Ice Cream Pizza

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CelebratewithM #CollectiveBias

How well do you know your family?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of sharing stories – particularly learning about my relatives’ past.

My grandma passed away about 11 years ago and from time to time, we still find out something new about her from extended family.

For instance, I learned that she was fluent in Czech even though she never spoke a word of it around me.

Fluent!!  My gosh! I could have learned Czech!  Our Prague vacation would have been so much easier.

She was a private woman but I often wonder “Why didn’t I just ask her to tell me a story?” It’s hard to think about all the missed opportunities I had to learn about her history.

I don’t want to miss any more of those opportunities.

My Uncle Pete served in the Navy. During his time in service, he evacuated out of a jet mid-flight and parachuted to the ground.

That is all I know!  For years, I just let it rest.

So I called my Uncle and I asked him to tell me the story.

It’s a good one.

Back in 1968, my uncle trained as a Navy pilot in a small Texas town.  On one particular day, his group practiced aircraft carrier landings.

He had practiced landing many times before.  So at this stage in his training, he was alone in a plane with no instructor.

At 400 ft with his wings level, he prepared to land.  All of a sudden, the airplane started to roll.

He tried to correct it but the plane wouldn’t respond.

My Uncle told me that in these type of situations, at that low of an altitude, they were taught to make decisions fast.  Instead of panic, he reached for the T-handle, pulled it up an inch-and-a-half and ejected.

He pulled so hard that the cable connected to the T-handle, snapped.

His seat shot out of the plane and immediately thrust away from him.  As he touched the ground, the wind caught his parachute and the wind pulled him into a tree.

Thankfully, he walked away from the incident relatively unscathed.

The plane, however, did not.  Check out this before and after.  That’s my Uncle standing in front of his plane.

After Texas, my Uncle transferred to Florida and then San Diego where he served as a flight instructor.

He retired from the Navy after serving for 4 years.

I loved hearing this story.  Why I didn’t ask about it sooner… I don’t know.

Hearing from him and talking to him was one of the happiest points of my day.

Thank you to my Uncle for his service to our country and thank you to all the veterans and all the troops currently serving.

MARS/Wrigley is showing appreciation by donating M&M’s® to the troops for every bag purchased exclusively at Walmart.  Many Walmarts will also be having demonstrations with more information about “1 For You, 1 For the Troops”.

Need an idea for what to do with those M&M’s® or Skittles®?  I have the perfect patriotic dessert for you!

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