A present from Mr. Mike West

This afternoon when I arrived home, I was welcomed with a wonderful present in the mail - a package from Mike West, one of the men who served with Grandpa Givan during the war. In the package was a letter, a couple issues of the Leatherneck magazine, the Fighting Fourth newsletter, a copy of a letter from the son of a Japanese soldier on Iwo Jima, and best of all, more photos. Of the half-dozen photos, only one was already a part of my collection, the rest will be scanned and hopefully available tomorrow or Wednesday.  One of the photos, while simply a photocopy of the original made me smile - Mike had written the names of the men on the back (George Minch Jr, Nazareth "Curly" Eannacone and himself), along with the location (Camp Maui, February 25, 1944, after the Marshall Island invasion) and at the bottom, the caption "Phil's camera work".

Much like Mr. Ralston, I was able to track Mike down with the help of the Internet, a torn and tattered address book from Grandpa's old roll top desk, and a printout of a roster that was tucked away in one of the books. Not knowing if Mike still lived at an address decades old, I sent a simple letter letting him know I was Phil's grandson and that I was looking for anyone who may have been a Marine during World War II. To my surprise, an email appeared in my inbox a couple weeks later, and then today, the package arrived.

Mike closed his letter with heart-felt words that only further strengthen the joy and excitement I have experienced throughout this journey.

Phil would have been very proud of you for being the kind of you man you have grown to be. Also, he would have loved the idea of you contacting some of his friends that he served with in the Corps. God Bless and Semper Fi! Your mom taught you well! Your new found friend, Mike

I do hope that Grandpa would be happy that I opened his box of memories and have tracked down some of his old friends. I only wish that he was still here with us to be able to tell me about everyone and the memories of Camp Maui. I miss him and even though it's been 23 years since he passed away, not a day goes by that I don't think of him. Whether it's wearing his Zeke Day tie tack, looking at the wooden train he made that sits on my mantle, or silly things like making sure the hangers all face the same way in the closet, he's on my mind and in my heart.

I look forward to corresponding with my new friend and will be sure to post updates as they come along!