MOSS POINT -- Samuel W. Sylvester Jr., 87, is loving all the attention he's gotten lately from the community honoring WWII veterans for their service and all branches of the military during a number of programs and commemorations in October and November.
He was among the veterans who made the fourth Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight during fall 2012. He also was honored as the oldest African American Marine present during this year's 35th Annual Salute to the Military held in Biloxi.
"I was the only black man they recognized there," said Sylvester, who will turn 88 in January.
Following the Jackson County Veterans Day Parade and Program today in Downtown Moss Point, the Marine recounted the horrors of war while stationed in Japan during WWII. He was aboard a LSD ship when the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and then Nagasaki, killing thousands of Japanese and effectively ending the war that was dragging on against the nation of the Rising Sun.
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Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki, with roughly half of the deaths in each city occurring on the first day, according to Wikipedia
The U.S. lost some 100,000 military personnel during the Pacific War of WWII.
Having served from 1944-46, Sylvester served in other areas of the Pacific before being transferred to Japan, where he was among soldiers who went in to remove the bodies of Japanese civilians killed when the atomic bombs called Little Boy and Fat Man were dropped on the cities.
"I saw a mushroom cloud," he said.
When the Marines went in to clean up the devastation and remove the bodies they used trucks to clear the way. "All the dead people, they pushed them to the side," said Sylvester "Worst smell in the world."
However, today, he and David Blacklege said they enjoyed the Veterans Day program at the Jackson County Veterans Memorial Monument located at the city's Riverfront Park. The hourlong program followed the annual parade on Main Street, which was lined with residents eagerly gathering candy.
"It was great. It was a good program," said Blackledge, who recently retired after 37 years in the Army, including three tours in Iraq and service in Bosnia, Haiti, and other areas around the globe.
(Watch for addition of photos and more information to this story)
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