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Another Shipmate Gone

Posted by Fran Kent on May 26, 2009, 10:25 pm
69.230.76.217

We lost another one today, and a good one at that. Edward Bender, who served in the Armed Guard as a radioman, died in his sleep at his home in Pasadena, Calif. He was 83.

Ed enlisted in Akron, Ohio, in March 1943, months before his 18th birthday. After boot camp at Great Lakes, he was trained as a radioman in Auburn, Ala. Then, after special training at Noroton Heights, Conn., was sent to the Armed Guard Center in New Orleans.

He served in four ships, SS Horace H. Harvey, SS Jonathon Grout, SS Wild Hunter, and SS Jefferson Davis. The end of the war found him on board an LCI on the West Coast, getting ready for the invasion of the Japanese home islands.

Ed was a charter member of an Armed Guard veterans group that meets regularly in Mission Hills, Calif. He will be sorely missed.

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Re: Another Shipmate Gone

Posted by Al Burnham on May 28, 2009, 2:41 am, in reply to "Another Shipmate Gone"
67.72.98.47

Thanks for sharing this info Fran. My prayers and
thoughts are with our shipmate Edward Bender and his family. How are you doing Fran? I do hope that Roy is doing better. Take care.
---Al

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Re: Another Shipmate Gone

Posted by Fran Kent on May 28, 2009, 1:33 pm, in reply to "Re: Another Shipmate Gone"
69.230.69.20

I'm still on my feet, Al, if only for brief periods and distances. At this point (I'll be 84 this year) we have to recognize that it's not going to get any better, but I can live with that. I hope you're holding up, and I join you in hoping and praying that Roy stays with us.
-- Fran

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Re: Another Shipmate Gone

Posted by Roy Brown on May 28, 2009, 7:36 pm, in reply to "Re: Another Shipmate Gone"
98.213.15.190

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support for me, AND for those who have passed away. I was 83 on 12 May this year and as some of you may have read in my book, my first combat was on 11 May 1944, the evening before my 18th birthday. I NEVER forget that one!
My health is slightly improving as far as my heart is concerned...I think.
I take Plavix and a whole bunch of other pills as I'm sure many of you do. I call them my "survival pills"!
It really is amazing what modern medicine has been able to do. In combat the terribly wounded troops have lived whereas they would have died in other wars. They also have marvelous prosthetics that allow them to get around pretty darned well.
I'm afraid we are headed toward a MUCH bigger war now and I predict it will change things in the USA FOREVER! Perhaps we old guys won't live to see all of this but our kids and grandkids will.
{ersonally I have always been in favor of Universal Service, of some type, to our country. I do not believe the military Draft was ever fair when huge numbers of people were exempted. I never signed for the draft until I had come home AFTER the war!
I also think MANY people who are disabled could serve and thousands of them would be HAPPY to do so. My own parents were deaf and my dad would have been VERY happy (and able) to perform in several kinds of slots in the Army, etc.
God Bless all.
Roy Brown

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Re: Another Shipmate Gone

Posted by Fran Kent on May 29, 2009, 4:00 pm, in reply to "Re: Another Shipmate Gone"
69.230.91.20

Roy: I share your thoughts about the merits of some kind of national service. It needn't be in the military and it needn't be in a foreign country. Every young person, male or female, should be required to spend a year or two in the service of our country. We all know that there are places and people who need help in every one of the 50 states. Young men and women with physical handicaps could contribute by doing nothing more wearing than sitting before a computer screen. Everyone would benefit, especially the volunteers, who would learn something not taught in classrooms, and could be rewarded with financial help toward higher education.
-- Fran

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