S.O.S.

World  War II  kids might know what S.O.S. means but "The Greatest Generation" definitely know what I'm talking about.  When we finished breakfast this morning Dick said, "ya know what sounds good for supper and I haven't had for a long time?"  Oh I knew what his answer was going to be and I will not eat it! At least not the way he does, made with hamburg.  I like it made with dried beef ( the good kind from Lancaster, PA).   I'll make it for him but never would I even consider  eating it his way.  Should I say.........mind block?!  Probably, I can be mind set!    Do you know what the initials stand for?  Here goes........"Shit on a Shingle".....
It is a hamburg gravy poured over toast. ewwwwww  The dish originated during WWII,  and is called the era's "signature issue food".  Soldiers would come home from war and request it.  Some restaurants even serve it.  I was lucky to find it made with dried beef in southern PA.

It was a his and her supper tonight.

His S.O.S.

Her left over spinach and ham pie or the fancy name quiche.

 What a time in so many  lives, it was a tough war that touched so many.  Tom Brokaw gave the title to these humble, patriotic, loyal and level headed men of WWII.  Quite fitting in my opinion.  Humble, no bragging on what they endured at least from the WWII Vets that I have had the honor to know from Shinglehouse.  Ruben Donovan, Grant Wisel, Bob Gross, Bill Bryant, Joan and Helen Gross.

I would spend time at Ruben and Georgia Donovan's house with their daughter Diane.   The most interesting and intriguing time was her showing me the silver dollar her dad carried in the war. The story of the silver dollar is a touching one.  Ruben Donovan was certainly a quiet, caring gentle man.  My brother was given a silver dollar from my parents when he left for war.  Our son carried the same one every time he left the country.  He gave it to his younger brother when he left for Iraq.  It had to go,  it was what eased our minds knowing they carried it.

Then there was Grant Wisel.  He was faithful along with his twin brothers in putting on the Veteran's Day program at our high school each year until they could no longer walk in tall and proud wearing their uniform.  When Grant heard we had been in Germany he wanted to talk about his time in the war.  I don't think he had talked often or to many about his experiences while in Germany.  He told me his company had liberated Auschwitz Concentration Camp. The faces and condition of the emancipated bodies as the came out was always with him and not far from his thoughts.  I will always remember the far away look and sadness in Grant's eyes as he told me. He was a survivor of what none of us would want for a young son.  I am honored to have listened to his story.  We visited Dachau Concentration Camp near Munich and I told Grant of what we saw and felt just in the few hours we had been there.   I can tell you seeing it was gut wrenching and made for a very somber rest of the day for our family.  We all were suddenly aware of what horrible suffering and death was endured.  They deserve the title of the "Greatest Generation".  One publisher wrote,  There may never have been a generation when the ratio of honorable men to slackers was higher than the one born between 1914-1929.

In the seventh grade I read the book, Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank.  It was the first time I truly understood fear, war and suffering.

A few years ago I read Duty, which is about Colonel Paul Tibbets. He was the commander and pilot of the Enola Gay, which was a B29 Fortress (named after his mother) that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.  It is an excellent read and rationalizes why it was done and why the 12 man crew never carried regrets through their life on what they did.

Two months ago I read the book Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand.  This is the true story of Louis Zamperini.  You might have seen him honored and give an interview during the Winter Olympics this past winter.  He is considered one of the fastest runners ever and was to go to the Olympics in Japan.  They were cancelled but Louie did go to Japan but as a Prisoner of War.  Another excellent story of WWII in the Pacific, which has also been made into a movie.  In the first few pages of the book I was surprised that he was born in Olean, NY and moved to CA as a young boy.  Louie gives mention of being in prison when the Enola Gay dropped the bomb that ended the war.

The last book to read was Winter Garden, by Kristen Hannah.  It is an historical fiction.  Another good read.

Life is as good as we make it.  That is proven by ones that have  survived the unthinkable.  Strength, determination and the want to live.  ♡