Large Slow Targets – One Ship’s Story LST 808

I am reminded every once in a while that even though some ships are designed to fight the enemy directly, there is still a lot of honor and bravery in those ships that the Navy euphemistically classified as “Amphibs” and “Auxiliaries”. In my 1943 Bluejacket’s Manual, the vessels were not even listed in the ship […]

An inglorious end… sinking of the Yamato

Seventy years ago today (April 7 1945) marked the end of the Japanese battleship Yamato and her escorts. By this time in the war, ceaseless American bombing and submarine attacks had decimated the Japanese fleet and support activities. As the battle for Okinawa raged, the Yamato set sail with just enough fuel to make […]

“Love, Your Son Butch” – Chapter 2

Just a short note before I return to the book. Today (April 27 2013) is the twentieth anniversary of the day John C. MacPherson met Jesus face to face. I’m not sure what time of day it was and frankly at this point it doesn’t matter. On the morning, I was up well before the […]

Love, Your Son Butch, Chapter One

Twenty years ago this month, my Dad finally lost his battle with heart disease and went to be with his Lord. The week after his death, I found a box in the basement of our old house that had all of his letters home from World War 2. Over the next ten years, I plugged […]