My sympathies to you and your family . It;s wonderful that your uncle was able to live as long and full a life as he did .

 

My deepest & sincerest condolences on your loss as well as a personal salute to your eloquent, well written tribute to your Uncle.

Very close to home for me as yesterday I went to "visit" my Mom & Dad at their place of internment. Both USAAF vets. My Dad was 8th Air Force, 401st BG. 33 combat missions over Axis territory, Air Medal, DFC + 5 OLCs.

The odds of returning on first mission, 1 in 7. And they never got any better. I'm truly lucky to be in this world.

You were lucky that he would speak to his time of service. My Dad wouldn't. In 2013, I met the last surviving member of his B-17 crew, the ball turret gunner (passing 3 months later) who filled me in on their tour & gave me a small book he had published based on the diary he kept. I found out my Dad, (who according to my Mom, couldn't change a light bulb without disastrous consequences) at 18 was the tail gunner & armorer for his crew, screwing in the fuses in the 500 lb bombs after takeoff & if they couldn't salvo un-dropped bombs in the English Channel, taking them back out before landing. He also helped the rest of the gunners keep up their Brownings. The guy couldn't help me fix my bikes as a kid.

I wish I'd had a place of fellowship like this to share with at the time of his passing & I hope you'll forgive me if I've stepped on your grief in my attempt to commiserate.

 

Condolences to you and your family. And he is an American hero like so many of that generation.

 

Condolences also, to you and your family. Thank you for telling his story. And glad you had knowledge of his story. It was brought up at an American Legion meeting, to talk to a WWII Vet and get his story for posterity.

 

Sorry to hear of the passing of "OUR" hero and your your uncle. It is sad to hear of the death of any WW2 vets but it brings pride to the surface for those who so bravely served.

Thank you for sharing.

Semper Fidelis

 

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts. I feel blessed to be associated with a group of people who have the same thoughts and reverence for these unsung and shamefully forgotten heroes.

Jmast, thank you for your service to these veterans. Anyone associated with the Honor Flights is doing the Lord's work. Uncle Bryce did not take advantage of this, though his family tried. He didn't talk about his service until later in life, and when he did, it took a toll on him emotionally. I can only imagine that he may have felt overwhelmed standing at the memorial.

I will always be thankful that I got to grow up around many of my aunts and uncles and get to know them so well. I spent many, many happy hours with Uncle Bryce and Auntie Annie on their farm throughout my childhood. Was blessed to have the opportunity to move back to North Dakota and see him on a regular basis. He had amassed quite a collection of treasures from 70 odd years of attending auction sales; I still obviously enjoy walking through his "inventory" as he called it. I can say he helped to cultivate a passion for old pickups, cars, tractors, and items in general in me. Perhaps more important, the idea that freedom isn't free.

 

My condolences to you and your family as you mourn the loss of your loved one. Down through its history, our country has always been blessed to have had young men like your uncle ready and willing to answer its call to service and sacrifice in times of national emergency. As we recall the courage and heroeism of those who have gone before us, we are reminded of our own responsibility to preserve and defend the blessings of freedom and liberty that have come down to us at such a great cost.

May God grant you His peace at this time of sadness and separation.

 

An inspiring story about a remarkable man, thanks for sharing. Going through all he went through and not being a complainer/whiner should be a lesson for us all. Even reading about him is inspiring, being your uncle must make you feel really proud. A true hero without all the hoopla.

 

Many of us share an Uncle Bryce story..remember Bryce this up coming election..when I visit the VA hospital in West Palm Beach Florida a large sign is fixed at the entrance..
"When you pass through these doors you will see the price of freedom"..

OMG..do you ever..1% of Americans serve in our military..SUPPORT OUR VETS!!! Wounded Warriors is a great donation site.

 

1952henry, I can tell you that I am blessed by our flights far more than the small service we do for these heroes.Unfortunately there are far too many of these men and women that feel undeserving of such a flight, and many pass, without allowing us the honor. I will be a guardian on our next flight, and I will remember your Uncle at the memorial. It is the very least I can do for a man who gave so much of himself for us all. All the best to you and your family, I am so glad you got to spend some time with him in his last years. I know you are far richer for it. GOD bless. Jeff Masters, Honor Flight Kentucky.

 

Hey Dave tell Gator the shine is ok!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Before I wrote a check to them, I checked out their "payout" ratio. Sadly, less than 60% of donations appear to make it to vets. It frankly disgusts me. DAV or Semper Fi Fund are far better at getting the money where it matters.

Sorry for the hi-jack.

 

Ross, you bring up a damn good point. Lots of organizations take advantage of the good will and charity of millions of Americans. It's very lucrative. One way to investigate where the money goes is http://www.charitynavigator.org want to see better than 90 per cent, say.

Folks don't fall for the "non-profit" BS either. Scamming both the government, and the citizenry, is a huge industry as everyone knows by now. The best thing may be to donate locally. That way, it's guaranteed that 100% of the money donated goes to work. Find a family say - that might be having trouble - and pay off their local line of credit at the department store or maybe their power bill, or water bill for the month. Can both feel good and help out the people who actually deserve and need the help and not having the money siphoned off by crooks or middlemen.

Maybe even CharityNavigator has been bought off by now, who knows. I'm sure it's tempting. I sure remember though, being pretty pissed off when I found out through their site a well known "charity" that I had donated to, the CEO made $549,000 a year and has his own private jet. What a bunch of douchebags asking for money from the rabble. These same kind of people will pull out all the stops to work people over and tug on the ole guilt gland, lots of little kids asking for food, etc.

rant off/