Saturday, April 16, 2011
A GREAT MAN HAS GONE TO BE WITH THE LORD
A dear friend and a WWII hero passed away April 5, 2011. James William Fore, 86, went to be with our Lord and Savior on April 5, 2011. This celebrated war veteran, doting father, and devoted husband was surrounded by his loving family and friends. He lived a rich and fulfilling life filled with adventure, triumphs and tragedy. James was an American legend in WWII, who was captured after his 28th mission and taken to one of Hitler’s concentration camps, Buchenwald. He then went on to an aviation career that spanned for more than 44 years and has logged a stunning 36,000 flying hours as a distinguished pilot. Jim was in our Bomber's Moon: Girl's Beneath the Bombs film.
Patty Butler Spiers said good-bye to a hero and a friend:
This was my speech to a packed church of friends and family for Captain Jim Fore.
Words for Jim Fore…..April 12, 2011
I am Patty Butler Spiers of a small non profit that has a mission to record storytelling from those who lived through historical events. That is how I met Jim Fore. He had a very good story, and he told it very well. Richard Randall seized the moment by having Jim Fore tell his incredible tale in the cock pit of a B-17. And we have that on camera.
I am one of the directors of Bomber’s Moon, Girls Beneath the Bombs, a Rocky Mountain PBS show that aired twice in 2009, starring women who were bombed in Europe and Asia and the American bombers. Jim was one of our stars in the show.
About a year ago, I sat where Mrs. Fore sits right now. My husband suddenly died of a massive heart attack. Exactly one month later, my father also died. I was a widow before my mother was a widow.
I have been asked over this year how I deal with the loss of two men who were in my daily life. Here is my answer: I go to the interviews we did with Jim Fore. And I fast forward to the part where we ask him: How did you deal with living in a concentration camp for those months? How did you cope?You were so young… And then I absorbed the words of my friend, Jim Fore. DON’T LET YOUR MIND GO THERE AND STAY THERE. DON’T DWELL ON THAT WHICH HURTS TOO MUCH. CONTROL YOUR MIND.
I thank God for knowing this man, he has blessed my life both professionally and personally. And I will end with the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow from his poem, FOOTSTEPS OF ANGELS :
WHEN THE HOURS OF THE DAY ARE NUMBERED,
AND THE VOICES OF THE NIGHT
WAKE THE BETTER SOUL THAT SLUMBERED,
TO A HOLY, CALM DELIGHT;
AS THE EVENING LAMPS ARE LIGHTED,
AND LIKE PHANTOMS GRIM AND TALL
SHADOWS FROM THE FITFUL FIRELIGHT
DANCE UPON THE PARLOR WALL;
THEN THE FORMS OF THE DEPARTED
ENTER AT THE OPEN DOOR;
THE BELOVED, THE TRUE HEARTED,
COME TO VISIT ME ONCE MORE.
This was Jim's Bible
This old friend read Psalms 17 from Jim's well-worn Bible. He had it with him while he flew over Germany and dropped the bombs. We have Jim telling us on tape how much strength and comfort his Bible gave him while flying 30,000 feet above the earth.
The Legacy of Captain Fore says good-by.....
The children of Jim Fore will miss this great man so much. They had beautiful words for a life well lived and a man with a heart as big as he was. They spoke for everyone in the room of his patriotism and his love for God.
Saying good-bye in a song
This young lady sang "His Eye is On the Sparrow" so beautifully we know Jim could hear her. She spoke of how much he blessed her life. It was the perfect ending of a beautiful service.
My friends
Here we are, my daughter Tommi Sue, Silke, Norm and me at the Bomber's Moon Premier. Silke is my special friend and an incredible story teller. She's in Bomber's Moon, too. Her husband Norm is this blog's official photographer. He took the pictures of Manitou Middle school event and Jim Fore's Funeral. I am so incredibly blessed by these friends.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
A Bomber's Moon Showing in March
A couple of years ago, the producers/directors of Bomber's Moon: Girls Beneath the Bombs showed the movie to a church in Green Mountain Falls. A student from Manitou Middle School was in the audience. She asked Patty and Richard if they could come to her school and show the movie and bring our wonderful story-tellers. Here is Patty telling the crowd that this young lady made an important event happen.
The students at Manitou Middle School are a great bunch
Special thanks to Norman Sauppe for capturing the moment we will never forget!
Manitou students are the best!
After the Q and A time, the students were encouraged to shake hands with the stars of Bomber's Moon. They stayed much longer than we thought they would.
Edi and Dick Kaufman
Richard and I met them at a 10th Mountain Division reunion in Denver. Dick was walking down the hall and we stopped him to ask if we could interview him. When Edi started talking, we knew she was not from around here. She is one of the finest story-tellers in Bomber's Moon.They both told their stories to our cameras. We had to go back to their house three times to get their experiences in full. Actually, we aren't sure if we have it all, yet.
Manitou Middle School has wonderful kids!
The students were incredibly respectful and fascinated by the special guests.
Patty is explaining the B-24
Howard Casey is watching as Patty is trying to explain where he was in WWII in the B-24. Howard was a ball turret gunner. He spoke to the kids about his experiences. They had a million questions.
The teachers at Manitou Middle School had to move the furniture to get us all in one room. They didn't want to put us in the gym because the kids wouldn't get close enough to the WWII women and men who spoke of their experiences. Here is Edi Kaufman. Edi plays the Zither for the Denver Philharmonic and retirement centers and schools. She also sings, paints and travels with her husband Dick back to Austria.
Tilly flew over Tokyo
Patty is telling about Tilly firebombing Tokyo. It is possibly the most dramatic section of the Rocky Mountain PBS show, Bomber's Moon. Tilly is 92 years young. His wife, seated is 91. Patty and her daughter, Tommi Sue go dancing with them at the VFW Post. It's the highlight of their week!
In March, Manitou Middle School watched Bomber's Moon: Girls Beneath the Bombs
Muriel Dunkley told the kids about her home town being out of the way for very many bombs to be dropped. She explained how going to the shelter was "kind of fun because she got to see her friends and get out of school."
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