A Leatherneck with a Saxophone Takes to the Pacific
In this article, A Leatherneck with a Saxophone Takes to the Pacific, we will embark on a historical journey and travel back to a time when the entire world was engulfed in war. Along the way, you will meet a patriotic young man with a love for his country and a song in his heart. This post is a brief glimpse into the life of a leatherneck who carried his trusty saxophone into war and brought the joy of music deep into the hellish jungles of the Pacific.
This particular Marine has a special place in my heart for he is my paternal grandfather, Richard Edwin Cutler. Though I never had the privilege of really getting to know him, I’ve heard the extraordinary music he once created could jazz up even the most unlikely of venues.
My grandfather, Cpl. Richard Edwin Cutler, standing tall in his U.S.M.C. uniform (circa 1943). (more…)
Posted in Asia, Historical Journeys and tagged leatherneck, marine corps band, saxophone, USMC, WW2 by Big John with 9 comments.
Fort Pickens and the Coastal Batteries of Pensacola Bay
In an age before nuclear bombs, precision guided missiles, and other sophisticated instruments of war, the best means of defending a nation was a well fortified harbor. Pensacola Beach, on the panhandle of Northwest Florida, is home to some of the world’s whitest beaches; it’s also the site of Fort Pickens and several coastal artillery batteries that defended its shores until the conclusion of the second world war. Today, Fort Pickens and its surrounding batteries are part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. The area is managed under the National Park Service and the U.S. Department interior. There are 200 campsites at Fort Pickens. For the last week Rebecca, my two boys, and I pitched a tent and called this little piece of seashore our home. This is the photo journal we’ve captured from that experience. I hope you enjoy.
Fort Pickens is a pentagonal historic military fort on Santa Rosa Island in the Pensacola, Florida area. The fort is named after a hero of the Revolutionary War, Andrew Pickens. The fort was erected in 1834 and remained active until 1947. (more…)
Posted in Adventurous Places, Historical Journeys, North America and tagged Blue Angels, florida, Fort Pickens, Geronimo, Pensacola Beach by Big John with 7 comments.
Diary of a Higgins Boat Sailor in the Pacific
Robert (R.C.) Triebull, a Higgins Boat Sailor in the Pacific
When one thinks of travel and adventure, a pleasant and well-planned vacation most often comes to mind. There are times, however, when a person is thrown into the midst of an epic adventure that becomes both unpleasant and entirely unpredictable. When speaking of these journeys, there are none more honorable than those enterprises of selfless service where life and liberty hangs precariously in the balance.
(more…)Posted in Adventurous Places, Asia, Historical Journeys and tagged Hawaii, Higgins boat, US Navy, Waikiki, World War II by Big John with 20 comments.
Footsteps of Liberators on a Path through Normandy
Much has happened since Eisenhower first drafted that triumphant call to arms some seventy years ago. The world is very much a changed place. There are no more air-raid sirens blaring over the streets of London; no more war planes soaring over the skies of Dover; no more anti-aircraft batteries booming off the beaches of France. But to go back there, to see the place where 160,000 allied troops made their landing on June 6, 1944, was for a me a walk in the footsteps of liberators.
“You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.”
Posted in Adventurous Places, Europe, Historical Journeys and tagged D-Day, France, normandy, Omaha Beach, world war 2 timeline by Big John with 1 comment.
Greenville- My Hometown of Heroes
The beautiful Upstate city of Greenville, SC was once known as the Textile Center of the World. During the textile industry boom, the Poe Mill was the largest manufacturing center in the area. At one time the mill encompassed 75 acres of property and employed nearly 400 workers. Today all those spindles and looms have long since been silenced. As a result, the vibrant city reinvented itself and is now an internationally recognized city of commerce.
Poe Mill, Greenville, SC
Personally, Greenville isn’t just a place of old red-brick mills and emerging institutes of commerce. If you ask me, my hometown is a place of heroes. The city’s name alone was taken from a hero of the American Revolution, Major General Nathanael Greene. This General of the Continental Army commanded the Southern Campaign and was considered George Washington’s right-hand man. (more…)
Posted in Adventurous Places, Historical Journeys, North America and tagged greenville, South Carolina by Big John with 10 comments.