Reply #65: The guys who did it don't talk about it--true.

[bklyncowgirl]

Everyone who knew my father pretty much assumed that he had a desk job in WWII--my mother included.

After his death, we were doing a display at work relating to D-Day. Even though Dad served in the Pacific and in the occupation of Japan, I brought in his old uniform for the display to sort of liven it up--figuring no one would know the difference anyway. One day, an old guy was looking at it. He obviously knew how to read the ribbons and called me on the fact that the wearer of that uniform hadn't been anywhere near Europe. He then went on to tell me that my father had been in the Phillipines, which I knew, and that he had a citation for valor in combat.

Listening to Dad talk about his military experiences, you would have believed that he spent the entire war playing baseball and golf and churning out publicity releases for McArthur. Now I wonder where he really got that Japanese sword and parachute he had.