The Greatest Generation......

[Bazza]

WW2 photo from Life magazine of a B-17 crew member cleaning the ball turret with what appears to be the mascot.

 

[OakMtn4Bama]

America’s last living ace pilot from World War II dead at 103: ‘So many honors and medals’

https://nypost.com/2025/08/21/us-news/americas-last-living-ace-pilot-from-world-war-ii-dead-at-103

Amazing guy. RIP

 

[Bazza]

This is in Michigan.

Frances Masters, 103, will be honored with a bronze statue at Royal Oak Memorial Park this Veterans Day for her WWII service as Rosie the Riveter.

She looks fantastic for 103! "Vegetables. And I use a lot of olive oil."

 

[Toddrn]

WWII Navy veteran Ira 'Ike' Schab, one of last remaining Pearl Harbor survivors, dies at 105

World War II Navy veteran Ira “Ike” Schab, one of the dwindling number of survivors of the 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, has died. Daughter Kimberlee Heinrichs told The Associated Press that...

www.yahoo.com

 

[Bazza]

WWII Navy veteran Ira 'Ike' Schab, one of last remaining Pearl Harbor survivors, dies at 105

World War II Navy veteran Ira “Ike” Schab, one of the dwindling number of survivors of the 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, has died. Daughter Kimberlee Heinrichs told The Associated Press that...

www.yahoo.com

Thank you, @Toddrn ---

From the linked article:

With his passing, there remain only about a dozen survivors of the surprise attack, which killed just over 2,400 troops and propelled the United States into the war.

Schab was a sailor of just 21 at the time of the attack, and for decades he rarely spoke about the experience.

He joined the Navy at 18, following in the footsteps of his father, he said in a February interview for Pacific Historic Parks.

Schab spent most of the war with the Navy in the Pacific, going to the New Hebrides, now known as Vanuatu, and then the Mariana Islands and Okinawa, Japan.

After the war he studied aerospace engineering and worked on the Apollo spaceflight program as an electrical engineer for General Dynamics, helping send astronauts to the moon.

Schab's son also joined the Navy and is a retired commander.

Speaking at a 2022 ceremony, Schab asked people to honor those who served at Pearl Harbor.

“Remember what they’re here for. Remember and honor those that are left. They did a hell of a job,” he said. “Those who are still here, dead or alive.”

 

[Bazza]

Prior to puck drop between the Rangers and Islanders, 104-year-old World War II Army veteran Dominick Critelli performed the National Anthem on saxophone.

 

[Toddrn]

This is why we can still celebrate on July the fourth. The Greatest Generation. It's also nice to see someone this young that understands this and appreciates it. God Bless America.

1.8M views · 114K reactions | 10 years, 3,000 interviews — and counting. One man is on a mission to preserve the legacy of every single World War II combat veteran. Steve Hartman is On the Road in Yorktown, New York. | On the Road with Steve Hartman

10 years, 3,000 interviews — and counting. One man is on a mission to preserve the legacy of every single World War II combat veteran. Steve Hartman is On the Road in Yorktown, New York.

www.facebook.com

 

[Bazza]

When Tony Foulds was just 8 years old in 1944, he and his friends were playing in a park in Sheffield, England. Suddenly, a large, damaged American bomber, named "Mi Amigo," appeared above the children. The B-17 plane was looking for an emergency landing spot. If the crew had landed in the park, they would have killed young Tony and his friends. Instead, the brave men made the choice to land in nearby trees, killing all 10 people inside.

This year, Tony Foulds came to St. Louis to help honor the plane's pilot, John Kriegshauser, who was from St. Louis.

 

[OakMtn4Bama]

Amazing story. There are probably thousands of small stories similar to that that don't get enough attention. We can learn a great deal from that generation.