My Uncle Paul - WWII Vet

[DryMartini]

My Great Uncle Paul Behof served in the Navy in WWII,
and I wanted to share the story which he told me many
years ago when I asked him about what he did in the war.

Uncle Paul owned a store, and was a butcher in civilian life.
He was drafted, and assigned to the USS Saratoga, but wound
up managing a mess hall in Hawaii, where fleet air squadrons
would come in for R&R following their deployment.

Being in charge of the mess, he very often received requests for
some nice steaks from guys who wanted to take a date down
to the beach. Uncle Paul would point to a drawer, and say
"There will be 2 fillets in the drawer at 4pm tomorrow. I expect
you to leave something in kind." - and sure enough,
he would go back at 4:30 and find a bottle of whiskey in the
drawer, in place of the steaks. Business, in that regard, was
very good.

This mess saw its share of aviators, fresh off the carriers from
all corners of the Pacific. As you can imagine, combat takes a toll
on those who participate, and he saw a fair share of young men
with sunken eyes and the three mile stare, picking at their meal.
He would sit with them, ask a few questions and shoot the bull for
a few minutes, before leaving them with a sack and a wink, saying
"they needed it more than he did". Of course, inside the sack was
a bottle whiskey. He liked to think he helped those young guys out
as best he could, and in that regard, business was very good, too.

Anchors Away, Uncle Paul.

[pokryshkin]

God Bless Uncle Paul!

...and some kids wonder why they are called "The Greatest Generation....!

My dad is a World War 2 veteran also - started training with 416th BG in A-20s, got transferred to the 1st PFF(P) in B-26 Marauders,
Went to Turret School (He was a mechanic but got his 5 missions in with the 1st Pathfinder Squadron) with John W. Finn.

They all wore coveralls in the school, so Dad didn't know who Finn was; seeing him for the first time in uniform, Dad asked, "What's that light blue ribbon with all the stars on it?" (Dad REALLY DIDN'T KNOW!!) Finn said, "Oh, that's the Navy Good Conduct Medal.."

Later, when he and Dad were better acquainted, he admitted that when the first Japanese aircraft buzzed his home, he and the Mrs. were, shall we say, getting better acquainted?

Regards,
Dan Katz

[hang the expense]

Thanks for sharing the story with us all Dry.Great story as well Dan.We honor them all.