World War II Weekend In Reading, Pennsylvania On June 6, 2010

The World War II Weekend event was held at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, PA, and featured a town erected in the style of the 1940s, many authentic vehicles and aircraft of the era, Reenactors in appropriate attire, dealer tables of Militaria and actual Veterans of the conflict! The event was a great success. The following jpegs were taken on the third and final day of the Weekend, and show only a sample of what could be seen by visitors.





























Hitler-Jugend and Deutsches Jungvolk items (with close-ups):
















Berlin Airlift:






Nicely-done 40s Gulf Station:




















Several Veterans were there to discuss their involvement with The War and sign autographs.

Here I am with World War 2 Veteran Eddie Kyler. He is member of the Parachute Infantry Regiment and a D-Day Veteran:




Here I am with World War 2 and Korean War Veteran Henry Heim. He was wounded at Pearl Harbor and flew 78 missions over Germany, North Africa and the Balkans and later flew 51 missions in the Korean War.




The book where the previous two pages came from ... a fine collection of accounts from those who were witnesses to the conflict:


Here I am with World War 2 Veteran Paul Gordon ... a Pilot who was shot down over France and became a German POW:


His published story:


See you next year!

The Planet Venus And The Venus De Miko Statue Photographed On May 16, 2010

The Planet Venus was out and quite prominent on May 16. I thought that it was a special occasion to bring out a clay statue I made of The Goddess ... it is a reproduction of the classic Venus De Milo. Since I made it, I refer to it as the Venus De Miko!

The Moon and the Planet Venus:


I took a few photos and could not decide on one or two so here are all of them ... each has unique color and atmosphere to it.  Check out The Goddess statue standing near the Planetary Manifestation of Venus!!

Close-up of the previous shot:

The Grave Of John Hart, Signer Of The Declaration Of Independence

May 11, 2010. I travelled to Hopewell, New Jersey today to visit the grave of John Hart, one of the five New Jersey Delegates to sign the Declaration Of Independence. He passed away on this day in 1779. I felt it proper to say thank you. This was a man who was forced to hide outdoors in the bitter cold of December 1776 in order to escape the Loyalists. In 1778, John offered his farm to George Washington and thousands of Revolutionary Soldiers. He no doubt gave his all in the quest for freedom and liberty. A remarkable man - I hope that all of you visit his grave some time.

Here is video footage of my brief, yet significant, trip:

Photographs ...

Keywords: Revolution Revolutionary War British Brits Hessians Farmer General Assembly NJ American America USA

The Last Survivors Born In The Year 1895 Have All Passed On

This week saw the passing of the last verified surviving person born in the year 1895. At the beginning of 2010, there were four representatives from that year - three from the United States and one from Japan. Maggie Renfro lived from November 14, 1895 until January 22, 2010, Mary Josephine Ray lived from May 17, 1895 until March 7, 2010, Neva Morris lived from August 3, 1895 until April 6, 2010 and Kama Chinen (who, in life, was the world's oldest person) lived from May 10, 1895 until May 2, 2010. Kama's death closes the door on the year 1895 forever.

The current title holder of the world's oldest person resides in France. Her name is Eugénie Blanchard, and she was born on February 16, 1896. Eugénie is one of seven known and verified people (still living) who were born in 1896.

Note: Maggie Renfro (full name Maggie Mae Thornton Renfro) was one of three centenarian sisters. All them passed away recently. Her sisters Carrie Lee Thornton Miller and Rosie Lee Thornton Warren lived from April 9, 1902 until January 5, 2010 and from January 6, 1906 until December 18, 2009 respectively.

Here is a fantastic website pertaining to the topic of gerontology and old age:
http://www.grg.org/Adams/E.HTM