Another WWII Vet has passed on

[goldfish65]

My great-uncle, Don Chilton of Hermon, New York, passed away unexpectedly and peacefully last night. He and his brother Harry were at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. Harry died a few years ago, 'Uncle Donny' was the last surviving sibling on my Mom's maternal side.

We have family photo from after the war, Donny at the wheel of 'The Packard,' wearing a chauffeur's cap which was the style of the day, and my Mom posing on the running board. In the 40's, used cars could be picked up very cheaply, even a Packard which only the wealthy could afford new.

My great-uncle lived a long and full life and will be missed by his large family. I want to recognize the service he gave to our country, and the service of all our military and their families.

 

[KP]

Sorry For Your Loss.

 

[bamacuda]

I thank you for sharing this with us. There are getting to be fewer and fewer everyday of the bravest generation that we have had the chance to live with. Unfortunately, many of us cannot see that. Your Uncle Donny now holds a special place in my heart, knowing he helped to keep me and my family free! Smile often as you think of him. Forward March!

 

[RTom]

Sorry for your loss. Your Uncles did a great service to this country.

There is a guy locally that owns a little cafe that actually flew bombers in the Pacific Theatre. I find it to be so interesting to get and sit and listen to his stories. Our veterans of WWII and the Korea and Vietnam wars are becoming 'endangered spieces'. I always try to find the time to talk to them and listen to there stories. It is so important to listen to them, learn from them, and appreciate them.

Every veteran should be saluted.

God bless all the brave Men and Women who sacrificed so much for our country!!!

 

[memike]

My condolences to you and your family and the many friends your uncle must have had
You and many folks was blest to have him in there life as long as they did goldfish
My prayers go out to you and your family tonight my Georgia friend.

 

[Tony Fields]

May they rest in peace.

 

[iggys68dart]

i understand, also my pop passed last november. he was also a proud veteran and i am happy to say he was treated like one when he passed .it takes time to deal with such a loss but time heals, just dont ever forget the service perfomed, and the country we live in .it has been protected by hardship and loss of life by the best. thanks to all who served and supported.

 

[cudadriver]

I am sorry for your loss. I watched a 'Nova' the other day. It was a repeat but I watched it again. There was a B29 bomber abandoned in the arctic that this group wanted to bring back to the USA. They put in 4 refurbished engines, rebuilt damaged flaps etc and put on new tires. One of the men ended up having to go to hospital and died of a blood clot. After the work was done they taxied the plane to leave. A gas tank inside the plane broke loose and split. It started a fire that almost completely burned the plane. All that work for nothing.
It brought to mind all the young men, some in their very early 20's that flew these planes in WW2. Very brave young men indeed. Some gave their lives for what we have today.
They and all the others who gave their lives MUST be remembered and honored. Without these brave young men what would the world be like now. I shudder to think of what could have been.

 

[goldfish65]

Thanks for all the kind words. I will pass them on to my family, especially his sons. Iggysdart suggested I post the photo, I don't own a scanner so I photographed it.

 

[DRENO]

My condolences to you and your family Goldie. My father was also a WWII vet.God bless your great uncle and all those who fought for our freedom.8)

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

My condolences to you and your family. My father fought in WWII and he also passed away 1/7/2010. He was 86 years old.

 

[iggys68dart]

great pic bro remember before all these guys made it that long they were just like us. and i mean just like us, always trying something different with the knowledge and technology available .i will post some of my pops old rides when he was a young man i cherish these and i will share and i encourage others to do the same if there is a mod out there i think maybe this could be a different category like pops old cars or something else those old pics are cool.even the name pops old rides might work.hell thats the way most of us learned this game anyhow.got to go tearing up a bit.

 

[Tnplumber]

God Bless you.

 

[ocdart]

Sorry for your family's loss. Thank God for your great uncle's service and the service of all of our veterans.
My uncle was also at Pearl Harbor, stationed aboard the U.S.S. West Virginia on battleship row when the Japanese attacked. To his dying day he could not go in water above his knees without visions of burning oil on the water due to having to swim under burning oil to get away from his damaged ship.

 

[yellowdartdave]

Sorry for your loss.

In 2 weeks I am attending my Uncle Bills 90th birthday party.
He is the last survivor of my mom's side of the family- 8 in total.

Attending will be me, my 2 brothers and about 15 cousins from all over the country as well as a bunch of his friends from the VFW.

The best part is it will be a SURPRISE birthday party.
He'll never know what hit him.

 

[dusted72]

That right there is a true HERO in my eyes. If it wasn't for his and your families sacrifice we wouldn't have the freedoms we have today. I am truly sorry for your loss.

 

[48limo]

my dad passed in 1993,Marine in the pacific,saw a LOT of combat,talked to him a lot about it,he saw sooo much and told me,he was a tough old fart,was 17 when he joined in 42,,i miss him a lot,cant say enough about his generation that saved the world

 

[Burntorange70]

Sorry to here that. Sad to see them go. The two WW2 vets I knew are gone. Well one is for sure the other one I have not seen in a few years and I fear he is gone. Its to bad it was nice to talk to them and here there storys when they would come in to where I work. All that can be done is to thank them, be proud of them and remember what they did and gave up for there country. May they all RIP.