GaryOsberg.com

Dad served in the Pacific during World War II. Like a lot of veterans, he did not talk about it very much. After he died I found a notebook that he had written in, beginning with,
“I have a closet full of regrets”. It was an unusual collection of thoughts, ending with a reference to December 13, 1983, the day that he finally decided to quit drinking. On that final page he also noted, “I am no big believer that battle fatigue was the cause of my drinking, but there were the 2 ½ months at Okinawa that I do not care to talk about. It was so unreal, like bad television”. The battle of Okinawa proved to be the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War. A total of 219,000 persons lost their lives in that one battle. 12,000 of our troops died and 36,000 were wounded.

On Tuesday, a coffee shop buddy and I donated a framed print of the U.S. Navy painting that is hanging in the Committal Hall at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery north of Little Falls. We donated it to the American Legion Post 328 in St. Joseph. My buddy Phil’s father served on the destroyer USS Converse in the Pacific during the war and my dad served on the USS Vammen, a destroyer escort. The limited edition print is presented in honor of Norman P. Ringstrom and William E. Osberg and all other Navy Veterans.

Consider this a formal invitation to the installation and ceremony for the Coast Guard painting (painting 3 of 5) which will be unveiled and permanently displayed along with the Army and Navy paintings in the Committal Hall at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery on Saturday, February 6th at 2 p.m. (7 miles north of Little Falls on Minnesota Highway 115, adjacent to Camp Ripley). The artist Charles Gilbert Kapsner will be there to share the story of all that is depicted in the painting.

The dedication is open to the public and will be followed by a 3 p.m. reception at the American Legion in Little Falls. Details on the project are at www.vetsart.org

The APHC show this week is a live broadcast from The Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul. The guest host Chris Thile will be filling in for Garrison. It’s a show chock full of writing talent, from pop songsmith and pianist Ben Folds, folk-rock troubadour Brandi Carlile, plus comedian and actor Ed Helms. Sarah Jarosz sings a little bluegrass and plays her impressive array of stringed instruments. The host and his fellow Punch Brothers provide string quintet fireworks. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors will bring us up to date on the goings on in Iowa and New Hampshire. Enjoy the show.

“Only our individual faith in freedom can keep us free”. General Dwight Eisenhower