Welcome Home SSGT Carl M. Shaffer

As part of Memorial Day Weekend, today was filled with various activities geared to remembering those heroes who gave their lives for our freedom.  There were parades and ceremonies scattered about, and even more are scheduled through Monday.  

So, it certainly seemed appropriate that today was the day that the family had chosen for the reinterment of SSGT Carl M. Shaffer in Pottstown, PA.  And, Marty and I were honored to have been able to attend.

SSGT Shaffer was a member of the 38th Bomb Sq, 30th Bomb Group, stationed on Betio Island in Tarawa Atoll.  His bomber group was assigned to support the Marines who had seized the island during the battle in November 1943.  On Jan 21, 1944, Shaffer's plane departed from the airfield in Tarawa to participate in a bombing mission.  But the crew would never achieve their objective, as the plane crashed into the lagoon shortly after take off.  None of the crew survived. 

Their remains were buried in Cemetery #33 on the island of Betio, two being identified by the AGRS in 1946.  But Shaffer was not one of them.  He continued to lay undiscovered until 2017 when History Fight discovered a series of burials in Cemetery # 33 that had been missed by the AGRS. 

And today's ceremony was designed to honor this man who perished 75 years ago.

There were many people who came out today to participate in welcoming him home. And while people were meeting and greeting, this lone sentry stood guard outside the door of the hearse which held the remains of his fallen comrade.

This same young man had been responsible for driving to the airport for the  Dignified Transport of Shaffer just yesterday.

The Honor Guard stood in wait for the ceremony to begin.

And this group of veterans, driving in on their motorcycles, was also present to participate.

Finally, the moment arrived when the Honor Guard approached the hearse to remove the casket.

and they began the walk through those military personnel who had come specifically to honor Shaffer. 

finally resting him in front of the family in attendance.

When the flag was lifted,  one could note a shiny new dogtag attached to the handle. 

Words of appreciate of Shaffer's service were delivered to those in attendance.

A poem written by his wife, was read:

Looking from the open window I cast my eyes upwards

Towards the heavenly blue sky I seem to see the rays of the beautiful Oriental sunset on the golden wings of the pilot's plane

As it soars through the sky so quietly like a bird on its wings

So sure of its flight, but low it has gone beyond the blue horizon.

He has crossed the far and landed on the white coral reef f Tarawa, where he will remain and live long in our memory.

In the loving arms of our Savior who was our Hero.

Her words confirmed the belief that had been expressed by the minister just a few minutes earlier:  SSGT Carl M. Shaffer started his date in eternity 75 years ago; today involved the technicality of finally laying his body to rest on American soil. 

After the brief words were spoken the ceremony continued, first with a gun salute

then, the playing of taps by a bugler,

followed by the traditional folding of the flag.

The flag was then presented to the niece of SSgt Shaffer.

And the casket was lowered into the ground to await the seal bearing his name.

Today, yet another family can rest easy, knowing that their beloved uncle has returned home. 

So while you are celebrating Memorial Day weekend while enjoying those special family festivities that generally welcome summer, please remember to stop and remember the reason for celebrating Memorial Day.  It was the heroic actions of men such as these that helped to secure the freedom that this country holds so dear. 

Embrace that thought.  And be grateful to those who suffered the ultimate sacrifice for all of us.

May you have a special Memorial Day Weekend. 

A Weekend Diversion

Last weekend, Marty and I headed south for a quick visit with this guy.

He is always excited to see us, and it's amusing to hear the long list of items that he hopes to accomplish while we are there. And we really do try to accommodate him as much as humanly possible.  I wasn't in the door 5 minutes before being coerced into playing a game.  He wanted to be sure to get the most out of our visit, that's for sure!

But first on our list was the swingset, which was in dire need of a makeover, having seen more than its share of weathering over the years.

And what could be more fun than helping Grandpa by using the power washer?

He did a super job! 

We spent some time enjoying the soccer ball antics of Violet.

and watching her lounge in the shade

while enjoying some fresh picked greens from the yard.

Saturday morning involved delving into crossing off some of those items on the "fun" list.

First:  Blackbird Bakery

Chocolate frosted Cream-filled donut, of course.  That's one happy kid!

Second:  Fishing with Grandpa.  We headed to the nearby Golf Course which sports a large lake where one can fish.

The weather was rather warm for May, but you can see how spectacular the day was.

I was happy when they moved into the shade in search of a "large" fish, so that I could get a break from the sun!  Marty was the first to reel something in.  Perhaps if you zoom in, you can see it hanging on the line.  Come to think of it....you might need a magnifying glass to spot it.

At this point, Marty was on a mission to catch a LARGE fish.  In case you are curious as to just how serious a fisherman Marty is, he went out of his way to order special, polarized, sunglasses so that he could easily spot the fish in the water.

And, he claimed to see a monster fish in that lake....and he was determined that one of them would catch it.

This little guy tried luring them in by calling "Here fishy fishy fishy".  

Fish were nibbling, but not biting.  Then, I heard Marty giving his grandson all sorts of fishing advice.

"These fish are smart because they are have figured out how to munch on the worm without getting caught."

His young partner was getting a bit antsy at this point.  Marty told him that he had to be patient.

"That's why they call it fishing and not catching" he said.

After watching the bobber bounce up and down in the water while the fish nibbled away, I heard him say,  "Do you know why these fish are so smart?  It's because they are always in schools."

Who knew I married such a comedian?

Finally!  A fishy was reeled in!

But it jumped off of the line, and Marty had to retrieve it out of the grass.

I have the feeling that the catching of the fish is exciting, but the flopping of the fish is a bit intimidating for this guy. He had NO plans of touching it, that's for sure!

I attempted to convince Marty to use the fish as bait, but he scoffed at my suggestion, and tossed it back into the lake.

More than likely, Megafish enjoyed it for lunch because it never grabbed a hook on the line of these two fishermen.  

By now, it was getting pretty hot, and every good fisherman knows that fish are better caught early in the day, so we decided that it was time to move along.

Third:  Cabelas.

Actually, it was supposed to be a trip to Bass Pro, but that is several miles away, and Cabela's was actually on the way back to the house.  So, we enjoyed a quick game of chess, then headed to the fish tank, of course.

And we picked up a couple of matching shirts for the two fishermen.

From here, we walked over to Lowes to pick up the finishing touches for the swings, then headed back to the house to try to finish that project.

I was in charge of making new canopies and you can imagine how surprised I was to look up and see this guy in front of me.

I told him that he looked like Inspector Clouseau (The Pink Panther), and I took the opportunity to stop and pose for some goofy photos with him.

Marty hung this new swing for the inspector to enjoy.

which he obviously did!

And I think we were all happy with the finished project!

Which, by the way, was completed just in the nick of time, as a storm came rolling through just as Marty was securing the last grommet!

We were briefly rewarded  by the presentation of a full rainbow, but that was short lived as the evening storms brought a deluge that continued for hours.

That, of course, required some indoor entertainment, but no worries, there was plenty of that once this track was set up.  

It has glow in the dark cars that one races.  How cool is that? 

Sunday morning the rain was long gone, and we were able to enjoy some porch sitting prior to hitting the road.

We bid fond farewell then headed to Lexington for an overnight,  prior to driving home.  We just find the drive too stressful and way too long to try to manage in one day. And, traffic was so bad that day, that we were happy to have had the break!  We had even picked the weekend prior to the holiday thinking that it would be calmer!  So much for that!

Lexington is such a lovely town to visit, and I can only presume that the students were gone for the summer as the streets were barren and quiet.  Really, just perfect. 

We stayed this time, at the Sheridan Livery Inn.

Happy to be off the highway, we walked around a bit and enjoyed the beauty of the surrounds.

We ended up at a cute little Bistro with a piano bar, where it just so happened to be Jazz night.

 

The hostess set us up at a table by the window, near the entertainment, which was just what we needed to wind down after the tense drive. 

Isn't that lovely?

Dinner, by the way,  was fabulous!

I even splurged on dessert!  It was delectable!

Come Monday morning, we had some breakfast, then began the arduous drive home.  I soon learned that storms had rolled through the area where we live, and our house had actually been without power the entire night, finally coming back on at 6:00 am. 

How fortunate for us that we had NOT decided to try to make the drive home in one day!  

I'd have missed one heck of a good dinner!