I like learning about history from real stories. Thanks for sharing this. I'm sorry about your great-uncle, though. How hard that must have been for the family, especially when everyone knows about Dec 7. For some reason, it makes me think of people who died of natural causes on Sep 11, 2001.
My main WWII war-related story is about my great uncle. He had finished his tour of duty and was just waiting around for whatever plane it was that would take him back home. In the interim, another bombing run was being scheduled, and they needed a gunner. He said he'd go up with them. Somehow the heat went out in the section of the plane where he was, and his hands froze onto the gun. His fingers were amputated at the 2nd knuckle on both hands. It's nowhere near the same as dying, and certainly he's got the use of the vast majority of his hands -- more than a lot of survivors of the war can say. But he is the musical uncle, and couldn't play the majority of his instruments when he got back.
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My main WWII war-related story is about my great uncle. He had finished his tour of duty and was just waiting around for whatever plane it was that would take him back home. In the interim, another bombing run was being scheduled, and they needed a gunner. He said he'd go up with them. Somehow the heat went out in the section of the plane where he was, and his hands froze onto the gun. His fingers were amputated at the 2nd knuckle on both hands. It's nowhere near the same as dying, and certainly he's got the use of the vast majority of his hands -- more than a lot of survivors of the war can say. But he is the musical uncle, and couldn't play the majority of his instruments when he got back.