Paul Luvera Journal

Professor Michael Sullivan, who teaches history at the University of Washington, Tacoma, called me for information on piece of history. He was interested in the role my dad played in the affair, but I had to refer him to my sisters because I was too young to remember the actual events. The call brought back memories of what I had been told about.  Professor Sullivan was kind enough to send me photos which I am publishing along with my understanding of the story based upon internet reports.  The…

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I  just finished this book about Alvin Thomas who was known as Titanic Thompson.  he was an amazing man who made his living gambling on everything. He was particularly skillful in golf, poker and horseshoes. He was a man who made millions and spent millions. He ended up broke and in a nursing home. Nevertheless, he was an  extraordinary man who lived in the roaring twenties and died after World War II ended at an old age. I'll skip his gambling skills and…

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I’ve finished an excellent book The Flyboys – A True Story of Courage by James Bradley who also wrote Flags of Our Fathers, a best selling account of the battle in World War II in Iwo Jima. The Flyboys is about the war in the Pacific in World War II involving airplane warfare. While the entire book is of historical interested, I was very moved by the description of our bombing of Japan. The real horror of war is revealed in the description of…

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I’ve been reading Flyboys: a True Story of Courage by James Bradley about the pilots of World War II and the war in the Pacific. Bradley previously wrote Flags of Our Fathers about the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima. He starts out with the history of Japan. He notes that for two hundred years Japan was a closed book to the rest of the world by national law. A Japanese could not leave Japan and no outsider…

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A short article in the March Phoenix Magazine prompts this report. It featured a picture of Arizona cowboys, in 1913, moving a large number of ostriches from one location to another. It pointed out the importance of ostrich farming in the 1900's due to the demand for the plumes used in women’s hats. The article went on to say that as the cowboys and the ostriches moved down the road, a husband and wife in their surrey were approaching in…

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This is a true story about not only bravery, but the importance of preparation and practice. It involves the destruction of a dam in Germany in World War II. The Mohne Reservoir was an artificial lake in the North Rine area. The dam had been built in  the early 1900's to control flooding and generate hydropower. Also on this waterway were two other dams, the Sorpe and Eder dams. During World War II the British Air Ministry identified the heavily industrialised…

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The Battle of Thermopylae (pronounced "ther-MOP-i-lee") in 480 BC is perhaps the most famous military last stand of all times. It was an "against all odds" battle which has inspired people over the centuries because of the bravery and determination of the Spartans. Military leaders cite it as an example of training, equipment and use of terrain. It has become a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds. The battle took place in Greece between the Greek army and the army of…

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The New York Times has an article http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/24/national/24frozen.html about what melting glaciers are revealing around the world. One of these involves a World War II previously unsolved mystery. One Wednesday morning on November 18, 1942 a trained military pilot and three aviation cadets took off from Mather Field, near Sacramento in an AT-7 Navigator on a four hour training flight. 2nd Lt. William Gamber (Ohio) was flying the plane with passengers John M. Mortenson (Moscow, Idaho) Ernest Munn (Ohio) and Leo M. Mustonen (Minnesota) The…

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 Yesterday was our office Christmas party. Our office claims representative for many years and my childhood friend, Nick Petrish,  has been out of the office undergoing treatment for medical problems, but he made it to this meeting. I showed some photos from our Anacortes high school days together and Rich Weyrich, the Skagit County Prosecutor, who is also an Anacortes graduate, sent along an old Anacortes  American of 1954 because it had a picture of Nick on the front page as captain of the football…

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On this day,December 7, 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor Hawaii and America entered World War II. I remember the day very well. It was a Sunday and I was in grade school. It seemed like time stopped that Sunday morning because all of the adults were in shock. If you remember President Kennedy being shot in Dallas and the reaction of people, you know what the reaction was back in 1941 to the news. It came to us not…

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