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By Brian D. Ratty

Brian Ratty

Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com

http://www.eBookIt.com

ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0168-3

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

For my Grandchildren: Alex, Emma, Maren and Seamus. I give you this story with all my love and affection. May your life be full of adventure, love, laughter and success.

God bless you all.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

On May 31, 1942, my life began in a world that was full of turmoil and struggling for its very survival. World War II and related events would have a great impact on my life. There is no greater group of people who walked the face of this earth than the World War II generation. They saved the world from corruption and tyranny at a cost in human lives that counted into the millions.

During the war my family lived and worked in the small coastal town of Seaside, Oregon. Here, my father went to work with his father at nearby naval air stations in both Warrenton and Tongue Point. They both worked as civilian contractors for the United States Department of the Navy.

Soon after the war, my family moved back to Portland, Oregon, where my family lived for many years with my mother’s sister. It was a simple time of simple needs and love. The phone, a party line, would ring twice for our family and three times for our neighbor. Our doors were never locked, and the people next door would always be there if you needed help, or just a friendly visit on the front porch. Our home was full of laughter, love and work.

As the boys came home from the war, so did images of the conflict. These pictures graced the covers and pages of such magazines as Life, Colliers and The Saturday Evening Post. They told a story about a country unprepared for war and about people pursuing normal lives until their way of life was threatened. Each story had its own hero, its own villain and its own destiny.

There was no escaping the aftermath of war in our community. We could see it in the faces of the people who were lucky enough to return. We heard about it on the radio and followed it in the newsreels at our local theaters. The war had taken and changed many lives.

In the early days of television, the nation was exposed to film documentaries such as “Victory At Sea” and “Industry on Parade.” These stories and images depicted a sleeping nation coming to life to cope and conquer the dark clouds of a world at war. It was at this time that I became aware of the great photojournalists of my time, Robert Capra, Margaret Bourke White and W. Eugene Smith. Their stories and images riveted my imagination about our country’s history and about how important it was to somehow capture and tell a great story.

For over thirty-five years I have been a professional photographer, inspired by these fine photojournalist. Today I write and photographic, not for profit or praise but pure pleasure. If others find my work interesting, entertaining and informative then I will have realized my rewards.

Everybody has a few good stories in them-maybe this is one of mine.

Brian D. Ratty

Acknowledgments

Rewriting, reediting and recreating this book (first published in 2002) for my grandchildren was a joyful adventure. I have been blessed in having a supportive and thoughtful community of friends and colleagues as well as an encouraging family, all to whom I offer my heartfelt thanks.

Special thanks to Judith Meyers for a masterful editing job. And thanks to Melissa Weintraub for professional proofreading and polishing. Also to map artist, Scott MacNeil for helping with the illustrations. And special gratitude to Richard Rodgers for his music, Victory At Sea. This classic symphony was never far from my ears during the years of working this book.

Finally my heart felt thanks to my wife, Tess, who tolerated my absorption on this project with the same grace and humor that she has brought to all our ‘adventures’ these past thirty-seven years.

Everyone who helped me added strength and benefits to this book: any errors, misinterpretations or mistakes this story may contain are solely my own responsibility.

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