One such story was told by Jose's son. Jose was part of the 9 member crew on the WWII plane whose name, Naughty but Nice, was written on its nose. Just before the plane was about to crash, Jose parachuted out. He landed in thick jungle on a New Guinea island. He had broken vertebrae, a broken leg and many cuts but he managed to make it out of the jungle and was found by local villagers. After he recovered, the Germans found him and he was imprisoned as a POW for 2 years. The day they were liberated from the camp Jose said only 6 of 68 men walked out alive.
Jose vowed to his fellow crew members, he would bring them home. He was the only survivor. But for years he travelled back to find the crash site and when found, the remains of some of the men were recovered. He visited each of their families bringing home what he could. His son commented that his father was tormented by his promise, it was a part of his post traumatic distress experience.
There is a department in the U.S. military whose job it is to bring Americans home. They search for the remains of soldiers. Eventually all of the men, who flew the Naughty but Nice that day, came home.
In yesterday's paper there was a picture of a woman lying on the grave of a fallen soldier. The caption read.. Memorial Day isn't about barbecues. It's touching to be here in a country that has fought in so many wars and lost so many citizens. And it's unfortunate that in the remembering they haven't yet found a way to resolve their disputes with others in a way everybody could win and no-one would die.
Pic... I dream of a world where we don't hurt others.
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