The Ramblings of a Crusty Old Sailor - Honoring Air Force Capt. Ryan P. Hall

Honoring Air Force Capt. Ryan P. Hall who selflessly sacrificed his life nine years ago in Djibouti for our great Country. Please help me honor him so that he is not forgotten.

The Ramblings of a Crusty Old Sailor - Remembering Sister Vivian Bullwinkel and the Nursing Sisters of the Australlian Army Nursing Service

Remembering Sister Vivian Bullwinkel and the Nursing Sisters of the Australian Army Nursing Service

Sister Vivian Bullwinkel, along with sixty-three other Australian Army nurses, escaped from Singapore aboard the cargo ship, the Vyner Brooke on 12 February 1942. The Vyner Brooke was sunk by Japanese air attack off Banka Island, Sumatra, on 14 February. Two of the nurses were killed and nine others, who escaped on a raft, were never seen again. A party of twenty-two Australian nurses landed from a lifeboat on the north coast of Banka Island where they were captured, along with other survivors, by Japanese soldiers. Their fate was to be forced to wade out into the water never to be seen again. Sister Vivian Bullwinkel, 2/13th Australian General Hospital was the sole survivor.

Vivian met up Private Patrick Kingsley, who was badly wounded but had also survived the attack on the beach. The two decided they're only chance of survival would be to surrender. Unfortunately Private Kingsley succumbed to his injuries within days.

At the women’s prison camp, Vivian was overjoyed to find another group of 24 Australian nurses from the Vyner Brooke. They had failed to make it to Radji Beach, and had landed on another part of the island, where they were captured. Being the only the only witness to the crime on the beach, Vivian spent three and a half years in the Palembang prison camp in complete silence.

Vivian retired from the Australian Army in 1947 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. That same year, she gave evidence of her horrific experiences at the Tokyo War Crimes Commission trials. By testifying, Vivian was finally able to tell the world what really happened to the men and women on Bangka Island.

Vivian served on the council of the Australian War Memorial, and later as president of the Australian College of Nursing. Vivian was awarded both the Order of Australia and the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for her bravery. Vivian passed on July 3, 2000 at the age of 84 in Perth Australia. Four of the surviving nurses who were fellow prisoners at the Palembang camp attended her state funeral. Lest We Forget.

The Ramblings of a Crusty Old Sailor - Honoring Elwood "Woody" Hughes, member of the Navajo "Code-Talkers"

FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS

With a heavy heart, we share the news that World War II Marine legend Mr. Elwood "Woody" Hughes who landed at Iwo Jima in the 2nd wave, has died. He was 95.

He served in the 5th Marine Division, Signal Battalion. He worked with the Navajo "code-talkers," who used Native-American (little-known) languages as a basis to transmit coded messages to other Allies.

He has born in Jackson Township, Indiana, on May 14, 1925. He has fond memories of Ginger Hill's farm, where he and his sister, Martha Evelyn, grew up. He notes that basketball and girls topped his interests in the years leading up to Roanoke High School's graduation in 1943 – but a stint in the Marine Corps was next on the agenda.

During the Battle of Iwo Jima, he served as a runner on the front lines with Navajo code talkers. The code talkers transmitted to each other in their native language, which, because of the origin of their language, was fundamentally indecipherable to the Japanese, and Hughes would take the messages back to the battalion command.

Hughes also described seeing mutilated bodies and running amid artillery and mortar barrage, but he said he was never frightened. "In the Marine Corps, you are so concerned with doing the job that you block out the fear that comes with it," he said.

Hughes was discharged in 1946 and promptly attended Ball State University on the G.I. bill. In 1950, he graduated the same year he married Susan, who was from his hometown of Roanoke, Indiana. Their marriage lasted 63 years until she died in 2013.

Due to his lively character and unique outgoing style, Woody was instantly likable to all who met him. He was often remembered for his smile, a story, and a gleam in his eye. Hughes became a physical education teacher and baseball coach in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He coached Colas as a high school student half a century before reuniting and developing a close friendship.

In his retirement, his passion became educating the youth about service, sacrifice, and patriotism. Hughes could describe battles on the islands of Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian, and Guam, but his most requested testimony was about what he saw during the five-week war on Iwo Jima.

He is survived by his children, Ellen (Frank) Regalado, Emily Hughes, and William Victor (Teresa) Hughes; and his nine grandchildren and seventeen great-grandchildren.