Photo of the day:
Olive Oatman taken captive and was held as a slave for 4 years and lived to tell about it.
So for today:
It may be a good thing, but at times this thinking messes me up. I could not sleep late this morning. I got Ira Hayes and Lefty on my mind. Along with that, it went to two boys working on a farm near Gila Bend and how surprised I was they did not speak English. WE were hiking in the desert looking for the site of the Oatman Massacre. (The oatman family was killed, 2 lived to tell about it.)
I should
not have been surprised about the workers, we were just across the border from
Mexico.
An Indian Reservation near Gila Bend is where Ira Hayes lived. If you are not familiar with Ira, he is in
the famous picture of the Marines raising the flag on Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima.
Lefty Harris comes to mind because he is/was Sherry’s brother; wounded in
the landing on the beach of Iwo Jima.
He NEVER talked about his time there.
It is amazing how the MIND works, some people hide bad memories in the back of their minds, others cannot hide them. My brother Jr. seldom spoke of his time in the South Pacific 1940s and the many battles his ship was in.
Anyway, we spent much of that winter near Gila Bend, AZ our coach was
parked on the Barry Goldwater Bombing Range. An interesting time in our
lives. I never thought a desert could be
interesting BUT it IS. There is so much
beauty and the giant cacti are amazing.
I couldn't go back to sleep......
Nite
Shipslog
PS:
I am not a photographer, but drop by Spare
Parts and Pics sometime and see some fantastic shots of that part of
the world. Gila Bend is not far from the
Joshua Tree area of California.
AGAIN THANKS for
reading the Shipslog.
+018.jpg)
+040aa_edited-1.jpg)
5 comments:
It’s understandable that veterans like Lefty Harris didn’t talk about their time there; the memories must have been too painful. Sometimes silence says more than words ever could.
It’s absolutely a reminder of how much history lives quietly in families and communities.
I love the song by Johnny Cash about Ira Hayes.
MY Dad didn't want to talk about the war either. It was a devastating time. Many still have PST, nightmares about it. I learned more about the war from my mom than I did from dad. I pray we never have another World War like that.
You sure do know a lot and have a lot of memories of your own up there. I guess some people like to talk and some don't.
I looked up that gal up there - boy she had a tough life and she still made it though - what a story.
Gila Bend, Arizona ... yessss. I think there's a big part of Tom that longs to return to the desert someday.
Definitely, it's crazy how our minds work -- often, when we least expect it, when sleep is scarce.
Post a Comment