kwselke
Member
My father will turn 90 the day after Christmas, he is all I have been thinking about this morning.
All of my life it seems I was the only one he would talk to about his WWII experiences, and he would not tell me much. He would get real fidgety during the episode of Victory At Sea which pertained to Okinawa but say, he only ran a floating hotel. "Some Marine who had not eaten or slept in two or three days would go AWOL, we would feed him, give him a shower, a place to sleep, and send him back." I never understood how he could make a statement like that in a tone of complete respect, until he turned 80.
When he turned 80 my life long hobby of researching naval engagements and favorite ships, coincided with him giving me the hull number of his ship. LST-677/LST(M)-677/APB-43/USS Yolo, those were the designations of his ship during his service on board.
Armed with that information I was able to locate a fellow junior officer, in fact one that my father had gone through Attack Boat School with in Florida. I also found out that my Dad's CO, eight years his elder, was alive and well. Putting those guys back in touch with each other was probably the greatest thing I ever did. Sadly, Captain Bast passed away earlier this year at 98 years of age. Besides having the joy of helping rejuvenate a few old guys lives and friendships, I experienced something few can ever experience. I asked... What did you do in the war Daddy? and his Commanding Officer answered. I was privileged to hear stories these guys only spoke about amongst themselves. Mistakes made and terror felt.
I will not go into the details, but you can check http://www.ussyolo.com/ for a bit of the experience. A secret is that if you click on USS Yolo at the top of the website it will take you to Homer Bast's Diary, which I helped edit and proof. If you want action, start reading about March 25, 1945.
I'd also like to link to this story. Oral History-Battle of Okinawa The Yolo was its first stop after the Laffey was attacked. Homer said to me... "Thank you, I had not heard that". My father said to me... "I always wondered what had happened to the Laffey". The tone of those comments said more than the words. There are so many amazing stories.
Sorry for being long winded.
Wish my dad a happy 90th.
Merry Christmas!
And, here's my dad hiding a Colt 1911 behind his back, in Japan Sept. 1945.
Edit: Added his current picture from today.
All of my life it seems I was the only one he would talk to about his WWII experiences, and he would not tell me much. He would get real fidgety during the episode of Victory At Sea which pertained to Okinawa but say, he only ran a floating hotel. "Some Marine who had not eaten or slept in two or three days would go AWOL, we would feed him, give him a shower, a place to sleep, and send him back." I never understood how he could make a statement like that in a tone of complete respect, until he turned 80.
When he turned 80 my life long hobby of researching naval engagements and favorite ships, coincided with him giving me the hull number of his ship. LST-677/LST(M)-677/APB-43/USS Yolo, those were the designations of his ship during his service on board.
Armed with that information I was able to locate a fellow junior officer, in fact one that my father had gone through Attack Boat School with in Florida. I also found out that my Dad's CO, eight years his elder, was alive and well. Putting those guys back in touch with each other was probably the greatest thing I ever did. Sadly, Captain Bast passed away earlier this year at 98 years of age. Besides having the joy of helping rejuvenate a few old guys lives and friendships, I experienced something few can ever experience. I asked... What did you do in the war Daddy? and his Commanding Officer answered. I was privileged to hear stories these guys only spoke about amongst themselves. Mistakes made and terror felt.
I will not go into the details, but you can check http://www.ussyolo.com/ for a bit of the experience. A secret is that if you click on USS Yolo at the top of the website it will take you to Homer Bast's Diary, which I helped edit and proof. If you want action, start reading about March 25, 1945.
I'd also like to link to this story. Oral History-Battle of Okinawa The Yolo was its first stop after the Laffey was attacked. Homer said to me... "Thank you, I had not heard that". My father said to me... "I always wondered what had happened to the Laffey". The tone of those comments said more than the words. There are so many amazing stories.
Sorry for being long winded.
Wish my dad a happy 90th.
Merry Christmas!
And, here's my dad hiding a Colt 1911 behind his back, in Japan Sept. 1945.
Edit: Added his current picture from today.
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