An interesting week

Wednesday night I sat at a bar in a local veterans club and listened to a WWII vet tell stories about his time as a top turret gunner in a B-17.  He and his twin brother served in the same bomber squadron in Europe beginning in 1944. I looked at some of his pictures, listened with amazement as he spoke of his reaction to seeing enemy tracers sail by his head as he flew on 36 missions into Germany.  His brother was shot down and finished the war as a POW. If I am fortunate I will spend some time with him one-on-one and get more details.

Today, Sunday, Marie McKinney came to see me.  She is the focus of one of my short stories in "Out of the Mist, Memories of War." Marie found some pictures she had not located when we spoke while I wrote the book.  I saw pictures of her first husband's WWII PT boat, his grave marker on Borneo, and his final resting place at Pearl Harbor. She showed me photos of her second husband's tour of duty in 1949-50 Korea. I knew him.  He came home just prior to the outbreak of hostilities in that country, his military obligation having been completed. We talked again about the story I wrote about her.  It is so good to have had the opportunity to record her memories for her family. Doing what we do in MWSA is a blessing...for us as writers as well as those about whom we write.