2018

My father (Homer Lee Moore) is an American hero.  He has been a good husband - married to Nyla Maxine Moore (1924-2013) for 67 years - good father, good neighbor, good citizen and a decorated veteran of World War II.  After Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941, Dad joined the U.S. Navy and was assigned to the U.S.S. Maryland (BB46) battleship.  He saw action in the Pacific Theater of Operations from 1942 to 1945 where he served as a gunners mate and was awarded a Silver Star for gallantry and four Bronze Stars for heroic actions during battles with an enemy of the United States of America.  

Fred R. Vreeken related the following story in his 1988 book (Exploits of the "Mary Maru"): [Dad was engaging the Japanese plane during this battle.]

(November 29, 1944) "... Japanese Kamikaze screamed downwards out of the clouds in its vertical descent, this time to make his kill!  Our anti-aircraft batteries pounded lead into the sky as fast as guns could be loaded.  The intensity of firing guns increased, spewing streaming tracers towards the rapidly decending [sic] target.  The kamikaze roared closer!  It headed straight for our position!  It was going to hit!  I ran into the magazine with my mate, slamming the steel door behind me!  The deadly Kamikaze was only moments away from impact!  Our gun crew's fingers froze to their triggers, hoping to blast it out of the sky before impact!  Suddenly the left wing ripped away, as it veered sharply left, crashing with great impact in a ball of flame a few feet away between 16 inch gun turrets one and two.  It's armor piercing bomb crashed through two decks, and exploded five feet from my locker, penetrating the four inch steel armored deck.  All those who were trapped in the 'F' Division compartment as I had been moments before, were blown into oblivian [sic]!  Not one survived!"

On April 26, my sister Linda and I celebrated Dad's 95th birthday with him in Kingman, Arizona and then I took him to the casino to play some video poker.

(April 7, 2018) - Facebook post with photo from Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan from our daughter-in-law Stacie Moore on the occasion of our son Evan's 35th birthday.

"Evan's happy place.  Happy Birthday to my husband and best friend.  I promise this year will be filled with more of all the things you love, and I might even let you sleep in every now and then.  Love you forever."

ASGE Award 2018