We went to Redding over the weekend for the Celebration of Life for Cindy’s Uncle Bob, who passed away in November. Here are a few of the highlights from an amazing life.
• During the height of the Great Depression, Bob moved from the family farm in Sugar Bush, Wisconsin to a logging camp in the Wisconsin North Country. He was 15 years old. His pay wasn't much more than room and board, but this was the depression, and room and board was pretty decent pay.
• In early 1940, when WWII started in Europe, but before Pearl Harbor and our active involvement, Bob responded to a military recruiter, and joined the Navy. He got a raise to room and board and $20 a month. He was aboard the USS Augusta, when it carried FDR to his meeting with Churchill in August, 1941, where the Atlantic Charter was created - outlining allied war aims, and defineing a vision of the post-war world.
• When the US declared war, Bob transferred to the Pacific, aboard a ship that was active in support of the US invasion of Guadalcanal. The ship was severely damaged (with the loss of over 400 sailors), and had to limp back to the US for repairs.
• Bob then transferred to the USS Bunker Hill—an aircraft carrier—which saw action in many of the major Pacific Theater campaigns in the second half of the war. In the spring of 1945, in action supporting the invasion of Okinawa, she took two direct hits from kamikazes, and also lost nearly 400 crew-members. My father was in this same battle, aboard the USS Enterprise—another aircraft carrier—saw this happen, and logged it in his diary. He was amazed that the Bunker Hill stayed afloat. Two days later, a kamikaze hit the Enterprise too - killing 12, and putting her out of action. Both ships were in Bremerton, Washington being repaired when the war ended.
• After the war, Bob got married, move to Hollywood, and opened a liquor and grocery store. Through a combination of timing, drive, intelligence, and a warm, charismatic personality, Bob became very successful, and became friends with many 'A-list' Hollywood celebs – many of whom ran up quite a tab during their lean years, before they became rich and famous.
• One of the businesses Bob got into was exporting lumber to Japan, and helping them rebuild after the war. Some of his kids have worked in that business, and a couple of them are fluent in Japanese. The war was over, and Bob looked forward, not back.
• I went to Bob's 80th birthday party about 7 or 8 years ago. Among the people who showed up with a couple of business associated who came from Japan to help him celibrate.
• The year before his 80th birthday, Bob climbed Mt. Whitney—the highest peak in the lower 48 states—with one of his sons, and a granddaughter, and went on to climb Mt. Shasta that year. (He also climbed Mt. Fuji with Japanese business associates within the couple years prior to that).
• Oh ... he had survived colon cancer in his early 70's, before all this climbing. He ate tons of carrot juice that he made himself, and swore that that was what got him back into things. I personally think it was his Sugar Bush upbringing.
There’s much more to his story, but these are a few of the highlights that were shared at his celebration.
I feel lucky to have known this fine man.
