I just finished listening to a fascinating book on CD. The book, Flags of Our Fathers, was written by James Bradley and Ron Powers. After his dad died in 1995, Bradley wanted to know what his dad had done in the battle of Iwo Jima. The Battle of Iwo Jima cost the lives of 6,821 Americans and 21,900 Japanese. The book tells of the battle and the photograph of the raising of the flag on Mount Suribachi. The profile of the senior Bradley is the only recognizable face in the picture of the flag raising. The surprise is that the famous picture is actually of the second flag raising on the extinct volcano.

In the past, I had read about Ira Hayes, the Pima Indian in the picture, and of Joe Rosenthal, the photographer. It was interesting to learn about the other men.

If you are a young person and weren’t around in 1945 for the Battle of Iwo Jima, there are a couple of names that will help you get connected with the battle story. Lee Marvin, the actor, was a 17-year-old Marine who was wounded at Iwo Jima. He ended up with (no pun intended) shrapnel in his butt. Another participating Marine was Bob Keeshan, later known as “Captain Kangaroo.”  Lee Marvin was quoted as saying “Bob Keeshan was the bravest man I ever met.”

Iwo Jima is in the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Guam and Japan. In 1959, VP-48, my seaplane squadron, was deployed to Japan. Our pilot and navigator filed a flight plan that flew us over Iwo Jima. It was exciting to finally get to see it, but if not for its strategic value, it’s nothing to shout about. It’s 8 square miles of island with an ugly extinct volcano on it.

Several people died in the Battle of Iwo Jima. It’s quite a story. Give it a shot!

Dave Thomas

9/11/2025

I’ve been sitting here while listening to Ronnie Milsap and Charlie Rich. I miss the country-western singers from the 1960’s through the 1990’s. There were a lot of them, and they were good. Besides the music, there were some colorful characters, too. It was fun. We just lost Kris, and that only leaves people like Dolly and Willie.

Dave Thomas

9/11/2025

It’s hard to believe! All three of our kids are now retired, and it’s left us in a quandary. I guess we should refer to them as “Senior Citizens” rather than “curtain climbers” or “rug rats.”

Dave Thomas

9/4/2025

Negative Stuff

-We are using up our trees and other natural resources and turning them into trash so fast that we may have to consider using the Grand Canyon as our next landfill.

-The Fourth of July holiday was created to celebrate the founding of America, our Constitution, and our democracy. If we are converting to an authoritarian regime, there is no longer a need for the 4^th of July holiday.

-They said they are following the Rule of Law, but, most likely, they are following the rule of the outlaws.

Dave Thomas

8/21/2025

I’ve been thinking about all of the superhero-stuff we are experiencing today. According to the news, superhero movies are bringing in millions of dollars. This is quite a contrast to what I saw when I was growing up. At that time, the superheroes, Batman, Superman, Captain Marval, and Plastic Man were available for 10 cents in their monthly comic books. What has changed? Are we looking at heroes and superheroes differently now? Are our fellow citizens just looking at the superheroes as a 2-hour escape into fantasyland for entertainment or is it something deeper than that? Is something missing? Why are our people looking so desperately for a hero? Let’s take a look at this hero-thing.

Going back to 1954, the year I graduated from high school, things were much different. My hometown, Augusta, Kansas, a city of 5,000, was like most of the country. If I walked the sidewalks of our 3 ½ block business district, I would be surrounded by heroes. On the military side, there were veterans of WWI, WWII, Korea, and maybe even the Spanish-American War. The adult civilians would be people who survived the dust bowl and the depression. Heroes, all, in my book. They were all people of grit who had gritted their teeth and made it through.

The next big event was the Vietnam War. The attitude toward heroes was changing. Americans should be ashamed for the way young people who served were treated after giving their lives and limbs for their country.

Next came the Middle-East wars. Does anyone think seriously about them? It’s like we were sending those young people off to summer camp. Was anyone getting excited or worried about what was happening to the lives of those kids?

Attitudes toward leadership and heroes have changed. What about the single mom or single dad who are working 2 or 3 jobs to provide for their kids and still are taking the time to instill in them the qualities that make for a good citizen? This paper requires more smarts than I can come up with. I hope it provokes some consideration from you.

Dave Thomas

8/21/2025

A Real Homing Pigeon

Ordinarily, either three crows or five crows would show up for breakfast.  However, these last few days only two had come in. We were lucky in that it was Lame Foot and Clucker who were easy to recognize. Pat put out some food for them and then went back into the house. Suddenly, one of the crows started cawing, and Pat looked out and saw that it was Lame Foot.  He was giving a set of 3 caws over and over again.  The sounds were raspy and seemed to come from deeper in the throat than usual. After a couple of minutes of thism crows started landing on the driveway and they kept coming, one after another, until there were sixteen of them. They were both hungry and thirsty, and they really went after the food and water. Lame Foot and Clucker flew up and perched on the edge of the garage roof and watched or supervised the feast. Apparently, the crows hadn’t found a food source that morning and really needed some help. Pat had to replenish the food to get them filled up.

I understand that crows are just crows. However, they become quite interesting when you learn of their intelligence and some of the human-like traits they sometimes display. In today’s story, Lame Foot showed examples of his leadership ability   and his feelings of empathy and compassion for members of his feathered community.

Crows seem to know something about training, too. Lame Foot was one of the group of five crows that were being fed by Pat every day. Boss Crow was the leader of the group,                      and he strode around aggressively and jabbered incessantly. He would come right up to within two feet of Pat and would say what was on his mind. Meanwhile, Lame Foot just sat back and watched and listened as a good trainee should and never said a word.

When Boss Crow left, Lame Foot stepped up and took the leadership position. There was no question of who was in charge. Lame Foot handled the job easily. He continues to show up every day, and the other crows recognize that he is still the boss.

Dave Thomas

8/7/2025

Our grandson, Jeff, his wife, Shannon, and their daughters, our great granddaughters, Sage and Haven came to see us. After some visiting, Pat started entertaining the girls with stories about her crows and the interesting things they do. When she told about calling the crows in for breakfast, both girls got excited and wide-eyed. They both spoke and used their favorite nickname for their great grandma. “Can you really do it, G.G..?” asked Sage. “I want to see it, G.G.,” demanded Haven. Pat and the girls trooped outside, and Pat said, “Don’t be disappointed if they are too far away and can’t hear me.” She gave the magic call, “Caw, caw, caw, caw,” and told the girls to watch. After a bit, Pat says, “They may be too far away. I can’t hear them.” Then Haven said, “I hear them! Call them again, G.G.!” Pat gave the four caw call again, and, in a couple of minutes, the crows came zooming in. The girls started dancing around. “You did it, G.G.! That’s awesome!” After a few days, a text from Shannon said that the girls were still talking about the crows!

Dave Thomas 7/24/2025

You and Me

America is sick. The air is full of hatred in the form of racism, antisemitism, and a complete lack of empathy, compassion, or respect for the thoughts and property of others. Let’s get back to being the America of optimism, opportunity, and hope. It’s going to take years, so let’s get started.

Let’s begin with something that is simple and easy. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Say it to yourself, your kids, your grandkids, and anyone you come across. When I was a kid growing up, there wasn’t a week that went by that I didn’t hear it from my parents, teachers, or church. All it takes is belief and commitment. It’s up to you and me.

Dave Thomas

7/17/2025

Tools

New tools become available on a regular basis. Some are mechanical devices, and others come in the form of software. We become so dependent on this shiny new stuff that we forget about the primary tool in our tool chest. I’m talking about our brains. Sometimes the best solution to a problem is the simplest one. Explore all possibilities before committing to a plan of action and remember to make use of what you have on hand. I’d like to give you a few of examples from my own life.

Building an Airfield with Few Resources

Back in the 1940’s, during WWII, I learned a lesson that has stayed with me throughout my life: Use what you’ve got. At that time, when you went to the movies, the list of items viewed was always the same. You saw previews of coming attractions, one or two short subjects, a cartoon, and the feature movie. One of the short subjects might be the latest newsreel from the war. One of the newsreels really impressed me. The film opened to dozens of Chinese villagers, shoulder to shoulder, in a straight line and moving across a field. Each person had a hoe or rake or some kind of gardening tool, and they were leveling the field and removing the rocks and debris. They were making a landing strip for the Flying Tigers of P-40 aircraft. The P-40 was the hottest fighter plane of the time, but was useless without a place to land, refuel, and re-supply the ammo for the machine guns. Resisting the attacks of the Japanese, the Chinese couldn’t wait for Chiang Kai-shek or FDR to send bulldozers or road graders to build airfields. They had to do something now!

Robo-Dad!

My next example has to do with my dad. I wasn’t as big as my dad yet. It must have been about 1950 or 1951. One Saturday morning, Dad said he had promised to do a chore for someone downtown and asked me to come along. We drove down and parked on State Street in front of Cooper Drugs. Our town of 5,000 had a business district that was about 4 blocks long. Most of the stores had apartments above them on the second floor, which was the top floor. We saw a refrigerator sitting on the sidewalk next to the opening for the stairway leading to the apartment on the second floor. Dad said that one of Mom’s lady friends had asked if her husband could help her get the fridge upstairs. Mom said, “Heck, yes,” so that’s why we were there. The stairway was wide enough for the fridge, but there was no room for helpers to carry on either side. It looked like a stalemate to me. Dad rocked the thing back and forth to test its weight and then went to the trunk of our car. He returned with a strap about 4 inches wide and 15 to 18 feet long. I helped work the strap under the fridge and then across the ends over the top. Dad backed up against the fridge, pulled a strap over each shoulder, and then crossed them over his chest. He got a good grip on the straps and then gave me a warning. “Don’t get on the steps! If I lose control of this thing, it will crush and kill you!” My dad was 5’11 ¾ inches and 170 pounds. He and that fridge went up the stairs like it was nothing. I don’t mind telling you that I was mighty proud. There was no dolly and no freight elevator. There was just a good man with a good plan.

My Backyard and Plan B

In 1960, I was in the third year of my four-year Navy hitch. Pat worked, too, and we were able to buy a new 4-bedroom home. Like a lot of San Diego homes, the property backed up onto a small canyon. I wanted to put a redwood fence around the back yard, but the last 4 or 5 feet of the lot sloped off into the canyon. It might take a couple of truckloads of dirt to fill in the yard properly. As I said, we were doing okay, but with two kids to feed, there was no money for dirt. I had discovered soft dirt at the bottom of this canyon, maybe 20 or 25 yards downhill. There was the solution! I had a couple of 5-gallon buckets, so for the next few weeks, my spare time was devoted to carrying buckets of dirt up the hill and making a level yard. Plan B solved another problem. Again, always consider alternative ways of doing a job, and make sure you make use of what you have.  

Dave Thomas

7/10/2025