So at 16, he lied about his age to the recruiter and joined the Iowa National Guard. As tensions flared over seas, he knew he had to enlist. He joined the Navy and was in boot camp being trained in ground warfare, watching the old movies from WWI on mustard gas and trench warfare. (He quickly decided maybe he didn't want to be calvary, after all.) He did get a bit of a surprise one day when he was pulled out of line to see the commanding officer, who was not too happy that Clif was A.W.O.L. from the Iowa National Guard! He had completely overlooked this small detail in his fierce desire to serve.

Clif also told us about about his PBY Catalina aircraft going down in the Pacific off Hawaii in the early part of 1941. While on patrol, his amphibious plane with a crew of 9 aboard sprung an oil leak and they had to set down in open water. Clif fixed the leak and they radio'd for help. They didn't have enough engine oil to get airborne again, but the plane was otherwise okay and floating on the water. A passing squad of PBYs on the way from San Diego to Pearl Harbor answered their distress call and notified the base to send out rescue. They were in the water for three days before a US destroyer showed up on the horizon. They were over 700 miles from shore. They offloaded some of the crew onto the destroyer, but there was no reason to abandon a perfectly good plane. Clif used gun cleaning oil from the destroyer to refill the oil tank. The ship's skipper then pulled up behind the downed plane and used it's wake to give the plane enough of a push to get it airborne and they returned safely to Oahu.

Despite these early hiccups, Clif went on to serve throughout World War II. On the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was stationed with his PBY aircraft crew at Kanehoe Bay. He related that he spent much of the war away from home. Ginnie said he came back once for a month or so, but otherwise was in battle zones for over 5 years as the fighting raged. He reenlisted in the middle of the war and served 8 full years.

Although we really enjoyed hearing Clif's stories, the purpose of our visit was to speak to Clif and Ginnie about the upcoming Vet's Day parade in November. At the last meeting, Dana was told that the Survivors here feel it will most likely be their last Veteran's Day parade as many of them are in poor health and all are over 80.






Dana and I would like our local Survivors to really have the chance to enjoy this last parade with no concerns for logistics or driving and most importantly, be able to have this experience with friends they haven't seen in months or years because they have been unable to attend meetings or visit them at the nursing home. Several of the Survivors cannot drive anymore. With the blessing of Clif and Ginnie, who do most of the logistics for them to attend parades, we're speaking to several local sources to see if we can secure a comfortable, open air vehicle(s) for them and their spouses (about 20 total) as well as transport to and from the parade for those who can't drive. We'll keep you all posted on our progress.

Today is the 65th Anniversary of D-day, the allied landing on the beach at Normandy, France that was the beginning of the end for the Nazi's iron grip over Europe and in fact, the whole of WWII. Much was done and said to mark the anniversary by world leaders and the public alike.

Especially striking in NPR's coverage was the story of an American woman living in Paris during the war who helped smuggle 60 downed aviators out of Nazi-occupied France. It almost cost her life in a Nazi death camp, but she always told her son that these continued acts of heroism were simply her duty as an American.

"All Things Considered, June 6, 2009 · As President Obama commemorates the sacrifices made by American troops on the D-Day beaches, supporters of another American hero who helped to liberate France are calling for her role to be recognized. Virginia D'Albert Lake stayed on in France during the German occupation, joined the resistance and helped to rescue more than 60 Allied airmen."

Here's to you, Virginia and to all those who, although not wearing the uniform, still choose to serve.

A good friend of mine, Debbie Reiter, mother of Mountain View Lutheran School 4th Grader Bobby Reiter, asked me to bring Metal of Honor over to the school on Monday, June 1st. The 4th and 5th grade class was full of questions about the bike, the attack and World War II. One young man was certain that one of the Survivors pictured on Metal's trailer looked exactly like his grandfather.



As my schedule allows,I hope that I can bring Metal to more schools so kids of all ages can experience this rolling history lesson and maybe have more appreciation for the veterans in their own families. You can request an appearance at your school or event.

Speaking of events, I have plans to ride Metal of Honor for the last leg of The Honor Run from San Marcos, CA to Oakley Sunglasses Headquarters in Foothill Ranch, CA for the big finale party. On the way there, the riders will be greeted by 1,000 American flags being flown along I-5 near Camp Pendleton. Dave Barr (the organizer of the Honor Run), and the 10,000 other riders expected to join him during the run, are raising money to care for our wounded veteran's needs.

I had heard about the run and was anxious to bring Metal up to Mesquite, where they will overnight on day 7 of the 9-day run. Then I saw the note on the ad that no more vendors were being accepted. Eariler this week, out of the blue, I got a call from one of the organizers who had heard about the bike through John Finn's people inviting me to join the run in Mesquite and appear with John at the finale party (if John's health allows). I am thrilled to be part of such a worthwhile cause. Watch the blog for more info as the date gets closer.

Columnist Diane Bell whose column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays in the San Diego Union-Tribune did a short feature on Metal of Honor's meeting with World War II Hero John Finn on 5-23-09. The story appears on page B5.

A rolling tribute

Yesterday, WWII Medal of Honor recipient John Finn saw a different kind of “metal of honor.” This one, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle hand-engraved with WWII images, is the work of Desert Storm veteran, Dana Harbaugh, 47, a Las Vegas photographer who is preparing a photo book about Pearl Harbor survivors.

Harbaugh customized the motorcycle, calling it the “Remember Pearl Harbor Tribute Motorcycle,” to remind youth of sacrifices made by our military.

He took the newly completed bike yesterday to Finn's Campo home to show him its engravings, which include Finn's image. “I wanted to get his approval,” the author said.

He got it. Finn autographed the bike, which will be at the Veterans Memorial Museum in Balboa Park from 10 to 2 p.m. today and Sunday. It also will be at the Mount Soledad Veterans Memorial service on Monday.