This is about a dear friend of mine, Alber Vierra, who passed away recently at the age of 95. We met at our mailbox cluster some 9 years ago. I saw his WWII baseball cap and started chatting him up. He invited me over for coffee and a cigar. You can’t say no to a vet of that era, right? That’s how I got hooked on Swisher Sweets😊
Having read so many books, and seen so many documentaries, I thought I knew a lot about that war, but I learned I didn’t/don’t know Jack shit.
In 2018 he told me that after some 72 years he had not received the medals he’d earned in the war. I contacted our local Congressman who happened to be part of some veteran’s national archives. Sorry, my memories’ not so good, but this picture is of him showing me the medals he’d gotten due to that contact.
Got a BIG hug from him. Brought tears to the eyes of this hardened old man. Heard the expression “Cussing like a sailor”? He was in the Navy. None of his jokes made ME blush, and I’m 81 going on 13. LOL!!! Often, on his porch, he’d say, “come on sucker just die”. He was in so much pain. Claimed he didn’t want to make it past 95.
I mean, I’m happy he got his wish, but I miss him so. PLEASE watch this video, to honor this vet. And all vets, but especially this good man. It’s over 30 minutes, but I assure you it’s worth the time. At one point he talks about smuggling some “girls” aboard ship, but to me he called them skirts.
Towards the end, he was so hard of hearing we couldn’t converse. I bought a couple walkie talkies. He knew how to use those! Awesome!!! We talked again!
In the video he talks about an LST. Long Slow Targets used to drop tanks and Marines onshore. I bought him a model of one. He built it and displayed it in his dining room. WE thought it was the best model anyone ever built.
He often talked about a ’32 roadster he “modified” for some extra horsepower. Painted some yellow and white stripes on her. Pictures were black and white in ’32, so I used my imagination and built him a model that he kept on his nightstand. Brought tears to his eyes.
