EdwardTeach

Last spring I asked the question of how you would feel if your 25 year old daughter was leaving to spend a year in Israel. I received some surprising answers but was really shocked at some of the rudeness I received.

My daughter entered Israel without knowing the language and where bus stops were. She adapted and has preached in several churches, led religious groups, and taught children.

Just a few days ago, she:
-Witnessed the lighting of a 30ft. Christmas tree in the center of Bethlehem, surrounded by Christians and Muslims singing together, "Joy to the World" in Arabic.

-Had a group of six Palestinian Muslim children (ages 3-10), follow her for three blocks, excitedly petting her puppy and taking turns walking the dog on the leash. They speak very little English, yet every time she passes they call to her, "Where's Ellie? Where's Ellie?" and plead for her to bring the puppy down the street to see them.

-Attended her first ever Quaker meeting at a Quaker church, the only one in the country; in Palestine.

-Experienced her first Hanukkah candle lighting ceremony; in Tel Aviv.

-Was calmed by an elderly Palestinian Muslim woman, who spoke no English, as she nervously crossed through Qualandia Checkpoint for the first time (it separates Ramallah from Jerusalem, and is a much more intense and intimidating checkpoint than the one she is used to passing through from Bethlehem.)

She has Jewish, Muslim and Arab Christian friends that she has met while over there. She tries to stay neutral and has been able to get some of the different religions together to talk.

Please keep her in your prayers.

Even though my memory is full of holes, I am convinced that I was called on to serve on more than my share of working parties, some for hours without food. This did not apply to the event I am remembering here.

I was dizzy and probably feverish as several of us gathered on the deck at the place where I had seen fully equipped Marines climb down to enter the boats. As I crawled over to clamber down, I let loose and fell, either because I was dizzy or careless.

I struck the bottom of the boat with my back and right shoulder. There was lots of pain but worse was I was totally paralyzed. My thoughts were, "Here I am, not yet 19, and I will be completely paralyzed all my life."

The boys in the boat moved me to a more comfortable position while above deck a stretcher was being prepared. Some feeling returned to my legs and with help I was able to walk up the gangway.

I spent a week in sickbay where I had visitors, two of whom I recall. The navigator said I survived because I was a good person. The exec said to see him and I wouldn't need to fall to avoid a working party in the future.

And that's how I earned my F.I.B. (Fell into boat)
























careless.

was dizzy or careless.

Jessica owes no student loans. She received enough scholarships and income from jobs to pay her way to LSU. and she had her choice of seminaries with full fellowships plus loans from the Methodist Church that will be forgiven if she serves five years in Louisiana.

I will answer all your questions tomorrow. I'm neither physically or emotionally in condition to respond sensibly.

Yes, I remember Iwo Jima. Around 5 a.m the USS Pickens, APA 190, reached the tiny island of Iwo Jima. I was on deck at a debarkation station from where we launched our boats. I remember the Marines scrambling down cargo nets to enter the boats, and I remember boats returning with wounded Marines. The Pickens was an auxiliary hospital ship.

I was a radarman but my assgnment when we were in baottle was communications. The phones did not work so the first thing I had to do was find someone with more authority than me to get phones that worked.

I was on deck day and night so I had a view of much of the action but I could not see the Marines climbing volcanic ash hills to face Japs who were in concrete bunkers.

Some events in my life I will not forget.

The sun dawned bright that Easter morning April 1, 1945. Every ship in the huge armada had been at battle stations since 5 a.m,when out of the sun came the kamikaze, planes flown by Japanese pilots on a mission to die attacking American ships.

I was in the radar shack trying to detect the planes as they came in skimming the top of the ocean. Out ship, the USS Pickens, APA 190, was second in line behind the USS Hinsdale, APA 120, in a column of transports carrrying the Second Marine Division.

Suddenly, hell was was unleashed; Japanese planes attacked like flies on jam. At around 5:50 a.m. a plane hit the Hinsdale near the waterline, exploding and creating several holes. A plane headed for us but hit the mast of an LST, fell to the deck and exploded, setting off several explosions of ammunition,

The Pickens put boats in the water and picked survivors off the Hindale and LSTs 724 and 884, Flag officers transferred from the Hinsdale to the Pickens.

That Easter Sunday was the beginning of the largest sea-land battle in history. Navy casualties exceeded those of the Army and Marines combined. In fact, one seventh of all Navy casualties of World War 11 were suffered at Okinawa.

Talk to a navy veteran who was at Okinawa and slated to invade Japan and he will say something like "Mr. Truman saved my life," or, "Dropping the atom bomb saved my life."

When my thoughts turn to Iwo Jima 69 years ago, memories of three events stand out. Of course, one is observing the American flag go up on Mt. Suribachi, go down and be raised again. We had no idea at the time that Joseph Rosenthal's picture of the flag raising would become famous.

I will always remember a conversation I had with a young Marine who would see his first action. He told me "They (military leaders) have given us five days to take the island, but we are fired up and I think we'll take it in three days." I always wonder how he fared.

We were in the radar shack listening to the TBS when we heard a pilot screaming," I'm hit! I"m shot. I'm on the way down!"

The war became very real to us at that moment.

Yes I can believe it -- Les did the same thing he did against Alabama. We were just a big luckier.

We've all lost a friend. My prayers are with his family.

For the good of Penn State, not only Joe Paterno but the school president and every coach and official who were aware of the abuse must be fired. All rot must be cut away