"Gibbon's Secrets" - from the Epilogue

I did join the Navy in 1951, during the Korean Crises, completing my pledged "secret" to my pen pal of World War II, Dale Pitke.  I served as an Aviation Storekeeper Petty Officer and saw duty aboard the aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Valley Forge, completing my four years in March 1955.

Wally Buchanan found out where I was living and gave me a surprise visit.  We talked over old times, growing up in Gibbon, and I showed him the picture of our third-grade class dress-up day.  I remembered most of the individuals in the picture but Wally remembered all of them and wrote their names on the back of my framed picture.  That picture is the one I used on the front cover of this book.

Before starting to write this story I visited a boyhood friend who still lives in Gibbon, Duncan McGregor.  We talked during lunch about our times growing up in Gibbon.  Duncan supplied me with actual programs from the grade school operettas and plays that we were a part of.  (They are included in this story)  We drove around Gibbon, even to the North Side Park, and reminisced about the "Good Old Days".  We did not however, step inside of Mr. Ross's Barn... (It is long gone.)