The speaker I heard was Glen Morgan, from Granberry. He was the ship bugler. I loved hearing this 85 year old sailor tell how it took the ship only 12 minutes to sink, because that’s when his watch stopped, when he hit the water. Out of 1197 men only 317 were saved. After 4 day and 5 nights in the open ocean, they were spotted in the water by a PV-1 Ventura.

He ended his talk by recounting when he was back stateside, he would play REVEILLE, the bugle tune that troops wake up to. His commander told him, he was sick of hearing that tune and asked if he could he ‘swing it’. He recounted that he didn’t use a bugle, but had a trumpet. He told his commander that he could try. He pulled out an old case and pulled a coronet out. He looked at the audience and said, ‘Be patient, This 84 year old man has 84 year old lips.’ Still he pulled the horn up and played a swing style version of Reveille. It was splendid and he got a standing ovation.

The luncheon was the Happy Warriors. They meet every third Friday at the Frontiers of Flight Museum. It’s fascinating to hear all of these men now in their 80’s tell their WWII stories. They are almost always better than fiction.

You’ll like the book.

Eric, I love that scene in Jaws. Two months ago, I went to a WWII veterans lunch with my dad, heard a local survivor of the USS Indianapolis speak. It was quite moving.

Republican response: How can I beat everybody in this war of all against all known as life? Analysis: Republicans are brave.

Democrat response: What laws and institutions can we create and enforce that will reduce the amount, extent, and severity of cheating? Analysis: Democrats are scared of the brave–we don’t want to get cheated or pounded on by those braver than we are.

Conclusion [from Breaking Away] — Dad: I was proud of my work. And the buildings went up. When they were finished the damnedest thing happened. It was like the buildings were too good for us. Nobody told us that. It just felt uncomfortable, that’s all.