Today would have been my father's 91st birthday

Today would have been my father's 91st birthday. He also passed away five years ago this day. 

His is a life certainly worth celebrating. 

There are many of you out there who he considered to be his sons and daughters -and you know who you are. 

Dad touched many lives as I am often reminded. But you meant much to him, too. Never forget that. Thanks for warming his heart -and mine, too! 

Semper Fi! Happy birthday, Dad!

Chinese New Year Greetings!

Chinese New Year has arrived! I wish everyone the best of holidays and happiness to all. May good health, good luck, great success and prosperity be yours throughout the Year of the Goat. 

I am reminded that on a cold, winter's day in 1946 my father and other China Marines witnessed the first postwar Lunar New Year celebrations in China. Go to this link for photos and my narration of that occasion. 

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Bingham Mead
Thursday, February 19, 2015

Boya Pagoda Near Weiming Lake: January, 1946

The image above is of what my father referred to as the "water pagoda in Yenching University near the summer palace." This image was captured in January 1946. 

A little research on my part revealed that this is Boya Pagoda near Weiming Lake. It is a famous landmark on the campus of Peking University. It is the first established modern national university of China, founded as the "Imperial University of Peking" in 1898. Today it is listed as one of the top universities in China.

A Rare Letter Home: February 2, 1944

On my recent trip back home to Greenwich, Connecticut I was going through my files. Much to my delight this letter emerged among the papers. 

The letter is dated February 2, 1944. Dad had not yet been deployed. He was in training, specifically in the use of what was a new technology in warfare: radar. (When my father was deployed in the South Pacific he ended up being retrained in the use of radio because none of the radar equipment he needed to perform his job was there.)

My father mentioned, "I am very sorry that I haven't written anyone but I just couldn't. Someday you all will understand." The Marines as I have been told were not allowed to keep journals or to write to their loved ones, lest the contents of their letters reveal intelligence to any enemy to happen upon them. Such was the case in wartime.