Today's post went through a bit of an evolution - it was originally going to contain a bunch of Knott's Berry Farm photos from Lou Perry and Sue B., with a brief tribute to Lou at the end. But then Sue sent me a series of photos from Lou's time in the Army (1948 to 1954). These were so great, and I am wanted to do a tribute to our Veteran's anyway, so what better way than to salute Lou, and by proxy, all of the men and women who have served our country?
Using my incredible powers of deduction, I have concluded that Lou was on board a ship in this photo! Unless the buildings in Korea typically have life preservers on them. Hey, I don't get out much, maybe that's the case! He looks like a pretty cool customer here. I told Sue that he looks like a tough guy in a movie who would play some poker, drink some whisky, and punch somebody in the face!
Lou's on the horn to HQ! I guess there's just something about a military work space, this reminds me of my Dad's Navy office. Sue says that Lou was "Chief Troop Movement Specialist", headquartered in Yokohama (Japan).
"Prison Office"? Sounds like my kind of place. Lou and a buddy are goofing around on the steps of this building. I hope Lou knocked before entering. Sue found some more info about Lou's service: "He went in the army in 1948; Corporal Louis F Perry was inducted February 19, 1951, during the Korean War; then transferred to the Army reserves in 1953. He should’ve made a career out of it; he was an excellent leader - very organized and everyone loved him". I believe it!
I wonder if this was taken "stateside"? I have no idea of course, but it could be the Midwest for all I know. Any idea what that vehicle is?
You don't want to mess with this fella! Here's Lou walking down a street in Yokohama. I would imagine that this street has changed so much that it is unrecognizable.
Just another day on the job for Lou Perry!
I assume that this is Yokohama again, with Lou and another friend.
And finally, here's Lou today, in front of a memorial to Korean War vets in Illinois. He's proud of his time in the service, and who can blame him. I'm glad he's still with us at the age of 91 - he's lucky to have Sue as his loving daughter.
THANK YOU to Lou Perry and to all servicemen and women!
These photos are all wonderful. In the second to last photo, there is a gentleman in the background, wearing traditional Japanese "clog" shoes. I would love to see "then and now" comparisons of the street shots, but I know that really wouldn't be possible.
ReplyDeleteSue, did your father have red hair? I'm just guessing, but it kind of looks to me like he might have, from the way his hair photographs on the black and white film.
Yes, thank you to our servicemen and women, and our veterans....thank you, Lou! And thank you, Sue (and Major, too!), for sharing these pics with us!
Major: thanks for this post - it’s very important to salute and thank these great , brave Americans. Sue - and thank you for sharing them with us. And most importantly, THANK YOU LOU AND ALL OUR VETERANS!!
ReplyDeleteNot only was he a great leader, but also an artist with the camera! Thank you Lou for your service and your photos! And that you Sue for sharing a little bit of your family with us!
ReplyDeleteWow, these are some stunning pictures! It's great to see what Lou looks like today, too! Thank you so much to Lou, Chuck, and all veterans - we truly owe a great debt to you.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lou for your service! Thank you Sue for the wonderful photos that you share. Major thank you for reminding us of the importance of today.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful and heartwarming post! Yes today we honor veterans that are here and those we have lost like my dad that served overseas in World War 2 and my brother who served in the navy. Thank you to all!!
ReplyDeleteLove you Sue and love you Mr Perry ( what I have called him since childhood)
Major-
ReplyDeleteYes, these images remind me of photos of my dad from WWII - just from a different locale. The second image tells us how important Lou was - 'two telephones, no waiting-!' And based on the position of the pages on his Success Desk Calendar, this image is probably from around June-July.
Thanks to Lou and Sue for sharing these. And thanks to all the fine men and women who serve our country: happy Veterans Day; or for those with long memories... Armistice Day.
Thank you too, Major.
Sue, It amazes me how both of us being born the same year how our lives parallel in some ways. My father also served in the Korean War and lived in the Tokyo-Yokomama area around the same time your father was there. Thanks for sharing your photos of your father with us. It struck up memories of my own father showing me photos of his time in the Korean War and living in Japan. Thanks for sharing these. It means a lot.
ReplyDeleteThank you to the veterans who served our country, both dead and alive.
Good to see you Lou, and you are looking good. My Dad was born about 10 years before you, but like Nanook, the photos of you back then remind me of him from WWII. Seems like those photos and memories get more important as one gets older.
ReplyDeleteMy thanks to you Lou, my Dad, Nanook's Dad and all the men and women that saddled up when the need arouse.
Great post Major. Thanks to you for your time and effort bringing these photos and memories to us, especially now.
Thank you, Lou, for your service. And thank you to all who serve or served.
ReplyDeleteThank you Major and Sue,
zach
In that first photo, behind that steel stare, Lou is thinking "I bet if I were taking this photo, I would be grinning instead." And a star is born. Heck, Lou still looks pretty good, and he should be proud of his service to his country Thanks Lou! And thanks to all who serve and have served. Now I got a hankerin for Lou and Sue's Knotts post. Thanks Major.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Lou and all the veterans who served in all the wars. Like others have said, these photos remind me of the images of my Dad and his brothers in their various services in WWII. There's a reason they were called the Greatest Generation, and we will never see their like again.
ReplyDeleteMajor, an excellent post for the holiday, thanks to Lou and Sue for sharing the photos.
JG
I'm glad you all appreciated seeing these photos of Lou Perry! I hope Sue B. shows today's post to him the next time she visits (which will be soon I'm sure).
ReplyDeleteLou, these a are a real treasure!
ReplyDeleteIt's always great to see pictures of G.I.s doing their thing away from the battlefield. Yes, the documentaries tend to show "action" footage, partly because it's visually exciting and partly because there's more available footage because that's where the combat photographers go. Combat and lines and arrows advancing on a map are concepts that the civilian populace understands easily.
But the stuff that happens in the background, the logistics of the thing, is a lot harder to grasp, but no less - and possibly more - important. I work with the the modern-day organizations that do what Lou used to do. The planning and coordination effort required to get the bullets, beans, bombs, and boys where they need to be when they need to be there is monumental, and if you don't do it well, you can't win. You lose the logistics fight, and you lose the fight.
"Amateurs study tactics. Professionals study logistics."
I'd like to give a special thanks to our resident veterans like Lou and J.C.; our associate veterans like the Major's, DrGoat's, Ken's, Nanook's, JG's, and my wife's dads as well as my own; JG's uncles; and the host of other GDB regulars and visitors whose personal or family service is unknown to to me but just as valid, just as important, and just as honored. Thank you all.
Major, yes, I'll be seeing my dad tomorrow morning (am working today) and will share all of these wonderful comments with him. I appreciate everyone's kind words, and I know he will, too! (I celebrated Veteran's Day with him, last Wednesday, as that's when a "parade" came to his home...it was a beautiful, warm day and we had a great time.)
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic! My dad had black hair (though some of these pictures do make his hair look lighter, like you mentioned); my mom was the redhead.
Ken, if you wish to give me your dad's full name and more details about his time in Tokyo and the Korean war, I'll gladly ask my dad if he knew him. You never know! Do you have any pictures of him, that I could show my dad? He has an excellent memory regarding the long-ago past - plus he has a box of pictures from when he was there, that I still need to look through. (Maybe email the Major with your info, and he can forward it to me??)
Thank you, again, for all your wonderful comments; and, most importantly, THANK YOU to all the men and women who have served, and are serving, in our country's armed forces!
Sue
A special Thank You for your service Lou. And to all you veterans out there. I lost my WWII veteran parents this year. They, and I, were proud of their service. KS
ReplyDeleteLou I salute you, my dad (WWII), and all vets today!
ReplyDeleteThank you Sue for sharing and thank you Major for putting together this post. I’m thinking of my grandparents and all other veterans today. I can tell Lou was all-business and hardworking there but can also see his fun side in these photos. It’s so wonderful to know of the playful Disneyland-loving side to someone when others may think of those in the military as serious and “no-nonsense”.
ReplyDeleteWow! Wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing these Sue and thank you to your Dad for his service. 91 years young!!! Good for him :)
ReplyDeleteThanks to Lou for his service to our country. Thanks to Major for sharing these. Knott's can wait (Gov Newsome thinks so) for another day.
ReplyDeleteThese photos are wonderful, thanks Lou and Sue for sharing! And thanks to Lou for his service. What a great post and tribute to read today.
ReplyDeleteSue, My dad's name was Henry Martinez, but he was in the Air Force so I'm not sure if they cross over with Army personnel. Unfortunately my dad's photos of his time in Tokyo-Yokohama are with my sister now. Not that it's unfortunate, but unfortunate for your request. My father passed away 25 years ago, but up until the end he'd always attend the reunions of his unit with my mother whatever state the reunions were held. He loved that.
ReplyDeleteAgain, thank you so much for sharing. It definitely touched my heart to know both our fathers served during the Korean War and possibly in the same area.
KS, I'm so sorry to hear you lost your parents, this past year. It's been a rough year for everyone, but it's especially hard to lose a parent, let alone two. My heart (and a hug) goes out to you.
ReplyDeleteKen, you're probably right that our dads, being in different military branches, would probably not have known each other. But I bet they crossed paths, once or twice. (It's a small world, you know.) Maybe I'll find some Yokohama photos to scan and send to our Major, to post in the future? A side trip to Japan might be fun on a future Saturday, if Major wants to take us there.
Thank you, again, everyone, for your nice comments! Lou will be very happy to read these. You always bring a smile to his face (and sometimes tears of happiness, too).
Sue
I feel funny commenting on other people’s comments when they are mostly praise for Lou and our other servicemen and servicewomen. “I agree!”. “Hear hear!”. “Amen!”. “Ditto!”. But I certainly agree with the sentiment. KS, I’m so sorry for your loss; but you are lucky to have had them with you for so long. I’m sure you miss them terribly.
ReplyDeleteMajor and Sue. Thank you for those comments. Yes, I was fortunate to have them with me for over 69 years. They passed (at 98 and 96) within 6 weeks of each other. For some reason, they joined the NB Legion only two years ago and got a lot of attention which made them very happy. KS
ReplyDelete@KS, sorry for your loss. May their memories be a blessing for you, and all who knew them.
ReplyDeleteJG
Thanks JG. Much appreciated on this rainy day. KS
ReplyDelete