There is so much discourse these days, it’s nice to receive some positive news!!! A bit of joy helps with building confidence, and willingness to help others. The first story I wrote and published in Discover Diving, over 30 years ago was titled “Scattered Memories: Diving Into the Past”.
You may have already seen via social media, my celebration to dedicate and donate the important story of my father’s Naval Career and my beautiful mother who stood by him. After seeing the WW II Museum in New Orleans last year, the connection was made with the curator. With joy, and a little sadness, a large trunk of items collected by my father and his pride of serving on the USS Lexington, CV-2, was delivered and accessioned to this incredible museum.
On October 11, 2024, I received notice that the balance of the treasures were accepted and delivered to the USS Lexington Museum in Corpus Christi, Texas. It is hard to part with such personal items, but what a good feeling it is to know that someone may be able to learn the history!!! And here’s to my family: Dean H. Benoy, Carmen Louise Benoy and big brother, David Duane Benoy.
Continuing the story of “gifting” includes research done by the late and great Mark Hancock for the documentary film:
Delivered to family members and received recently, was a box full of the ancestry for both Caroline Mytinger and Margaret Warner. Included were Caroline’s two books, first editions, DVD and more. Carol and Roger Stoughton have been so connected and are delighted that their daughter, Debby, and the generations to follow, will have this material.
“Thank you for your gracious offer to pass on the Mytinger project materials to our family. You have done an amazing job on this project over many years, and I continued to be impressed with each new part of the project shared with the family and your abundant number of “followers.” —— Certainly the subject of Caroline Mytinger’s life and artwork is very intriguing, and we are so lucky that you came across her history, and made such an investment in your life to track her artistic endeavors and life story. – Debby”
Speaking of “gifting” and I realize we are inundated with requests, I have heard from dear friends and had a long phone chat with Bill Mills, a film guy extraordinaire, who lives in Tampa. He shared with me his story and of many others. It’s a heartbreaking journey all will be going through as they recover from the storms. The good news is that we did get to spend some fun moments recounting some of our work. I’ll be one more person to ask: Please donate to relief efforts! It doesn’t matter the amount and as the old saying goes “It all adds up!”