On The Beach

             THURSDAY, JUNE 18TH

                ON THE BEACH
      Everyone in the family seems to enjoy
our annual vacation in Wildwood, New Jersey.
And for most of our crew a good part of that
enjoyment comes from the hours spent on
the beach!
     I also enjoy spending some time with an
old friend who has called Wildwood home
for most of his nearly 90 years.
    He knows more about the beach than
anyone else I know. As a kid he saw the
Hindenburg fly over it less than two hours
before it blew up at the Lakehurst Navy
Airfield. He's fished in and sailed across these
waters for years, served as a Lifeguard, and
a Dock master as well.
    But yesterday he told me about another
beach. One he visited unexpectedly in the
last part of World War II.
    My friend Bob was trained as a Navy
pilot. He was in the Pacific flying a
Corsair Fighter plane when he spotted
an enemy aircraft in the distance. He
closed in for the kill. But, he sneezed,
jerking his head forward for just a second.
     When he looked up the Japanese Zero
had disappeared! Well, not really. The
enemy pilot did a complete loop coming
down right behind my friend!
    It's the kind of story you'd expect to
see in a movie. But this was real!
    The Zero opened fire and damaged
the tail of the Corsair. My friend was
going down!
     Bailing out was his initial reaction.
Until he saw the sharks in the water
below. The small island just ahead
suddenly looked like a better bet so he
decided to set down there.
     He said things might have worked
out better had he not made the mistake
of lowering his landing gear. As soon
as the wheels hit the sand they sunk in
tossing the plane's nose into the sand.
     Fortunately, in this case, Bob was
tossed out. He hit hard and was out
cold for awhile. But he survived with
fairly minor injuries. He was glad to be
alive and forever grateful he never got
a bill for the loss of the plane! At least
that's what he tells me.
     When Bob got back into action he
was transferred to a multiple engine
amphibious plane from which he was
ordered to look for submarines. He
never saw any!
     We're losing the likes of Bob all
too quickly and, with them, the stories
they lived to allow us to use our beaches
for fun and recreation rather than life
saving landing fields.
      I'm so glad he decided to share his
story with me and, through this Blog,
with us!
      Hope you'll appreciate your shore
vacation even more after reading this
and that all your NEWS is good!