Memorial Day 2016: Dixie and Sammy Davis Fireside

 Manteca put on some great Memorial Day celebrations

Sammy and Dixie are on the right (this is not from last night.)

I am having difficulty writing this blog, because there is no way sometimes to express things that touch the heart.  I had the privilege to hear the story of Sammy Davis and his wife.  They were both widowed before finding each other.  Sammy is a Medal of Honor winner.  The story presented in Forrest Gump of rescuing your buddies was basically his story.  The President Johnson award ceremony was his story, and the scene presented was Tom Hanks face on his body.  The words from President Johnson in the movie Forrest Gump were the words the president said about Sammie Davis when he was presented the Medal of Honor.  He was in the artillery, not the infantry, and he was wounded more severely than Forrest Gump.  He also had to cross a river to get to his friends who were wounded.
They started the evening showing the You Tube video, "Sammy Davis, Medal of Honor, Vietnam."  There are a couple of other movies on You Tube: 

Buzzed Into American Hero Sgt. Sammy L. Davis at Heritage Hill
Sammy L. Davis

Dixie was the first speaker, and told of her history, losing her husband, and then making a connection with Sammy Davis.  They were friends previous to their spouses both dying from cancer.  She also tells the story of Sammy's conversion to the gospel, and it was very touching.  They are a cute couple and it was fun to observe their interaction.
Sammy then told the story of his earning the Medal of Honor in much more depth.  He basically says he didn't feel like a hero.  "I was just doing my job."  The story was very touching, but also very personal.  After saving his three buddies, Davis thought his work was done, but things happened to let him know he had more work to do.  Only after this did he have enough energy to get to the shore of the river and get out of the water.
He also told the story of learning to play the harmonica during the war, and always playing the song "Shenandoah" for his Sergeant.  He played this for us.  It was very moving.
I was emotionally touched by this veteran.  He is still out there making himself available for other veterans, lifting them up and being a listening voice.  He is also still effected by things that happened so many years ago.  He indicated he only sleeps a couple hours at a time, gets up and makes sure everything is OK before going back to bed.

Photographic Book Review: 100 Greatest Photographs to Ever Appear in Arizona Highways Magazine

100 Greatest Photographs to Ever Appear in Arizona Highways Magazine, Arizona Highways, book division Arizona Highways Magazine, Phoenix, Arizona, 2013.

Arizona Highways Magazine began publication in 1925.  This book was published in 2013 so it represents 88 years of monthly magazines.  That means tens of thousands of pictures over the years.  This book has tried to pull together the 100 greatest in chronological order.  It even has an Ansel Adams photograph of Oatman showing the mining operation with the mountains behind.  

Over the years, the most commonly photographed location is Monument Valley, which is shared between Arizona and Utah.  Of course there are also a significant number of pictures of Grand Canyon.  There are lots of photographs of Native Americans, cowboys and horses.  Some photographs show the night sky.  There are those with different shapes and those showing contrast--plants in front of lakes, the lone fauna in front of the desert.  There really is a very good representation of photographers and Arizona.  This book is worth reviewing, and is a motivation to get the magazine.  

I have not shared any photographs as they are for sure copyrighted.