"One man left to tell the story..."

Yesterday when I was "on air" with Cao and Terry, I mentioned the fact that my father had stood at the foot of Ens. George Gay's bed, while Ens. Gay debriefed Dad's C.O. Mr. Gay was the sole survivor of Torpedo Squadron 8, at the Battle of Midway.

I couldn't remember the Ensign's squadron at the time, but that was fortunate. Very soon after I got off the air, I recieved an e-mail which gave me the needed info, and continued:

I first heard of him, from all places- In a poem on the wall of the Tribune Tower- while replacing the decking of one of the towers. Let me see if I can dig it up.

How delightful! I e-mailed our listener back and asked him to send me a copy of that poem if he had the time and opportunity. Today, my friend L.S. Mope, Imperial Liaison Officer, Imperial Pork Purveyor, and Master Infidel, has dug up a copy with the assistance of John Dewey of the Tribune Properties.

My deepest gratitude goes out to both men, and I reproduce it here in its entirety:

Victory at Midway

One man left to tell the story
Of Torpedo Squadron Eight
Splendid story of the glory
Of a rendezvous with fate.

Fifteen planes with thirty heroes!
(Twenty-nine were doomed to die.)
Plunging though a cloud of Zeros
Down the danger-ridden sky.

Twenty-nine, with proud devotion,
Ere the fatal flight was done
Vanished in the hungry ocean -
But the victory was won!

One man left to tell the story
Of a rendezvous with fate -
Tell the story of the glory
Of Torpedo Squadron Eight.

- Delos Avery

I don't know the circumstances which led to this poem being chiseled into the walls of the Tribune Tower - and I'm assuming it's this Tribune Tower in Chicago - but I am so glad that it was.

What have we become today, that there are no verses, no monuments, no visible honor given to the many, many heroes and heroines who so selflessly serve this country today?

Thank you, L. S. Mope, for putting another facet on the diamonds in my Father's memory!