawk Twin Jet Engine with two seats. His weapons were an Infra-red camera that would pick up heat signatures. Yes, this plane was used for military observations and battlefield surveillance, and the missions were daily with rotating personnel. With each mission there was always a chance that they would not make it back safely. The anti-aircraft fire was a constant reminder of that along with the shrapnel hitting their plane. After competition of one of his missions and after the maintenance crew checked over the plane, they approached the young man with a discovery. Where he had been sitting the crew found a bullet hole in the plane. This hole was only about five inches from where his head had been, five inches from death. On another occasion, it was his turn to go, but there was a piece of night photo equipment that needed repairs, and this was the young man’s expertise so his superiors told him to stay on base and make the repairs while another filled in for him. On their return he knew this mission was not normal because of the response when the plane came in. When he came to the plane, his replacement had strapped a notebook to his leg. For what reason was this? To help stop the bleeding from an enemy bullet that came up through the plane and struck his buddy in the leg. If not for the needed repairs, it would have been him sitting in that seat.
Another Vietnam vet I spoke to years ago shared with me about a time he was on patrol. As he was walking on the path through the brush, a buddy of his approached him with a packet of letters. It turned out that this packet was his letters from home, which was a very cherished possession for any serviceman, but what shocked me was what he told me next. If the enemy (North Vietcong) had found these letters, they would have turned them into their superiors, and they would had used the return address to send terrible letters to the soldier’s family members. The letters may be about the serviceman’s welfare or other propaganda to scare and worry the family back home. Who could imagine or even think of such a terrible thing to do?
Lastly, we go back to World War Two, a story that was shared by my daddy. It was in France 1944, and as a military police he was guarding a motor pool. On this day, he came across two young privates that were working on a Willy’s Jeep under a shade tree out from the encampment. They talked for a while, and when the encampment sounded that it was lunch time, my daddy said, “Boys, it’s time to eat. Let’s go.” They responded that they were all but finished, and in a few minutes, they would go in. As my daddy was walking toward the mess hall, a dreaded sound was heard overhead… “In Coming!!” The sound of a German 88mm heavy artillery shell coming in. Of course, you dive for cover until the shells explode. When the shelling was over, and the dust cleared, the soldiers came out to check on damage. The sight my daddy saw made an impression on him that words could not describe. That artillery shell made a direct hit on those two young men working on that jeep. Not to be gross, but it is necessary to say, for the boys’ remains were hanging in the tree. The reason it is necessary to say is that war is real, two mothers lost their son on that day. If only they were hungry, if only they were not that dedicated to finishing that job, if only. It is for this reason and stories such as these, that I cannot stand to see some overpaid athlete or an athlete representing the United States disrespect the National Anthem or the Flag. Earlier I stated that there are 18 million veterans in the US, and that means there is 18 million more stories that may have been never told. Thank a vet, and he may share a story with you.
Believe it or not
Until Next Time
