Moving this down. I actually should have said have a thoughtful Memorial Day. Thinking of all my beloved family members who served in the military. Thankfully with no casualties.

duplicate

This post was edited by holly-kay on Mon, May 26, 14 at 14:34

So, I have this uncle . . . who gave my parents a beautiful large Chinese platter, which sits in my living room, but I never knew him, because he died in World War II. I was always told he died on the Bataan Death March.

Turns out that's not exactly true. In the last decade, there's so much more information available on the Internet, If you'e been looking for people -- try again. And there's a ton of information on servicemen.

only this year I found this out:

On this Memorial Day, I'd like to take the opportunity to remember my uncle, Benjamin Lee McMakin, my father's favorite brother. He was a United States Marine Major serving in the Philllipines in WWII, when he was captured in May 1942 by the Japanese at Corregidor. He managed to survive the Japanese prison camps for more than two years, until in December 1944 he was transferred to the Oryoko Maru, a POW "hell ship" -- an unmarked ship transporting prisoners for slave labor, which was bombed by the Allies, and was killed on the ship or trying to escape.

I never met him, of course, but I remember. Uncle Ben -- thank you for your service, and . . . I have your plate!

Violet, thank you so much for sharing. I feel badly that I used such a poor post title. I just wanted to recognize the men and women who serve so it's so nice to hear your story about your Uncle Ben. So many people forget the hell that your uncle and so many others endured.

My husband is an avid WWII buff and my father served a stint in the Army and the Air Force and was so proud of his service. My step dad had served under General Eisenhower as one of our prized possessions is a pic of him following behind the General. My brother was a Marine, my two nephews were army, my DSIL was Army, and my dear first husband was in the Navy so their service means a lot to me.

Violet, thank you. Thank you for sharing your Uncle's story; and thank you and your family for Uncle Ben's service and sacrifice.

Holly-Kay - thank you for posting. To all the veterans out there, and their families, I'd like to add my sincere thanks for your service.

Thanks Holly, we know what you meant:)

(Wife of a Vietnam veteran)

Wow, Violet, what a tragic story. Every soldier (and by that I mean airman, etc.), and all of their families have my deep appreciation for their service and sacrifice. Thank you.