Finally , got my man-cave put together . So rather than blog, I watched old movies as I cleaned it up. My plaques are up, shadow box mounted-I’m still hunting for a place to put the table I got from my squadron, a long time ago in a galaxy far away-and also some of my precious souvenirs from the Japanese are in place. One of which I really treasure-it is a gift from Saburo Sakai. I had the privilege of meeting him several times in 2000. Sadly that same year, he passed away right after a Navy dinner we hosted, and had invited him to as an honored guest. As fate would have it- I got to be the American Naval Officer who delivered a message of memoriam at his funeral and subsequent public memorial service. It was one of several things I found as I unpacked the last “office” box. I’m glad it survived the move intact.
The gift is two things actually-a framed picture of his helmet. (It can be seen in the link). And a paper with this inscription on it:
It means : Never give up!
Good words-his words.
Read his book sometime. That picture now hangs proudly in my new “study”.
Domo arigatou, Sakai-sama.