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A former neighbor of many years was in 1944-1945, at age 24, the captain in command of an 11-member B-29 crew during the Pacific campaign, including missions over Japan.
He survived, returned home, and became a pedodontist dedicated to the health needs of children until retiring at 82.
In 2021, I called to offer congratulations on his 100th birthday.
Aways energetic, enthusiastic, and positive, he laughed and said becoming 100 was less an accomplishment than a benefit of his parents' genes and some good fortune. Then he said stoically, "What I'm thinking most about today is all those young men in that cemetery in Manila (the Manila-American Cemetery and Memorial) who never made it to 25."
Weeks ago, I spoke to him on his 103rd birthday. He remains enthusiastic and energetic.
He gardens daily and propagates a variety of plants. But he was less sanguine and upbeat.
Speaking not about politics, he never does, but about his perspective of the absence civility, mutual respect and shared common purpose in our nation, he offered, "I don't know what's wrong with our country, but as just one veteran, I don't believe that this is what we fought for."
For most, Memorial Day is just a holiday. For some, it is a day of remembrance of comrades no longer present. For a very select few, every day is Memorial Day.
At 103, the fine man who was once my neighbor has booked a fall cruise from the mainland to Tokyo.
Tom Sams
Kihei