Tag Archives: united states of america

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO YOU ALL !

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
04 Jul

WOW! That 365 days sure shoots by faster than a Scud missile, here we are on the 4th, its still in the AM and First off I want to thank ALL service Men and Women that have served and/or still are serving, its at this time we say thanks to you ALL and if you see a Army, Navy Air Force Soldier, shake their hand and thank them, it goes a long way and to be honest, really shows that you do care, as they do way more than you will ever comprehend.

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Today I shall be celebrating with friends that were originally across the pond and yes, just like me a Redcoat- but, if it wasnt for 1776, then I would not be here, I grew up on the East side of Great Britain and was introduced to the American lifestlye through the USAF bases that were strewn all over East Anglia.

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Originally based here in WW2, and still a few bases there today, I regularly attended the air shows and was taken in by the American way of life and fell in love with that lifestyle and here I am today , living in Southern California and feeling how Lucky I am to have the Freedom to do what I do and of course all my friends over here too.

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So, I raise my Glass to the United States Of America and celebrate this day and will do Every year and hope that you do too, fly the flag, show your passion.

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Have fun today and watch the fireworks tonight, we shall be making our presence known for sure.

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Happy 241 years and counting, until next year, be safe and have fun with your life.

uncle sam2

 
Here are our fireworks at La Mirada.

Memorial day

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
26 May

 It is memorial day today, I wanted to just send a big thank you to MY Grandad Hall, as a kid I only really knew him as Grandad, but that guy is one of my heroes for sure.

Living in Enfield in North London, My mums side of the family were in the thick of world war 2 and Grandad was in the Artillery. He was one of those brave men that were operating the 40mm Bofor Anti Aircraft Gun, firing at the bombers as they were dropping bombs on them and the rest of London.

My dad’s side were from East London and true Cockneys and also had some terrible bombings but they were evacuated to the south coast for safety.

Grandad Hall was A very brave man- and if it was not for the likes of him and many others, I would not be here thats for certain.

 

 

This was a hard and grueling task, as these shells were heavy and you had to be fast, my Grandad  suffered for many years with a leg injury from a shell and never moaned about it, I just wanted to send a big hello to my Grandad Hall and everyone out there and take this day as HIS day for me.

I can’t  take back time, as I wanted to ask him so many questions, but he passed when I was just a young lad and never even dared ask about the war back then, but he was such a great guy, kept himself to himself and it was not until i was older that i realised what he did in ww2 to help protect the country.

 

 

He used the Big search lights like you see on 20th centurt Fox openings to spot the plane and also the 40mm Bofar to fire Flak up at the bombers, something that must of been so  frigging scary at that time, but- it had to be done and, as Sir Winston Churchil once said. ” We shall never surrender”

This is what he had to use everytime in the Blitz.

 

I am so proud of My grandad, he was a quiet guy to be honest and never talked about the war, he was someone I always looked up too and respected.

 Today is a special day and I wanted to share just a little of my family history to you all out there, many of you had family in the services in ww2 doing their bit to make a future for us and I feel humbled on this day to be here, as it was the likes of Grandad hall that made sure that I would have a safe life.

Thank you Grandad, I love you.