Sorry to hear that, at least he made you first? Having been born after my father got back I can only assume that war changed him forever and he wasn't even boots on the ground. I never really got to talk to him much about it.
Thanks for the posts! It really brought me back to my teens. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Love the wallet photo, I have one of those. Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
Bomber, did you get a chance to rework the image? I know how much a challenge that can be digitally. I thought the same thing and there you were stepping up to the Plate...
A Hell of a Senior Class trip for lots of kids . They left home as bright young men , those that returned home to start a life were changed drastically into aged men . Thanks to all of them. Most did not choose the way the grew up , at that age . I have worked with many of them , years ago that would ease off into the 1000 yard stare , I never dared ask what’s wrong . I worked and still attend Church weekly with one all but 3 killed in his company . He returned and worked at a huge huge Energy Company and was terminated after 40 years of service . “ We no longer have a job for at your age . “ I was on the job with this man , when a two bit company “ Bitch “ passed this notice on to him . The kid was 1/2 the mans age , had a college degree , to make him supervisor . I’ll never forget the look on the mans face . This is the true definition of faith to me , he got a smile on his face and told me thanks for the fun we had working together as he headed home for the last time from his job .
Was 'in' during that era but not in 'nam. Worked with a bunch of guys that were. (welders at a Naval Shipyard) Several times (on the graveyard shift) we would gather up,trying to find a warm spot, and a few of the fellows would start telling stories about what happened. Some of the things they saw(and did) were like reading a Steven King novel. Many times I would say....."you're shit'in me...right?! God awful. It's amazing some of them came back in as good of shape as they did. Stacked up VC bodys for firing bunkers. is one example. 6sally6
I did it too,primed my ‘55 Chevy in the driveway of my parents house in March 1966. Senior in high school, loved it. Drafted in December,
God bless ya olskool, people don't take enough time to think of the sacrifice. How many 18 year old boys went to war. Just kids....
Great photos, took me right back to my first car - 1965. It was a '40 deluxe with the stock 85 hp. It was gray primer, I put used reversed chrome wheels on the front (?) and Inglewood slicks on black steel wheels on the rear. It looked a lot like the brown one in your photos. I've got a worn wallet photo of it somewhere.
Hey Sally,,,,Newport News ? A lot come back in good shape,,,others,,not so good. It definitely changes men,,,that is no doubt,,,always has and always will. There is nothing fun about war,,it’s what you can deal with later that tries you the most some time. Back to the cars,,,,I think these old pics are really cool,,,reminds me of a lot of stuff I worked on outside in the cold. Just a dumb kid trying to make something work,,,I guess I still am that same dumb kid. I just don’t work outside in the cold,,,unless absolutely necessary,,,Lol. Tommy
That reminds me of something from "The Things They Carried", essentially, if a war story is believable, it's probably not true. If it's unbelievable, it probably is true. I was too young for that war. My dad was already disabled and in VA care, or he would've been in the thick of it.
I was too young for Korea, and by the time Nam came around I was married and had a son, so I didn't have to go thru that myself. But I had friends that I lost in both and there's no doubt in my mind that it wasn't all glory and John Wayne heroics. When the wall was being toured around and came to town, I went out and made tracings of their names as inscribed on the wall, and still have them. Was all I could do to stay there and find all their names without breaking out in tears. Was, and is a terrible waste of youth, and I firmly believe that if the old men that make our laws and start wars on both sides were the ones that had to go off and fight them, there would be a helluva lot less of them. But back to the cars of that era, as it's a much more pleasant subject.
Well said, Dave. A war or whatever they prefer to call it should always be the very Last alternative. Dad was in WWII and never talked about it and I was in Nam, but fortunately never had to deal with the "out in bush" part of it.
There will come a time for the HAMB where 70's slots, 80's lasers and 90's teal will become "old school"...…...don't hate the messenger
so far did this partial restoration .. what I think is trophies next to him I wasn't able to do anything. Hope this helps..
Neat, I'll save it with the others. I don't believe there are any trophies, I will look at the print later and see if it looks any different. Also I could be wrong but I believe the building in the background is his high school.
Good eye, it's my good friend Brent Bodily's B-400. He still owns it and recently did a complete redo of the car. Mick
I have many letter's from family and friend's that were in country in VNam sad letter's... I had two uncle's they were bro's one in country an engineer "Fight Build and Destroy" was his company matto. Building floats across the rivers and getting shot at now he and many of my cousin's and other part's of our familie's in-laws are fighting that "Agent Orange" BS... from over there and it isn't going to well for many of my Heroe's that are dying slowly from "AO" thanks to our government and there great ideas... I will try and keep so many in my prayer's... Every one of you out there that Served and Serve in the U.S. Armed Force's are my Heroe's... Thank You All for my many Freedom's... GOD BLESS YOU ALL... From 1Nimrod
Do you think that could be a duffle bag near the running board underneath your Dads left leg and maybe his service uniform jacket over his knee?? Did your Dad by any chance come home on leave after Boot Camp for a short time before being shipped off to Vnam and maybe had that picture snapped sometime before leaving so he could have the picture with him?? I'm just trying to figure out what that might be by the running board and on his knee?? 1Nimrod
Yeah I have no idea what it is, its not very defined or a shape I can recognize. Maybe a bag, hard to say.
Speared in the eye playing hockey, blew out the floor of my eye socket, pushed my left eye into my sinus, ruptured the fibers in my iris, tore an extra hole in it, [a second pupil] … surgery gave me pretty good eyesight, 32 years before glasses... but they wouldn't even let me take the physical to inlist… 1974... war was basically over.... in '68 they would have sent me to the motor pool... thanks to all who's sacrifice lets me play with cars !
The Jalopy Journal
