Last toast for World War II Last Man's Club

[Omaha Steve]

Source: postbulletin.com

Matthew Stolle

Tonight, a small group of aged World War II vets will uncork a bottle of champagne and raise their glasses in one final collective gesture.

It will be the last act of Rochester's WWII Last Man Club before officially disbanding.

When the club formed in the mid-1960s, it was nearly a 100-member group. The club will be down to a handful of members when they gather at the American Legion Post 92 at 6 p.m today. All are in their 80s and 90s.

When they lift their glasses, they will heed the instructions, left decades before and inscribed on a display case that holds the magnum of champagne, to open the bottle when their club is down to six.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/last-toast-for-world-war-ii-last-man-s-club/article_262447e6-311e-5b47-b411-9ba4f5818aff.html

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Elizabeth Nida Obert / enida@pos

Last Mans Club WWII member Kendall Heins, 95, of Rochester, and his wife, Doris.

[backtoblue]

1. thank you, all veterans!

To those who stood by their fellow men/women and fought bravely to protect. To serve. To keep our country and people safe.


To those who start wars to make money and profit off the lives of soldiers and civilians -

[Archae]

2. It's inevitable.

My uncle Hank was a WW2 veteran, he died several years ago.

Korean War veterans are dying off, my Father was one and he died 3 years ago.

It'll be the same for Vietnam veterans, Gulf War, etc.

[frazzled]

3. My 96-year-old father, who flew 60 missions in the South Pacific

(as a gunner), is still going strong. Well, not so strong since he just got released from 7 days in the hospital with flu and pneumonia, but almost back to his old self (four days at the gym every week, cycling 100 miles per week).

I can't remember how the topic came up, but when the home-visit nurse came to check up on him after his release from the hospital (thanks, Medicare!), he told her the story of how he came to be a gunner. He was a medic, but he took the test for officer training for flight school, and received the highest score of anyone who took it in his round. He wanted to learn to fly, but when the time came, they told him he'd missed the start of the training by a day, and that it was completely full. They offered to train him as a bombadier, and he said, hell no. He thought they'd just let him go back to the medic corps. But they made him a gunner instead. How he survived 60 missions, I don't know. He even stayed after his required number of missions were up, and flew extra ones.

Congratulations to these fellow "old men" who gave themselves over to that war and that mission. We still think of all you went through.

[RedstDem]

4. wow

American hero!

[sarge43]

5. Hand salute for your father.

Thank you, sir

[homegirl]

10. Our heroes

Whenever I meet someone wo doesn't vote, I always ask them if they have a grandfathe, father, uncle, brother or cousiin who fought in WW2. Then I tell them they should be ashamed for not voting, the right their relative fought to preserve for them.
I am always hopeful that I can convince them to become informed and to vote.

[Berlum]

6. My pop was at Pearl Harbor

Survived that and the rest of the war. Came home. Made babies. Made an early-on identification of Republicans as low-ethics greedhead chicken hawk moral-midget hypocrite war-profiteering closet sex kinksters. Then passed to Valhalla far too young. He would have loved sitting with these other vets to help them glurg down the champagne.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

7. sadest post ever - to sentimental me

[Plucketeer]

8. My dad was in the Army

Ended up guarding German POWs in Texas. My Father-in-law was on a destroyer in the south Pacific. He got washed over the fantail of the ship and NO ONE saw it happen. It was only thanks to a roll call a bit later that he was deemed missing. They turned around and found him bobbing in the swells. He had work to do - siring my wife eventually!

[Festivito]

9. Rochester Minnesota.

[kimbutgar]

11. My Dad had a WW2 group he was involved in called "the Prometheans".

We would meet every year in different cities throughout the US and then return every 5 years to Washington DC. My Dad passed in 1997 but we still continued to go to honor our Father. The group in 2011 had it's last reunion. I had so grown to love the members and their families became my extended family. At the end there were only about 10 surviving members left who attended for the last reunion. One had Alzheimers but seemed to remember me and cried at lot when we went up to hug and kiss him. Several more could not attend because they were not physically up to it. The average age was 88 at that point. I feel for these folks in this article. These vets are our heroes.

[James48]

12. My Grandfather was World War I veteran

and particpated in his unit's "Last Man Club".

He died at age 96, and when he did, our family drank his bottle of French Congnac his group had set aside many, many years before.

I myself served in uniform from 1982 till 2003- but I don't have a "Last Man Club" to belong to- we had Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf, and a host of other small ventures that all happened whilst I was in Uniform.

Fare well, oh World War II senior. May you enjoy your champaign and toast to the brothers in arms with which you served. No finer people anywhere than those whom you served along side.

[eggplant]

13. My dad signed up with the Army during WW II...

...but the FBI found him and dragged him home after two weeks since he was only 14 at the time. :-D

[Historic NY]

14. Something my father never got to see...old age....

came home from the Pacific went to working with his hands, lost his first wife while we were very young. He moved on trying to grab the American dream. I think getting remarried for marriage sake was a bit too much. He was always everywhere at the drop of a pin to help someone. He was gone at 52. He spent 3 yrs 8 mons & 2 days in the service with more than half slogging from island to island.

A toast to them all...........

[Michigan-Arizona]

15. Hometown Heroes on display at Southland Center, Michigan

James Flannigan, Allen Park
James Flannigan is a true American hero. In World War II he was known as “Fearless” Flanagan. A year after entering the Army right out of high school, he was with the 4th Infantry Division in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, landing on Utah Beach on June 6, 1944. He fought countless battles in France, Germany and Belgium, serving as a “forward observer,” a soldier that goes with the attacking infantry company. He faced machine gun fire and saw thousands of fellow soldiers die. He was responsible for saving many lives as well. Flannigan earned the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism—the second highest honor presented by the US government for “gallantry in action while volunteering to go through enemy lines to deliver a message to headquarters.” He also received two Bronze Stars with a “V” for “Valor,” a Silver Star, a Purple Heart and a Presidential Unit Citation. His arrowhead for the Normandy invasion has five battle stars. He received a Croix de Guerre from the French government in 1945 for “exceptional services of war rendered in the course of operations for the liberation of France.” Flannigan, now 81, was honored during Memorial Day ceremonies in Taylor. He plays down his heroics, saying, “There were 13 million men in World War II. I was lucky. I made it through and a lot of them didn’t.”



Jim was a co-worker & friend to my hubby. He just passed away this past Nov., he was such a nice person. RIP Jim

[Beacool]

16. Thanks to all of them for their service.

My neighbor is 95 years old. Her older brother served in WWI and WWII. The war in Europe had ended and he was on his way back to the US. The plane he was on had mechanical problems and crashed over Scotland. What an irony!!! To have survived two world wars and to die in a plane crash on his way home. She still has his Purple Heart and Silver Star.