Areoflyer09
Master
It’s Memorial Day, so I’d like to call out a couple of family members that we are keeping in our thoughts this weekend. The first is our Uncle Bill. His real name is Joseph G Smith but his family called him Bill for reasons that no one can remember. He served with the 47th Inf/9th Div in Europe during the Second World War. He was seriously wounded during the battles around the Hurtgen Forest in the fall of 1944 but made his way back to his unit to continue to serve. He was KIA in the battles around the Remagen Bridge on the 18th of March 1945.
The second family member that gave all is 1st Lt Anthony Piscitelli. Anthony was a P38 pilot with the 343rd Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group that flew out of Nuthumpstead England. On April 10th, his group was conducting the first P38 ‘Droop Snoot’ mission to bomb a French airfield called Coulemeirs near Moroux. After the P38s bombed the field, The squadron did a deep spiral down to strafe the airfield. Tony was in the lead flight and his aircraft was hit midway across the field. He continued the strafing run at zero altitude, still firing but nosed in at the far end of the airfield. The airfield still has bombing marks on the old concrete runways from the war and is still in use as a light aircraft/glider field.
It’s fantastic that you have that information still!My grandpa served in the Navy, during Korea I believe. He was an accountant when he joined and what he experienced while there made him hear the calling. When he finished his tour he went into seminary school and preached until he retired and then he preached as a fill in for churches as needed. He never did share with any of us what happened. We have some pictures and some names of those he served with, but he never discussed anything.
tonight we drink for our sorrow. Tomorrow we drink, because they can't.
