During WWIl , my father, Paul V Parkosewich, was a Bombardier/Navigator in a B-26 Martin Maurader. He finished 47 bombing missions and earned the rank of Warrent Officer. With each mission , he witnessed other B 26s being shot down and and feared that his plane Skeeter would be next. He expressed this fear to a Cathloic Priest who promptly gave him a silver dollar. "You must return this to me when you have completed all your missions." the priest said. This gesture gave my father hope .
Just before Andre was to leave for SEA, my father went next door and gave him a Silver Dollar. "You need to return this when you come home." my father said.
According to a first hand Vietnamese witness, Nguyen Van Dong, among other things, a key chain attached to a silver dollar was removed from one of the bodies of the Gombey 19 crash.
In a way, this silver dollar still gives us hope that we will one day see Andre again.
|
