Passing of Two Patriots

[missbeahavin3]

First, actor Bob Hastings, known to those of us old enough to remember, who played Lt. Elroy Carpenter of McHales Navy, passed on 6/30/2014. Mr. Hastings served during WWII as a B-29 navigator/bombadier under Gen. Curtis LeMay as part of XXI Bomber Command on the island of Tinian in the Marianas Islands. B-29 missions over Japan were some of the most dangerous of the war and only some 300 B-29 crewman of the 3000 lost over Japan survived captivity in Japan. Second, whom most of you will not know is Louis Zamperini, runner in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and a B-24 navigator, 7th AAF. At the 1936 Olympics, while not placing for a medal in his event, his finish so impressed Hitler that he was invited to the Reichstag for a personal meeting, and on his way out, thought it was a good idea to climb up a parapit to steal a Swastika flag. He was promptly met on the ground by 2 Gestapo, but talked his way out, keeping the flag. In Mid 1943, his B-24 which he flew as a navigator (same position, same aircraft, flown by John Festa during WWII) went down south of Hawaii, near Palmyra Island. He and his pilot survived 47 days in a rubber life raft (a record), surviving on rain water and whatever fish and birds they could catch. They washed up in the Marshall Islands, 2500 miles from their crash site, and into Japanese captivity. He and his pilot were headed for beheading until their captors realized they had captured a celebrity. Ironically, Lou was part of the field and track team for the 1940 games in Tokyo, which were never held. His biography, "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand is a spellbinding story, and has been turned into a movie, set for release this December, being produced by his neighbor, Angelina Jolie. I highly recommend the book, and the movie when it is released. Many of you have asked my about my support of the flagpole/monument project since its dedication in 2009. Some of the answers for my support of that project and my high regard and respect for our fighting men and women can be found in the pages of "Unbroken", and the stories of all the Lou Zapmerinis' I have studued and researched over the year. A happy and safe Fourth of July Holiday to all my FTC friends, and please remember our veterans as they are the reason why we have our independence and our freedom. Respectfully, Dr. John J. Weber Jr.,DPM