I was prompted to ask this question by a historical question asked by another on YA. I once met several WW2 soldiers who had been in major battles, or had served during a time or been part of an event that literally changed the course of world history. The man I refer to was Fred Olivi, who was the co-pilot on Bock%26#039;s Car, the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, ending the war in Asia. He was very interesting to talk to (for about 45 minutes) and I got to meet his wife, who was a very nice and outgoing lady, also.
Anyone else who has had a similar experience...I would be very interested in hearing the story behind yours.
http://www.atomicarchive.com/Photos/Tini鈥?/a>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bockscar|||I have two.
My dad was a grad student during the Kent State debacle. He was teaching a class, and all the students saw militia marching past the window, and started talking. My dad told them to sit down, because the campus had been occupied by the national guard for a couple days. But then some kid noticed that this time the guns had bayonets. So my dad dismissed class, and started walking alongside the guards to the green where there was suppose to be a protest. The closer he got, the more chaotic, then he heard someone telling everyone to go home and that it was an illegal gathering. The students were getting rowdier, and my dad heard an order given to the soldiers to load their weapons. He left then, but when he was about half a block away, he looked back and saw gas canisters fired into the crowd. Then he saw someone throw one of the canisters back at the guard. He said the saddest part was that the national guard and the college students were about the same age, just on different sides.
The other fits the question better. My history professor once had drinks with Gordon G. Liddy (the guy who was arrested for the Nixon cover up). Two things worth telling.
1) When Liddy was a boy , he heard an Indian proverb that said %26quot;if you are afraid of something, cook it then eat it.%26quot; So when he was a boy, Liddy cook and ate a rat. (That shows you he%26#039;s hardcore)
2.) My professor went to meet him at the bar, and to be funny, he wore a Nixon campaign button inside his jacket. After he introduced himself, he flashed the button. Liddy, in turn flashed the butt of a gun hidden by his jacket. My teacher (not knowing when to keep his mouth shut) said, %26quot;doesn%26#039;t that violate your parole?%26quot; Liddy placed his hand on the butt of the gun and asked my teacher if he would like to make a citizens arrest. My teacher promptly asked liddy what he was drinking, and ordered the same.|||not sure if he had part to do with much of the event but my gramps was a jewish boy when the holocaust was occuring. im not sure either though whether it was towards the beginning or the end but he sure knows a lot about it and talks of it often. you can tell it had affected him deeply. i believe once he told a story of watching his sister and father being murdered in front of him. it was such a sad story and it made us all cry!|||Yeah, I got one for you. I went to college at Baylor University in 1978-1982 with a major in Environmental Science and Biology. The chairman of the Institute of Environmental Studies was Dr. Merle Alexander. His best friend at the time was Dr. Edward Teller (of the Manhattan Project). I met Dr. Teller several times, and he was very approachable and acted just like a normal academic. He was quite entertaining, with a dry sense of humor.|||As a young girl I briefly met JFK; but we didn%26#039;t have any kind of conversation.
In my 20s, my roommate%26#039;s father was Richard Helms, the head of the CIA when Allende was overthrown. He visited once and we had a very uncomfortable conversation. (I was against everything he did and was.)
