Month: October 2013

WWII Wednesday: Family Memories of the Curtiss Wright Factory

We’re still close enough to WWII in years that I have memories of my grandparents talking about how they survived the war on the home front .

P40 WarHawk by Our Resident Fine Scale Modeler
P40 WarHawk by Our Resident Fine Scale Modeler

A memory that sticks with me is of my Great Uncle Hank, my grandmother’s brother, who was late to work on the day there was a horrible plane crash– a P-40 crashed into the Curtiss aircraft factory where my Uncle worked. Uncle Hank lived to tell the story, but many didn’t. There’s a good article on it here if you’re interested in the facts. I often mention how proud I am to be a Buffalo native, and this tangible tie to WWII,  its heroes and heroines and the immeasurable sacrifice of the Home Front during WWII  highlights why.

Do you have WWII memories passed down in your family? Please share them–we need to keep their stories alive.

WWII Wednesday: Craft, Hobby or Necessity?

When war hits, a nation learns to adapt and throw every resource possible into the fight. In WWII women knit socks, sweaters and more for their soldiers.

Pretty yarn becomes a luxury during wartime
Pretty yarn becomes a luxury during wartime

For the War in Afghanistan and Iraq, I know of several groups and friends who have knit helmet liners for our troops. I’m an avid knitter and it’s so easy to get caught up in the luxuries of my craft–beautiful hybrid fibers dyed in magnificent colors. Yet when a soldier’s life is on the line, it’s the simple, tried-and-true items that count. Socks, a cap, gloves.

WWII Wednesday: Preserve the History

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
One aircraft can mean so much

If you visit London it’s hard to imagine the sky filled with WWII aircraft. Today’s weapons systems and detection equipment make the Battle of Britain seem as though it were a millennia ago instead of less than a century. This is why it’s so important to accurately preserve the historical events, and when possible, the actual military platforms that made Allied victory a reality. One of our family’s favorite trips was to the many different museums in London. In the photo you can see a Spitfire, with Steve in the photo to give an idea of scale.

WWII Wednesday: Surviving the Bombs

WWII was fraught with bombings as evidenced by the massive destruction in major cities across the continent and of course, in London.

Moscow Metro Tunnel
Moscow Metro Tunnel

When we lived in Moscow I had the opportunity to use the Metro daily. Each quick trip to a market or museum was steeped in WWII history, as the Moscow Metro was used as a bomb shelter during WWII.

The Moscow Metro is its own museum
The Moscow Metro is its own museum

It isn’t hard to imagine masses of people huddled in these tunnels, hoping they’d survive, that their homes would still be there when they crawled out.

WWII Wednesday: B-17 Flying Fortress

B-17 Flying Fortress on the cover of NAVY RULES
B-17 Flying Fortress on the cover of NAVY RULES

 

This fearsome bomber has the ability to spark the imagination of the most history-adverse student. Featured in the movie The Memphis Belle, the B-17 is remembered and honored not as much for its power and bombing missions over German territory during WWII, but for the unparalleled heroism of its crew. It was an easy choice for the WWII aircraft that I featured in NAVY RULES  during a present-day air show. It was tough to write the emergency landing scene–even in fiction I didn’t want to harm this iconic warbird!