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JAPANESE GOOD LUCK FLAG REPARATION

/ The Coastal Crone / 25 Comments

 

THE JAPANESE GOOD LUCK FLAG

A special ceremony was held July 20,2023 at the USS Lexington Museum; below is a portion of the program.

“A flag donated to the USS Lexington Museum in 1994 was recently identified as belonging to a Japanese soldier named Shigeyoshi Mutsuda, killed in action during World War II.  Known as Yosegakki Hinomaru, or Good Luck Flags, these types of flags were signed by family and friends of Japanese service members prior to leaving home for war.  For Japanese families, the Good Luck Flags are often all that remains of their loved ones killed in action, and the return of the flag is seen as the return of their family member’s remains.

USS Lexington Museum is working in partnership with the OBON SOCIETY to repatriate the flag back to Japan for the flag to be reunited with the soldier’s surviving family members.  OBON SOCIETY is a non-profit organization that over the past 13 years has repatriated more than 500 flags back to Japanese families and communities.  The organization’s founders, Rex and Keiko Ziak, will act as representatives of the family to accept the flag and bring their long-lost patriarch home, including a ceremonial reuniting with his wife who recently passed at the age of 102.  Representatives from the USS Lexington Museum will accompany OBON SOCIETY to escort the flag on its journey back to Japan and the family.”

MELANIE TEMPLIN, left, Historian/Registrar; RACHELLE BANDA, right, Special Events Coordinator

As part of the ceremony, the flag (encased in a frame) was taken down from its place in an exhibit and presented to the representatives of the Japanese family.  Our daughter, on the left, is the Historian/Registrar for the USS Lexington Museum; the woman on the right is also an employee.  Those in the back in yellow shirts are volunteers for the museum; many are veterans.  The Japanese soldiers would have been able to fold the flag very small and keep it near their heart underneath their uniforms as they went into battle.

As the flag was removed from the exhibit and brought down for presentation,  a Japanese song about love and loss was played.  It became popular first in Japan and then hit the top of the charts in 1963 in the United States.  I remember it well

Below is a link to the ceremony held in the hanger bay of the museum.  It is about an hour long but is well done and symbolizes the friendship  and strong ties between the two countries today. The flag was returned to members of the Mutsuda family in Japan a week later.  I will have a post about that soon.  War brings loss and pain for the families on both sides.

 

 

FRIDAY FOTO: FARRAH FAWCETT MURAL

/ The Coastal Crone / 37 Comments

PHOTO BY SON

“SWEET FARRAH” by artist Krystal Cook

This is one of six new murals in downtown Corpus Christi as part of Mural Fest  2023 held in June.  The quote at the top right hand corner reads :  “Every day is a good day, just some days are better. – Farrah Fawcett”  The traffic light and palm tree distract a bit to me, but it is a colorful addition to the downtown area.

Below is a part of the description of the mural  on the plaque next to it on the lower left.

This artwork commemorates the late Farrah Fawcett, celebrating her talent and the vibrant city she hailed from. Born in Corpus Christi on February 2nd, 1947, Farrah attended Ray High School before becoming an award-winning actress and beloved international icon. The mural portrays her using black and white imagery, blending her. classical aura with modern elements. Surrounding her are Texas wildflowers, emphasizing the beauty of her hometown.

 

What would Scarlett O’Hara say?

/ The Coastal Crone / 34 Comments

PROPERTY TAXES AND THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE

Husband and I thought our property taxes for Briar Cottage (our name for our modest home for almost 46 years) were paid in full for another year and paid early.   Husband dropped the check at the local post office on December 1.

In early June we received a letter informing us that  on July 1  our taxes would be delinquent and penalties  would go to the highest rate.

What! The check cleared our bank December 2. Just an accounting error, I said.
No, the check was apparently stolen at the post office and cashed the next day.  San Patricio County never received the check.  Our taxes were delinquent!

To keep this brief, we had to file a report with the police; get a form completed, signed  by the tax assessor/collector, then notorized; take it to our bank and fill out another form for the bank and contact the USPS.  Our bank was able to tell us that it had been cashed the next day at a local credit union. The police hinted that there may have been other mail thefts around that time.

Thankfully, all late and delinquent penalties were dropped by the tax assessor/collector. Husband wrote another check and took it in person to the county office and got a receipt. The bank told us we should get our money back, but it is not clear how we will be reimbursed or when. We are just grateful that we had money to pay our taxes twice.

We seldom write checks and pay most bills online. If we do have a check to mail, we take it to the post office instead of leaving it in our mailbox for the postman to pick up. Now we will be even more careful.

Carpetbaggers come in different forms!

FRIDAY FOTO – VINE AND SKULL

/ The Coastal Crone / 16 Comments

On impulse I photographed this morning glory vine and Talavera cow skull on the backyard fence of our house.  The vine is from the neighbor’s yard behind us; perhaps it is seeking more sun as it gets full sun by afternoon on our side.  I am waiting for it to bloom.

 

FRIDAY PHOTO: NORTH BEACH 1936

/ The Coastal Crone / 52 Comments

This is a photo of my mother and my two older sisters taken on the sands of North Beach in the summer of 1936. North Beach is a part of the city of Corpus Christi. Access to it then meant crossing the ship channel via a draw bridge. It would have been an eighty-mile drive for my parents from the small town of Freer eighty miles west.

There was a permanent carnival that went almost to the water’s edge with many attractions and rides like a Ferris wheel, Tilt-a-Whirl, bumper cars and the merry-go-round my mother and sisters were posed in front of. The midway offered cotton candy and candied apples and the usual games hawked by carnival barkers. The sound of the waves competed with the sounds of the carnival. Going back there years later as a child with my parents in the 1950s, I thought it was a magical place infused with the scent of the sea. Maybe I still do.

The carnival is gone now and the attractions are different. The USS Lexington Museum, a WWII aircraft carrier. is docked not far from where this photo was taken. Further down the beach near the ship channel is the Texas State Aquarium.

I live about ten miles from North Beach.

A PLEDGE FOR EARTH DAY

/ The Coastal Crone / 23 Comments

This is an old post from 2015 but I still like the message for Earth Day 2023.

The Coastal Crone's avatarTHE COASTAL CRONE

img006 “Wintering in Port Aransas” by Steve Russell

 I Pledge Allegiance to the Earth
And to the Universal Spirit
Which gives us Life;
One Planet, Indivisible
Peace and Justice for Us All.

I Pledge to do my Best
To uphold the Trust bestowed
In the Gift of my Life;
To care for Our Planet
And our Atmosphere,
To Respect and Honor
All her Inhabitants,
All People, Animals,
Plants and Resources,
To Create a Legacy
For Our Children
And Our Children’s Children
In a World of Harmony and Love.

I Pledge Allegiance
To the Universal Spirit,
By whatever Name it may be called.
I align my Life
With the ongoing Process
of Creation;
To grow Myself with Care,
To Act from My Own Integrity,
To Be for Others
How I would want them
To Be for Me.

Together
May We carry this Vision
Into our Hearts,
Into our Daily Choices,
And through…

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The Shared Fate of the Robert E. Lee and the German U-166

/ The Coastal Crone / 20 Comments

German submarines posed a threat not only to ships crossing the Atlantic, but also to ships in the Gulf of Mexico. Between 1942 and 1943 approximately 70 ships in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Texas were sunk by the German U-boats as they roamed the Gulf.

The passenger-freighter Robert E Lee had left Trinidad and was headed to Tampa when it was diverted to New Orleans. On board were passengers it had picked up from two other ships who were hit by torpedoes and was heading to New Orleans with an escort, USS PC-566.

The Robert E. Lee

On July 30, 1942 the Robert E Lee was hit by a torpedo fired by a German submarine or U-boat. The ship began to list and sank within fifteen minutes beneath the waters of the Gulf of Mexico about fifty miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River. Most of the of the passengers and crew were able to escape in life boats or with life jackets. One officer, 9 crewmen and 15 passengers of were lost. (total of 283 passengers were on board.)

The escort ship, USS PC-566 fired depth charges in the area where signs of it had last been seen. Soon after an oil slick appeared; it was assumed that the U-boat had been hit and destroyed. It and other boats in the area aided in the rescue of passengers and crew.

German U-166

In July of 2014, nearly 72 years later, stunning photos of the two wrecked vessels were released. The scientific ship, Exploration Vessel Nautilus had been checking for damage from the BP oil spill in 2010 when the scientists aboard came upon the wrecks only a two miles apart. Two remote operated submersible vehicles equipped with cameras captured clear images of both sites. Designated as war graves the casualties from World War II, they will not be disturbed.

Below is an excellent link put out by the scientific organization that took the photos. The images of the Robert E. Lee and U-166 are haunting.

A Tale of Two Wrecks: U-166 and SS Robert E. Lee

Thanks to blogger Brad Purinton for the inspiration for this post.  In a comment he left on my “Sand Pounders” post, he mentioned this incident. His father who was a child living in New Orleans at the time and remembered stories of German submarines near the mouth of the Mississippi His blog, Tokens of Companionship, features portrait photos from 1839 to 1939. Check it out here.

SAND POUNDERS

/ The Coastal Crone / 38 Comments


Sand pounders? What are they?  Tools for creating a sand sculpture? Some new social media? I had come across the phrase while doing some research for something I was writing that involved World War II.

The Coast Guard Beach Patrol, eventually known as Sand Pounders, began in June 1942 in response to the threat of a German coastal invasion. The three main purposes were to “detect, observe and report offshore enemy vessels; to report enemy landing attempts; and to prevent people on land from communicating with the enemy at sea.” The threat of a coastal invasion by Germany was real to American citizens. German U-boats were a threat to ships crossing the Atlantic and were detected off the Eastern Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. There was also the fear of invasion on the West Coast by the Japanese.

Coast guards would often be mounted on horses or on foot and were armed with radios and weapons. Those on horseback could cover ground more quickly and efficiently and usually work in pairs. Those on foot were often accompanied by dogs who could aid in detecting and protecting. German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers and Airedales were used, with the German Shepherd the preferred breed.

At its height, the Beach Patrol consisted of around 24,000 men who protected 2,700 miles of coastline from potential enemy invasion; the patrols ended in 1944 when preparations for the Normandy invasion began. While the Coast Guard is not often given as much mention in World War II as perhaps the other military branches, the Beach Patrol played a vital part in protecting the United States coast from enemy attack.

FRIDAY FOTO: Desert Bird of Paradise

/ The Coastal Crone / 47 Comments

This is a Desert Bird of Paradise (Caesalpinia gilliesii) in our backyard that I grew from a seed I planted in the spring of this year. I was surprised that it was blooming by the end of the summer.

It was hit hard by three nights of a hard freeze and lost all of its leaves. I was afraid it would not come back because it was not well established yet, or so I thought. This “Pretty Bird,” as I call it, has already put out new growth! I think it was be fine as long as we don’t have another hard freeze.

..

Photo by Husband

FRIDAY FOTO: SENDING HOLIDAY WISHES

/ The Coastal Crone / 58 Comments

Husband and I send holiday wishes to everyone! We celebrated the Winter Solstice with a fire and champagne at Briar Cottage. May 2023 bring peace, joy, prosperity, hope, good health and new adventures!