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This was my grandfather, my PawPaw, Howard. Due to the nature of the internet and keeping my anonymity, I'm going to leave our last name out.....I trust most of you, but there's still some punks out there. If you're interested in watching some video interviews of him regarding his WW2 service, DM me.
Howard enlisted at age 17 in the navy. He participated in the D-Day invasion at Omaha Beach. After completing the invasion, he went to the Pacific where he was involved in various battles including Leyte Gulf (islands of Leyte and Luzon), Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.
He had many stories involving rescue missions, shooting down kamikaze pilots, being on a sinking ship and then having to tread water with sharks around (he never liked to go swimming), amongst others.
He was awarded I believe three purple hearts, but he said he sent the last two back because he already had one.
After the War, Howard went on to be a three sport hall of fame athlete (football, basketball, track) in college. He met my grandmother there at a basketball practice showing off, where he "tried to do a trick shot" and ended up landing in her lap courtside.
He became a high school coach and principal, and during one of his stints in the small town of Drew, MS he remembered a young kid named Archie, who lived a few houses down from him, being really athletic playing ball in the street with the other kids.
PawPaw passed away peacefully in 2019 at the age of 93. I miss him dearly, and he was my personal hero.
