Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo
Carmel
February 13, 2005
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We crashed coffee and donuts in the rectory hall even
though we hadn't bothered to attend the service. We had only come
to see if the mission matched the model we were building
for Em's 4th grade history project, but the lure of
nearly free coffee and donuts
on a drizzly morning drew us in. The fellow sitting next
to me said he had been stationed at nearby Fort Ord in 1941-42,
before shipping out to fight in North Africa, Messina, Anzio and
points beyond.
"We were the first to Berchesgarten, too. I know in their movie,
they say the 101st Airborne got their first, but we beat them by
two days!"
On V-J Day, he was on a bus working its way through southern Minnesota
towards his fiancee (the woman sitting on his left this morning),
but in every town, celebrating crowds blocked the bus' progress.
He didn't reach home until well after midnight and couldn't see
her until the next day.
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