A weekend with history...

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to San Diego to visit Mrs. Viola, an old friend of my grandparents. She'll be 100 in January, and she has planned for several years to fly me out for her 100th birthday. Since I won't be here in January, I went out a little early.

I spent the weekend listening to her tell stories about the past. She was a nurse anesthetist during WWII and landed on the Utah Beach one day after D-Day (see pic below!). She is a great, detailed story-teller and remembers almost all about her experiences in Europe. She also saves everything, so she has pictures, newspaper clippings, even her old uniforms - very interesting.

Here are a few pictures:

Landing on Utah Beach one day after D-day.

Mrs. Viola and her brother were both in the war. This is the actual flag that hung in her parent's home while they were gone. Because Viola was a commissioned officer, she outranked her brother. Their mother disapproved of this and would tell Viola that the top star was her brother's and hers was the bottom.

Showing off her and her brother's medals and insignia.

Enjoying our short time.