Flyboys by James Bradley

Flyboys is the account of 9 World War 2 pilots(Aka: Flyboys) shot down over Chichi Jima which is close to the more well known Iwo Jima. One of the them who was later rescued by submarine became the 41st President George H.W. Bush. The book sheds light on a dark often unspoken part of the war with Japan. I had mixed feelings about the book but I still recommend it. James Bradley feels he has to show how bad Americans were during the war also. The author  is son of Iwo Jima flag raiser John Bradley who also wrote Flags of our Fathers.

One of the downed flyers was at first addressed as "Unidentified Airman". After the book release he was later identified as Warren Hindenlang. Warren was a native of Foxboro, Massachusetts and was a 1937 graduate of Foxboro High School. August 4, 1944 he was shot down over Chichi Jima. He was later bayoneted and beheaded by his captors. What happened to his family afterwards is unknown. He was one of many paid the ultimate sacrifice during World War 2.

Foxboro State Hospital Cemetery

Foxboro State Hospital Cemetery is located on Cross Street in Foxboro. It is said that over 1100 graves are located in two separate locations. One pictured here and another is located about 375 yards away from this one that is accessible by a path from this one. Only two numbers on the small markers give any indication of who is buried there. One number is the identification number of the client and the other is numerical order of the burial. Kind of sad that state couldn't be bothered to put a name on them but I digress. These graves were for those that either had no family or they were not able to provide for a proper resting place.

 

Shipbuilding in Foxborough

Tio Frank on deck of his masterpiece.

One does not normally think of shipbuilding and Foxborough, Massachusetts as it's a bit of a drive to the ocean. This didn't stop Frank Gonsalve's of Foxboro in the mid 1940's. Frank who was born on Madeira Island (Portugal) in 1903 spent 4 years as an apprentice shipbuilder. I only knew my Great Grand Uncle for a short time. We knew him as "Tio"(uncle in Portuguese)  Frank along with his brother "Tio" Sam were my Great Grandmother's brothers.

The Magellan the first 45 footer

In the mid to late 1940's the began building what would become a 45 foot fishing boat. This project was sandwich between a garage and house. This was also done on small side street inhabited by only two homes. The house is still in the family owned by my mother and my brother runs his power equipment business out of the same garage used to help build these vessels. I recently came across these photo's thought it would be cool to share.

My mother in on the right

Another amzing thing is  that he did this in his spare time after working as Kettle operator in a Mansfield factory 6 days a week. No TV or Internet to distract him that was for sure.

My Great Grandmother checking things out.

1

Installing the engine.

They also built the a second boat called the Magellan II.

Eventually they had to make the trip to the ocean.

Magellan making the trip down the avenue.

Magellan II making its way down Hope Avenue.

I still at this and have a sense of awe that they did this. The space they had to work with was small. Not to mention this was more than just a weekend hobby. Even though the road today is paved and a little wider it was barely a car width just a couple of decades ago. Hard to imagine a boat this size being towed down it.Today the home is still in the family and is where my mother lives. The barn/garage is now home to my brother's small engine repair business, Riverside Repair Co.  I'm not sure exactly what happened to these fishing boats. I believe they saw service in New Bedford and possibly Provincetown, I'd be glad to hear from anyone who might know something. Even Foxborough made its own contribution to the Bay State's fishing heritage.