Junction71 said:

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If you remember the original movie "Midway" there was 1 survivor of Torpedo Squadron 8--the first squadron to go in against the Japanese ships. George Gay was the survivor and he was an A&M grad. He was depicted in the movie floating in the Pacific with a ringside seat of the action all around him. He wrote a book entitled "Sole Survivor" and I looked for it on used book sites for years. And then 1 day about 5 years ago I found the book on ABE books on-line. I immediately ordered and received the book. The book was in mint condition and signed by George Gay!

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That is awesome!

In the 2019 Chinese remake of "Midway", two Waco boys are pictured.

• George Gay is a named character with a speaking part.
• Doris Miller is shown receiving the Navy Cross from Admiral Nimitz.

My dad - the biggest Waco cheerleader ever - talked about George Gay enough that I knew he was from Waco. But, my dad raved about Doris Miller. He was a bona fide hometown hero.

As an adult, I was blown away when I discovered that George Gay was an Aggie.

Quote:

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As an adult, I was blown away when I discovered that George Gay was an Aggie.

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Same.

I was 8 when my Dad took me to see the original version of Midway back in '76. It was a movie that I fell in love with due to my fascination with WWII in general and warbirds in particular. I thought all of those guys were heroes in the same way that I would look at characters like Luke Skywalker a year later, including George Gay.

Now my memory is not always what it used to be, but I want to say that I was walking in the MSC one day as a student when I saw George Gay's name on a plaque or display of some sort. Wherever I first encountered that, I just remember being awestruck. That fellow (who was named in his scenes floating in the water unlike the 2019 remake) was a fellow Aggie. Wow.

Not a book rec, but I'll piggyback since I couldn't find an older thread.

Finally visited the Lexington in Corpus this weekend.

I had seen several of yall suggest in the past, but I was just picturing something like the Battleship Texas. Fortunately, the friends I was with Saturday were eager to check it out and I'm glad we did. I had no idea the ship was loaded with aircraft, and accessible exhibits. Very cool, and very worthwhile. Someone who's more of a WW2 buff than I am could probably spend a full day or two there.

Just finished the Atkinson trilogy:

• 1. An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 Book
• 2. The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 Book
• 3. The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 Book

These books are about the Army in Europe. It picks up just before Torch and ends abruptly at the end of the war. Watching how our Army matured and the hero's evolved is just great reading.

I love the way he creates fully formed characters from copies of letters from them, to them, about them; archives, copies of orders, interviews...his research is meticulous. He also showed new sides to people that history has potrayed a very certain way...only to find out that this "historical" version of that man is really only about 25% of the guys true nature.

His portrayals of the French just get downright comical; but all based on their own writings and actions. And the Brits...by virtue of their own letters; well, you get to understand why folks like Patton and Bradley couldn't stand them.