Memorial Day- What does it mean to you?

As this much needed long weekend approaches I have been reflecting back on several discussions I have had over the last month. It is apparent, that in this overstimulated, rat raced, narcissistic, disconnected world we now live in (well, isn't that a positive way to start a post...), many of us have forgotten the reason we have this long weekend in the first place.  We owe this break to the countless men and women who lost their lives fighting for the very place we call home.    

During WW2 alone, over 400,000 men and women exhibited the utmost of courage, and valiance, that I do not have, and lost their lives in one of the scariest places-war, just so you and I can live a privileged life of freedoms.  And that is exactly what we have in this country- freedom, regardless of what political party you are associated with.  We have more freedoms and choices than most of us can even comprehend.

Only 2 of these R.C.A.F. 111(f) pilots survived the war.  L-R: Frank Skelly, Frank Crowley, Joseph 'Red' McLeod, Ed Merkley, Hal Gooding, Clifford Hicks, Jim Gohl and Nick Stusiak in Kodiak, Alaska.   Photo Credit. Bill Eull

We are incredibly privileged and fortunate to make North America our home.  When we lose sight of the sacrifices made by those who came before us, it diminishes the amount of contentedness we feel for our current lifestyle.   Again, a lifestyle made possible by those who fought for the survival of this country we now enjoy!   Continuing to remember their significant contribution to our life, allows us to put into perspective, just how blessed we all are.   The reality is, if those brave servicemen and women had not paid the ultimate price, then rest assured, our lives would look very different right now.  We have to be thankful.  We have to remember their sacrifices.

So I ask, before your festivities begin, that you take moment to reflect on your life, on your priorities, your decisions, and on your outlook and if necessary make some positive adjustments- mentally or otherwise to live up to your end of the deal.  Life is meant to be lived happily.  Hundreds of thousands of airmen, marines, soldiers, sailors and coastguardsmen paid the ultimate price just so you could do so.   The gift they left behind is the power and freedom of choice so that you can make the changes needed to live a fulfilled life.   You not only owe it to yourself but you also owe it to every single person who died fighting for every liberty you enjoy today.

Otherwise, what the heck were they fighting for? 

Today's post is dedicated to R.C.A.F. P/O (Pilot Officer) Ed Merkley.  He was one of my grandfathers closest friends and I have numerous pictures of them together.   One of my absolute favorites is below.  Ed survived the treacherous flying conditions of the Aleutians, went on to fly with the 440(f) overseas and was killed November 19th, 1943. 

R.C.A.F. P/O (Pilot Officer) Ed Merkley

A Christmas card from Ed sent to my grandfather just before he died.  1943

 " Dear Bob & Eileen,
How goes things with you?  I am doing fine.   Gee- these Spits are a real air craft.
We just came back from a 48-    boy did we get goosed. Sure had fun-and you can't beat fun- Life is good.
Hope you manage to get home for Xmas. 
How is instructing going? Are you going to quit smoking Eileen, if you go home at Xmas?
              Best of Luck,   Ed."

L-R- P/O Robert Lynch & Ed Merkely, S.F.T.S. #2 Uplands Ontario, 1941

With that I wish you a Happy Memorial Day and remember- as Ed said, even in the middle of war- life is good.

War Is REAL And Never Insignificant

It's true, there was actually a war fought right here on North American soil .  The Japanese did bomb the continent.  Lives were lost, many lives were lost, maybe not as many as in Germany but tell that to the family of a loved on who was fighting in Alaska in WW2.  War is war.

To be  honest, I am not a fan of 'war', I mean who is really?   I know there are people who are absolutely fascinated with war, and those people bring immeasurable value, and protection to our country. To me, the history of the war is what interests me. After all, wars have helped shape our society as we now know it.

L-R F/O Jim Gohl,  F/O Robert Lynch, & F/O John Ingalls
RCAF 111F Squadron, 1942

When my grandfather passed in 1996 and we discovered all his war memorabilia, it intrigued me.   But then life got busy and I forgot all about it until a few months ago when my neighbor had asked me what kind of plane my grandfather flew in WW2.  That lead me to countless hours, and still counting by the way, of research on the Aleutian campaign. It saddens me that the Aleutian campaign is known as the "The Forgotten War", that all those servicemen who endured the most treacherous conditions and sacrificed their lives for the immediate safety of our North America were not given the recognition they deserved.  That historians and other war strategists at the time deemed the Japanese invasion as a minor and insignificant distraction.  Again, war is war, people died, people suffered.

The Aleutian Islands, where that war was fought, were so remote that it has been said, many of them felt abandoned by the county and that they were left up there to die.  Suicide and mental breakdown rates were higher than any other war.  They lived in tents or Quonsets huts in sub zero temperatures, supplies were hard to get due to their remoteness.  Mail from home, their main source of joy, took months to arrive.  Everything had to be shipped in on boat with limited supply space which took weeks or even months sometimes, depending on the weather which was seldomly good.  Besides living conditions that were difficult,  the flying conditions for the airmen was even worse.  They had to brave long journeys over the rough Bering Sea, flying through the spontaneous thick Alaskan fog never knowing if a mountain was going to pop up out of the sky.  The Aleutian campaign claimed the highest loss of aircraft due to weather related crashes with over 150 aircraft lost due to climate alone.  The weather also was responsible for thousands of troops that suffered from frost bite related injuries, which to those of you who live in warm climates and are unfamiliar with the pain of frostbite,  it can be so severe you can lose body parts.

Quonset Hut on Adak, AK 1942
source- National Park Service

The number of servicemen lost in combat is still unclear at this point, the numbers are inconsistent depending on the sparse literature out there, but it is reported to have had the worst casualty rate since Hiroshima.  If that is not war, I don't know what is.

 Now, can you imagine what would have happened if the Japanese were met with no defense and were allowed to take over Kiska, Attu or Dutch Harbor without a fight.  Heck yea, they would have kept right on marching towards the mainland.  Doesn't sound so insignificant to me.  The North needed to be defended, and I am so thankful that those troops were there.

If you know of any Aleutian Island Veterans, either Canadian or American, I would like to honor them in the "In Memory" page.  Please contact me for details and spread the word and share this site with your friends.