Day of Infamy

Day of Infamy

I'm sorry,
but I forgot
to remember
my first stepfather,
no wait a minnit,
the second
who was stationed
at Pearl Harbor
on Dec 7 '41.

I usually include
the joke
about there being a nip
in the air.
"Nip" is short
for Nipponese.
"Nippon"
being the Japonese word
for Japonese.

In my formative years
the word was
Jap.
Even the ones
who had been here
for generations.
Roosevelt sent them
all
to concentration camps.

My first stepfather
was at Iwo Jima
in the Coast Guard
on a P.T. boat.
If you had to be
at Iwo Jima
that was
a much better place.

Ummm...
My first Father
in law was
in the Army
with MacArthur
when they were pushed
off the island
and Dougie scampered

I,
personally,
found a way
to get out
of the draft.
Maybe that's why
the Christian world
hates me.

Ah, well,
we go into life
with what we have.
Do you remember
that event?

Doug Palmer