bushidomartialarts
Senior Master
The most amazing and interesting thing is happening with my grandfather right now.
Grampa, like many grampas, was in WWII. Served in the navy, on the destroyer USS Drexler, DD 741. His ship was sunk by 2 kamikaze jets while on picket duty off Okinawa.
Unlike half the ship's compliment, Grampa survived (mostly due to being small enough to crawl through a shell ejection port when the door to his duty station was jammed shut). About 25 years ago, he orgnized a reunion group for the survivors, their families and the families of those who didn't survive. This has been his calling since retirement. They meet every year.
Last year, a woman doing a documentary film on kamikaze interviewed my grampa and some other survivors. Grampa ended up being fairly key in the finished movie.
This year, the Japanese government has decided to release the documentary and distribute it in Japan. And they're flying Grampa and one other interviewee over to Tokyo to be guests of honor at the premier.
63 years from actively trying to kill my grandfather for trying to get to Tokyo to flying him over as an honored guest.
I call that progress.
Grampa, like many grampas, was in WWII. Served in the navy, on the destroyer USS Drexler, DD 741. His ship was sunk by 2 kamikaze jets while on picket duty off Okinawa.
Unlike half the ship's compliment, Grampa survived (mostly due to being small enough to crawl through a shell ejection port when the door to his duty station was jammed shut). About 25 years ago, he orgnized a reunion group for the survivors, their families and the families of those who didn't survive. This has been his calling since retirement. They meet every year.
Last year, a woman doing a documentary film on kamikaze interviewed my grampa and some other survivors. Grampa ended up being fairly key in the finished movie.
This year, the Japanese government has decided to release the documentary and distribute it in Japan. And they're flying Grampa and one other interviewee over to Tokyo to be guests of honor at the premier.
63 years from actively trying to kill my grandfather for trying to get to Tokyo to flying him over as an honored guest.
I call that progress.
