CDR John Bitterman fought on the Front line in the War On Drugs. Now, he is fighting for his Reputation. He has been praised by the Vice President of the United States, the Secretary of State, the American Ambassador to Colombia, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Commander of the Southern Command, and the Commandant of the U S Coast Guard, among others. He is on a Quest For Justice. Truth and Equity are on his side.
„The Responsibility of a Coast Guard Commanding Officer for the safety of the ship‘s crew is absolute „ said Vice Admiral Charles Wurster, Pacific Area Commander, at a press briefing for the Coast Guard‘s Integrated Support Command following the deaths of LT Jessica Hill and BM2 Steve Duque caused by the negligence of CAPT Doug Russell, CO; and CDR Jeffrey Jackson, CO; and LCDR James Dalitsch.
CDR John R. Bitterman was listening closely. That is one reason he chose not to go to sea on a Floating Coffin in Seattle, Washington. He pointed out some repairs needed to make his ship 💯% seaworthy. For this, among other things, he was given a Punitive Letter Of Loss Of Confidence. He was relieved on command. And his spotless record fatally tarnished. His 28 year career was over. ADM Ray told him that he was going to be THE FALL GUY.
This is an outrage. CDR Bitterman was not brought up on charges under the UCMJ. He was lynched administratively. This is a gross miscarriage. This can’t be. It must be reversed.
CDR Bitterman has commanded several Coast Guard High Endurance Law Enforcement Vessels. He also served with the Law Enforcement Team 8-G in Galveston, Texas, and in the Coast Guard’s Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was the Coast Guard’s Police Attaché in Bogota, Colombia.
For most of us, Colombia is just a place where bad things happen, and we hope it never reaches our neighborhood. We immediately associate it with Drugs, massacres, and political corruption. We think that Colombia supplies most of the cocaine and heroin that comes into the USA, but unless you are a part of the Hollywood Elites you cannot afford it.
Much of what we know about Colombia and the Drug Cartels comes from the movies. We are entertained by violence associated with the drug law enforcement efforts and the War on Drugs. We assume that Colombia has a Culture of Violence. We hope and pray that it never migrates North to the United States. We want to contain it there. So, we are happy to send people like CDR Bitterman to Colombia to contain it and to assure us that it will never make it to our Country.
We are happy to have men like CDR John Bitterman on the Wall that separates us from the horrors of the War on Drugs. He did his duty. He saved us for the unspeakable horrors of narco-trafficing violence; now he is asking us to help save his 28 year old career.
Truth and Equity are on his side. But, he needs more than that. He needs every right-thinking American who believes in Justice and Fairness to champion his cause. He needs you to read this book. It tells his story. Then, he needs you to get involved. Call or write your Representative in Washington. Ask them to put pressure of the U S Coast Guard to correct the wrong done to CDR Bitterman. Demand that they review and reconsider his case, correct the Record. Act in accordance with our Core Values, make America great again.
CDR John Bitterman fought on the Front line in the War On Drugs. Now, he is fighting for his Reputation. He has been praised by the Vice President of the United States, the Secretary of State, the American Ambassador to Colombia, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Commander of the Southern Command, and the Commandant of the U S Coast Guard, among others. He is on a Quest For Justice. Truth and Equity are on his side.
CDR Bitterman has commanded several Coast Guard High Endurance Law Enforcement Vessels. He also served with the Law Enforcement Team 8-G in Galveston, Texas, and in the Coast Guard’s Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was the Coast Guard’s Police Attaché in Bogota, Colombia.
For most of us, Colombia is just a place where bad things happen, and we hope it never reaches our neighborhood. We immediately associate it with Drugs, massacres, and political corruption. We think that Colombia supplies most of the cocaine and heroin that comes into the USA, but unless you are a part of the Hollywood Elites you cannot afford it.
Much of what we know about Colombia and the Drug Cartels comes from the movies. We are entertained by violence associated with the drug law enforcement efforts and the War on Drugs. We assume that Colombia has a Culture of Violence. We hope and pray that it never migrates North to the United States. We want to contain it there. So, we are happy to send people like CDR Bitterman to Colombia to contain it and to assure us that it will never make it to our Country.
We are happy to have men like CDR John Bitterman on the Wall that separates us from the horrors of the War on Drugs. He did his duty. He saved us for the unspeakable horrors of narco-trafficing violence; now he is asking us to help save his 28 year old career.
Truth and Equity are on his side. But, he needs more than that. He needs every right-thinking American who believes in Justice and Fairness to champion his cause. He needs you to read this book. It tells his story. Then, he needs you to get involved. Call or write your Representative in Washington. Ask them to put pressure of the U S Coast Guard to correct the wrong done to CDR Bitterman. Demand that they review and reconsider his case, correct the Record. Act in accordance with our Core Values, make America great again.
#justice #ucgc #uscg
This man does not slam-dunk a Basketball; and, he does not run through a Hole in the Defensive-Line with a Football.
He does not stand on stage or in front of a camera and recite trite Lines of Verbiage written by some drug-induced Degenerate intent on blurring the lines of distinction between the Genders in our Society.
He does not hide behind a disguise and burn the American Flag or deface Public Monuments that tell the History of America’s Founding.
He does not entertain you. He does not attempt to restrict you in the free exercise of your Rights of Free Speech, Press or Assembly.
He would never tell you what you can or cannot say, where you can or cannot go, who you can or cannot love, or what you can or cannot do in the privacy of your own home.
He would never pit you against each other simply to divide and control you.
Why or why not, you may ask. Because,
He is an Authentic American Hero;
A straight, white, male, military Officer;
A Christian, Father, Husband of one Wife;
An old-fashioned, hard-working, dedicated Coast Guard Officer who took an Oath 28 years ago to do his best to do his Duty to God and Country. And he has never broken that Oath.
For this, he has been slimed, slandered, and smeared by men and women of less noble character.
He has never broken Faith with his Superiors in the Chain-of-Command.
Yet, he has been falsely accused, robbed of a portion of his dignity, and stripped of his Mantle of Office.
He is on a Quest for Justice.
He asks only for a Fair Hearing.
He demands only Equal Justice.
He prays that those he has protected will come to his aide; make a phone call, write a Letter or type a Tweet to their elected Representatives in Washington, DC.
Demand Justice for Commander Bitterman!
#justice #ucgc #uscg
On 9/03/2020 His Grandfather left on The Great Adventure. In John's own words:
QUOTE:
Today
we say farewell to a true legend, my Grandfather John passed away today
at 102 years young. I ask that you take a moment to scroll through the
next few lines to understand the scope and scale of a truly wonderful
life and hero.
1918
I want to give everyone some perspective. The date is November 17th, 1918. Now, I want you to picture yourself in a world without cell phones. I know, I know, for many of you the panic is setting in, but please bare with me for a moment. There are no televisions, no computers, and more importantly no rush hour traffic. In short, many of the modern conveniences we enjoy today were just infants. A loaf of bread costs just $0.10, a tub of butter costs $0.58 and a dozen eggs costs about $0.57. The average middle class income family earns $1,500 a year. And grandpa John is opening his eyes for the first time as if to say hello to his parents Ernest and Neva Thompson in Lajara, CO.
On this day he will become the eldest of seven and is later followed by his brothers and sister: Ernest, Harry, Betty, Stanley, Thurman, and Chauncey Thompson. Just a week prior to his birth, world leaders were meeting in Versailles, France to sign a treaty ending World War I – the war to end all wars. Woodrow Wilson is president, the first delivery of messages by plane was launched by the U.S. Post Office connecting New York to Washington, DC. In March of that same year, Time Zones are officially established and daylight savings goes into effect. The Eiffel Tower is the world’s tallest structure until the construction of the Chrysler Building in New York city is completed in 1930. The most popular car on the road is the Model T costing a mere $500.00; Charlie Chaplin is the biggest movie star with his silent film persona, “the Tramp.”
Over the next 102 years, Grandpa John would encounter a plethora of firsts. Like he, the world was coming to life and more interconnected. Many things that we take for granted today were just coming of age. For example, Grandpa John is just 2-years old, but in that same year the 18th Amendment to the Constitution is enacted instituting prohibition; it isn’t repealed the enactment of the 21st Amendment in 1933. Imagine, for 13 years it is illegal to buy a drop of alcohol in the United States.
1920’s
In 1920, the U.S. Census showed the U.S. population had, for the first time, grown to 106 million people; today America’s population is estimated to be approximately 315 million people. In response to the 1920 census, Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1924 placing national quotas on Eastern and Southern European Nationalities curbing their immigration to the US. In 1922, the Reader’s Digest is founded; the Lincoln Memorial, located on the opposite end of the National Mall from the U.S. Capitol building, is dedicated; and Yankee Stadium is built. During that same decade, Time Magazine is published for the first time ever; Warner Brothers Pictures is incorporated; Radiovision is born; Charles Lindberg makes the first ever non-stop Transatlantic flight flying from Roosevelt, New York to Paris, France; and on October 29th, 1929 the Stock Market crashes starting the worst American depression in the nation’s history.
What is interesting is Grandpa John had some pretty amazing experiences that would shape his life. In 1928 , at the ripe old age of 10, grandpa John’s dad teaches him to drive a new 1928 Chevrolet 4-cylinder 1-ton truck on the baseball diamond in Sedalia. Later that year John drove his first truck when his father had a milk route hauling 10-gallon cans of milk from the Frink Creamery in Sedalia and the Brenden Creamery on South Broadway in Denver. In 1929, John drove his second truck when his dad bought a new 1929 Chevrolet 6-cylinder 1-ton truck. In 1931, grandpa John got his first car at the age of 12. Now, the windshield wipers didn’t work and he eventually wrecked the car when he ran into a lumber truck on a bridge while it was raining. Unfortunately, his dad would die of tuberculosis on May 5th, of that same year and grandpa John would stop going to school to start work to support the family.
1930’s
The world in the 1930’s was an interesting place. After the crash of the stock market, the world plunged into the great depression, the heartland of America become the great dust bowl due to over-farming, Jessie Owens won four gold medals at the Olympics in Germany, and Adolf Hitler rose to power ultimately threating global stability. Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected to president and between his fire side chats and the era of the New Deal, America slowly rises from near collapse. But the world is about to explode.
From 1937 – 1940 grandpa John worked as an auto mechanic and was employed by “Art” Gavin in Sedalia. In Art’s garage, he did general overhauling and repair work. He specialized in transmission and engine repairs. This lasted until 1940 when John began working for Carter Truck Lines transporting milk from Larkspur to Palmer Lake, Monument, Eastonville, Peyton, and Calahan. His day would start a 4:00 am and his milk deliveries would end at about 10:00am. After that he would drive to Canon City where he would haul coal for the remainder of the day. In the evening he would sweep the coal dust out of the bed of the truck to prepared for the next day’s milk run. He worked 365-days a year making $35.00 a month.
1940’s
On a sunny December 7th, 1941, grandpa John was in Castle Rock getting a haircut when he learned that Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. On January 12th, 1942, grandpa John was drafted into the US Army at Fort Logan, Colorado. He attended basic training at Fort Warren in Cheyenne, Wyoming and afterwards found himself at Will Rogers Field in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma assigned to the 160th Quartermaster Truck company, 321st Service Group. In 1943, John took a troop train from Kansas to New York City. On May 15th, 1943 he boarded a US Army Transport sailing through the Panama Canal to Bora Bora. During the war, grandpa John fought in three campaigns: New Guinea, Southern Philippines, and the Bismarck Archipelago East Indies. He would go on to be awarded: the Asiatic Pacific Services Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal, American Service Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. But, the medal with the greatest story is his purple heart.
On November 24th, 1944 grandpa John is teaching truck driving at Moratai on the New Hebrides Islands. Later that evening he and his brothers in arms were watching enemy bombers fly overhead when a bomb struck the tent next to his killing six of the eight men; one of the men was just 23-years old. In the attack he too would be struck by shrapnel earning him the purple heart. Despite his wounds, John continued to serve in the Philippine campaign against Japan. He saw the end of World War II when in August of 1945 then President Truman ordered the striking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the first atomic bombs “Fat Man” and “Little Boy,” the most destructive force the world had ever seen at the time. Grandpa John was honorably discharge as a corporal on November 7th, 1945, and returned to Colorado.
Upon returning to the states, grandpa John resumed working as an auto mechanic for Kenny McIntyre, who was the brother of Paul who owned Johnson’s Corner in Sedalia. With the help of his mother-in-law, great-grandma Ellen Bowman, Grandpa bought a new semi-truck and joined up with Johnny Cummins. Leasing the services of the truck to Jack Hunter, who owned Hunter Fruit and Produce, John and Johnny delivered produce throughout Colorado. Johnny quit driving later that year giving his share to John. After a few trips, grandpa John was unable to keep up the payments and the truck was returned to the dealership. Grandpa would later go on to work for the Douglas County Department of Highways. That venture did not last long as the calling to the open road continued.
The Modern Age
In 1947, John earned his first job as a “professional” driver working for W. J. Digby. He earned $100 per week shipping items from Colorado to Florida and back. During this same period, tensions between in Korea were rising and President Truman began sending peace advisors to the region to prevent the spread of communism. The US would eventually employ a strategy called the domino theory with the belief that if one country fell to communism, the entire region would threatening US interests and global stability. Over time, the Russians would conduct their first atomic explosion, the US and Russia would assume a position of mutually assured destruction, and with the arrival of Dwight D. Eisenhower president the Cold War would begin. During that same time period, Johnny Cummins would pursue his love of music and go on the road traveling with the likes of Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, June Carter, Buddy Holly, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Grandpa John meanwhile would continue his love of the open road working for Cosper Trucking, who served as the primary distributor of an up and coming brewery known as Coors. On January 21st, 1978 grandpa John began working for Leprino Transportation Company and then Navajo Trucking before retiring from trucking at the age of 82. To the best of our knowledge, grandpa John drove a truck for approximately 72-years and we estimate he officially logged over 8,000,000 miles with no speeding tickets or accidents as a professional driver. Despite his time on the road, Grandpa John was helped raise his children: Judy, Kathy, Kevin, Jerry, and Greg. He was a grandfather to 11 grandchildren and great-grandfather to 20 children.
There is no way to truly capture everything grandpa John experienced so in closing, let me give you this food for thought - in addition to everything else I have said, grandpa John also:
Witnessed America’s rise as a superpower as she fought and won wars in the Far East, Europe, Africa, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, the Middle East, and even the Cold War.
He saw the propeller airplane when flight was just an infant and then later on took a direct flight in a jet airplane from the US to Malaysia to visit family. In this same sense he witnessed the development of the first helicopter, Chuck Yeager break the speed of sound, the launch of the first satellite into space, Neil Armstrong’s famous words “One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind” from the moon, the arrival of the space shuttle transporting goods to the international space station, and rovers searching for life on Mars.
He made phone calls on a phone with no buttons using an operator and a party line, then saw the arrival of the rotary phone which transitioned to a mobile phone carried in a suit case. As we all know this has since been replaced by the smart phone often operated by not so smart people.
Grandpa John listened to music on a phonograph as a child, a record as a teen, an eight track tape, a cassette tape, a CD, an iPhone, and music coming from “the cloud.”
He once watched silent movies on a silver screen, watched Miracle on 34th Street at a movie theater, took a date to The Wizard of Oz – the first movie ever in color. He bought a VCR for $700 in the mid-1970’s, experienced Imax, and once watched a movie in 3D.
In the past hundred and two years he lived in a world influenced by seventeen presidents from Woodrow Wilson, our 28th President to President Trump our 45th President, Helen Keller, Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali, Anne Frank, Sigmund Freud, Louis Armstrong, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Lucille Ball, Bruce Lee, Steven Spielberg, Walt Disney, T.S. Elliot, Bill Gates, Winston Churchill, Diana – Princess of Whales, Mikhail Gorbachev, Billy Graham, Pope John Paul II, Coco Chanel, Estee Lauder, Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, Marilyn Monroe, Mother Teresa, Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, and of course number 18 himself - Peyton Manning.
Ladies and Gentlemen, all I can say is what a life and should we all be so lucky. Rest In Peace young fella.
UNQUOTE
1918
I want to give everyone some perspective. The date is November 17th, 1918. Now, I want you to picture yourself in a world without cell phones. I know, I know, for many of you the panic is setting in, but please bare with me for a moment. There are no televisions, no computers, and more importantly no rush hour traffic. In short, many of the modern conveniences we enjoy today were just infants. A loaf of bread costs just $0.10, a tub of butter costs $0.58 and a dozen eggs costs about $0.57. The average middle class income family earns $1,500 a year. And grandpa John is opening his eyes for the first time as if to say hello to his parents Ernest and Neva Thompson in Lajara, CO.
On this day he will become the eldest of seven and is later followed by his brothers and sister: Ernest, Harry, Betty, Stanley, Thurman, and Chauncey Thompson. Just a week prior to his birth, world leaders were meeting in Versailles, France to sign a treaty ending World War I – the war to end all wars. Woodrow Wilson is president, the first delivery of messages by plane was launched by the U.S. Post Office connecting New York to Washington, DC. In March of that same year, Time Zones are officially established and daylight savings goes into effect. The Eiffel Tower is the world’s tallest structure until the construction of the Chrysler Building in New York city is completed in 1930. The most popular car on the road is the Model T costing a mere $500.00; Charlie Chaplin is the biggest movie star with his silent film persona, “the Tramp.”
Over the next 102 years, Grandpa John would encounter a plethora of firsts. Like he, the world was coming to life and more interconnected. Many things that we take for granted today were just coming of age. For example, Grandpa John is just 2-years old, but in that same year the 18th Amendment to the Constitution is enacted instituting prohibition; it isn’t repealed the enactment of the 21st Amendment in 1933. Imagine, for 13 years it is illegal to buy a drop of alcohol in the United States.
1920’s
In 1920, the U.S. Census showed the U.S. population had, for the first time, grown to 106 million people; today America’s population is estimated to be approximately 315 million people. In response to the 1920 census, Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1924 placing national quotas on Eastern and Southern European Nationalities curbing their immigration to the US. In 1922, the Reader’s Digest is founded; the Lincoln Memorial, located on the opposite end of the National Mall from the U.S. Capitol building, is dedicated; and Yankee Stadium is built. During that same decade, Time Magazine is published for the first time ever; Warner Brothers Pictures is incorporated; Radiovision is born; Charles Lindberg makes the first ever non-stop Transatlantic flight flying from Roosevelt, New York to Paris, France; and on October 29th, 1929 the Stock Market crashes starting the worst American depression in the nation’s history.
What is interesting is Grandpa John had some pretty amazing experiences that would shape his life. In 1928 , at the ripe old age of 10, grandpa John’s dad teaches him to drive a new 1928 Chevrolet 4-cylinder 1-ton truck on the baseball diamond in Sedalia. Later that year John drove his first truck when his father had a milk route hauling 10-gallon cans of milk from the Frink Creamery in Sedalia and the Brenden Creamery on South Broadway in Denver. In 1929, John drove his second truck when his dad bought a new 1929 Chevrolet 6-cylinder 1-ton truck. In 1931, grandpa John got his first car at the age of 12. Now, the windshield wipers didn’t work and he eventually wrecked the car when he ran into a lumber truck on a bridge while it was raining. Unfortunately, his dad would die of tuberculosis on May 5th, of that same year and grandpa John would stop going to school to start work to support the family.
1930’s
The world in the 1930’s was an interesting place. After the crash of the stock market, the world plunged into the great depression, the heartland of America become the great dust bowl due to over-farming, Jessie Owens won four gold medals at the Olympics in Germany, and Adolf Hitler rose to power ultimately threating global stability. Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected to president and between his fire side chats and the era of the New Deal, America slowly rises from near collapse. But the world is about to explode.
From 1937 – 1940 grandpa John worked as an auto mechanic and was employed by “Art” Gavin in Sedalia. In Art’s garage, he did general overhauling and repair work. He specialized in transmission and engine repairs. This lasted until 1940 when John began working for Carter Truck Lines transporting milk from Larkspur to Palmer Lake, Monument, Eastonville, Peyton, and Calahan. His day would start a 4:00 am and his milk deliveries would end at about 10:00am. After that he would drive to Canon City where he would haul coal for the remainder of the day. In the evening he would sweep the coal dust out of the bed of the truck to prepared for the next day’s milk run. He worked 365-days a year making $35.00 a month.
1940’s
On a sunny December 7th, 1941, grandpa John was in Castle Rock getting a haircut when he learned that Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. On January 12th, 1942, grandpa John was drafted into the US Army at Fort Logan, Colorado. He attended basic training at Fort Warren in Cheyenne, Wyoming and afterwards found himself at Will Rogers Field in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma assigned to the 160th Quartermaster Truck company, 321st Service Group. In 1943, John took a troop train from Kansas to New York City. On May 15th, 1943 he boarded a US Army Transport sailing through the Panama Canal to Bora Bora. During the war, grandpa John fought in three campaigns: New Guinea, Southern Philippines, and the Bismarck Archipelago East Indies. He would go on to be awarded: the Asiatic Pacific Services Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal, American Service Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. But, the medal with the greatest story is his purple heart.
On November 24th, 1944 grandpa John is teaching truck driving at Moratai on the New Hebrides Islands. Later that evening he and his brothers in arms were watching enemy bombers fly overhead when a bomb struck the tent next to his killing six of the eight men; one of the men was just 23-years old. In the attack he too would be struck by shrapnel earning him the purple heart. Despite his wounds, John continued to serve in the Philippine campaign against Japan. He saw the end of World War II when in August of 1945 then President Truman ordered the striking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the first atomic bombs “Fat Man” and “Little Boy,” the most destructive force the world had ever seen at the time. Grandpa John was honorably discharge as a corporal on November 7th, 1945, and returned to Colorado.
Upon returning to the states, grandpa John resumed working as an auto mechanic for Kenny McIntyre, who was the brother of Paul who owned Johnson’s Corner in Sedalia. With the help of his mother-in-law, great-grandma Ellen Bowman, Grandpa bought a new semi-truck and joined up with Johnny Cummins. Leasing the services of the truck to Jack Hunter, who owned Hunter Fruit and Produce, John and Johnny delivered produce throughout Colorado. Johnny quit driving later that year giving his share to John. After a few trips, grandpa John was unable to keep up the payments and the truck was returned to the dealership. Grandpa would later go on to work for the Douglas County Department of Highways. That venture did not last long as the calling to the open road continued.
The Modern Age
In 1947, John earned his first job as a “professional” driver working for W. J. Digby. He earned $100 per week shipping items from Colorado to Florida and back. During this same period, tensions between in Korea were rising and President Truman began sending peace advisors to the region to prevent the spread of communism. The US would eventually employ a strategy called the domino theory with the belief that if one country fell to communism, the entire region would threatening US interests and global stability. Over time, the Russians would conduct their first atomic explosion, the US and Russia would assume a position of mutually assured destruction, and with the arrival of Dwight D. Eisenhower president the Cold War would begin. During that same time period, Johnny Cummins would pursue his love of music and go on the road traveling with the likes of Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, June Carter, Buddy Holly, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Grandpa John meanwhile would continue his love of the open road working for Cosper Trucking, who served as the primary distributor of an up and coming brewery known as Coors. On January 21st, 1978 grandpa John began working for Leprino Transportation Company and then Navajo Trucking before retiring from trucking at the age of 82. To the best of our knowledge, grandpa John drove a truck for approximately 72-years and we estimate he officially logged over 8,000,000 miles with no speeding tickets or accidents as a professional driver. Despite his time on the road, Grandpa John was helped raise his children: Judy, Kathy, Kevin, Jerry, and Greg. He was a grandfather to 11 grandchildren and great-grandfather to 20 children.
There is no way to truly capture everything grandpa John experienced so in closing, let me give you this food for thought - in addition to everything else I have said, grandpa John also:
Witnessed America’s rise as a superpower as she fought and won wars in the Far East, Europe, Africa, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, the Middle East, and even the Cold War.
He saw the propeller airplane when flight was just an infant and then later on took a direct flight in a jet airplane from the US to Malaysia to visit family. In this same sense he witnessed the development of the first helicopter, Chuck Yeager break the speed of sound, the launch of the first satellite into space, Neil Armstrong’s famous words “One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind” from the moon, the arrival of the space shuttle transporting goods to the international space station, and rovers searching for life on Mars.
He made phone calls on a phone with no buttons using an operator and a party line, then saw the arrival of the rotary phone which transitioned to a mobile phone carried in a suit case. As we all know this has since been replaced by the smart phone often operated by not so smart people.
Grandpa John listened to music on a phonograph as a child, a record as a teen, an eight track tape, a cassette tape, a CD, an iPhone, and music coming from “the cloud.”
He once watched silent movies on a silver screen, watched Miracle on 34th Street at a movie theater, took a date to The Wizard of Oz – the first movie ever in color. He bought a VCR for $700 in the mid-1970’s, experienced Imax, and once watched a movie in 3D.
In the past hundred and two years he lived in a world influenced by seventeen presidents from Woodrow Wilson, our 28th President to President Trump our 45th President, Helen Keller, Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali, Anne Frank, Sigmund Freud, Louis Armstrong, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Lucille Ball, Bruce Lee, Steven Spielberg, Walt Disney, T.S. Elliot, Bill Gates, Winston Churchill, Diana – Princess of Whales, Mikhail Gorbachev, Billy Graham, Pope John Paul II, Coco Chanel, Estee Lauder, Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, Marilyn Monroe, Mother Teresa, Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, and of course number 18 himself - Peyton Manning.
Ladies and Gentlemen, all I can say is what a life and should we all be so lucky. Rest In Peace young fella.
UNQUOTE
