Research work for Every Veteran

Researching the various histories of the Armed Forces has been more fun that I ever imagined it would be. I initially thought it was going to be something that was closer to a really long and tough homework assignment than one that would provide so much entertainment.

I haven't made it through the Coast Guard yet but my study surrounding the Civil Air Patrol proved to be a pretty mind bending experience. Their performance during World War II was pretty much of a shocker to me as I had no idea at all that they were so active in combat operations against Hitler's U Boat fleet when they operated off the East Coast of our Country.

I've already done a ton of research about anti-submarine warfare (ASW) patrols that the Navy took part in when they were using Lockheed PV2 Harpoons to drop depth charges on the UBoats when they were sinking our supply ships as they were en route to the various resupply ports that were used during WW II.

I recall one study that covered an area of operations that ranged as far north as Iceland and as far South as Rio. I don't remember the exact range the the PV 2 had but I do recall that extra fuel tanks had been mounted to the aircraft and that it could fly very long distances. I actually found two old fuel cells that was used on a PV 2 during that time. That was just a lucky find as I was involved with the restoration of two Harpoons in the 80's, both of which were combat veterans with ASW time during the war.

One was from a base in New Jersey and the other had a stencil on it that identified it as the property of a base located in Jacksonville, Florida. If curiosity has you wondering what a PV2 looks like, go to google and type Lockheed PV2 in to their search engine and you can see a picture or two.

I haven't made it far enough to discover which kind of aircraft the Civil Air Patrol used when they were doing the ASW work but at this point, nothing would surprise me.

In any event, as I  continue to research the various histories of each Branch of Service,  I continue to be surprised and somewhat awed by the things they did during such tough and horrible times. I remember reading a number of quotes from that idiot ass Hitler where he talked about our "American condition". He mentioned everything from a decadent life style and went all the way to into his typical race relations.

I had to laugh a little about that last one when I managed to get in a personal visit to the airfield of the Tuskegee Airmen in Alabama. I no longer wondered why he stopped talking about the race relations side of that because I knew then that he was aware of them and how much ass they had kicked as fighter pilots serving as bomber escort's in Europe.

They shot down lots and lots of pilots from his "Superior Race" and wrecked his logic to focus on race in America as a tool of Propaganda. I further wondered how much of an effect Jessie Owens had on him when he kicked every German's ass in the Olympics. Apparently, kicking his ass in the First World War wasn't done to a degree that was sufficiently strong enough to convince him not to screw with those Americans.

I also remembered reading excerpts from Tojo's Diary when he was in jail as a war criminal just after we dropped the second bomb on Japan. He was nuts and didn't have a clue what the realities would be like if you really pissed off America.

Admiral Yamamoto told him and everyone else he could tell, that the consequences of attacking Pearl Harbor could be horrific and do nothing more than "Awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve".

 When I connect the dots from all the accounts of the Revolutionary War to every struggle we had from that time forward, I continue to marvel at the American Military Man and Woman. Let's not forget the WASPs who did such a fabulous job as pilots during those days. Even our women kicked their asses.

In any event, I sometimes wish that I had the money to afford a staff of people to help me pour over all the documents and stories of our military. On one hand, I fear that doing it myself will delay a start up date for Every Veteran dot com. On the other hand, I know that I can't press ahead with my efforts to make contact with Every Veteran in the Country if I don't know what the hell they did, who they were, who they are and what they want to see within the Veterans Affairs department of the Veterans Administration.

I'll figure out a way to get it done and along the line somewhere, I will publish a step by step strategy to make all of these things fall into place as a result of some well documented and historically demonstrable facts from each Branch. Just hang with me, I'm peddlin as fast as I can.