Wonderful retirement party in Indian Lake August 7th

On Monday night August 7, the town of Indian Lake threw a wonderful party for myself, my wife Dr Harriet Busch, and the new physician in Indian Lake, Dr. Ryan Donnelly. The output of sincere affection and appreciation is something I will gratefully carry with me for the rest of my life, as I leave a wonderful medical career behind for a new lease on life. Dr Donnelly was given a very warm welcome and several Indian Lakers had wonderful things to say about him after seeing him as their new doctor. I was too busy greeting and hugging people to take many pictures!! I took a quick panorama as I was giving a slide show, with the projector causing a vertical blue beam that made several people look like they were beaming up to the Enterprise!! I wish the best of luck to Dr Donnelly and the people of Indian Lake!!

The next night on August 8, I participated in Author's Night at Hoss's Country Corner, the iconic general store in the heart of the Adirondack Park. It was a beautiful night with a full moon and a great time was had. I sat next to Phil Brown, visited with great authors like Nancy Best, Ed Kanze, Carol Gregson, and listened to the genuine Adirondack folksinger and fellow member of the League of Extraordinary Adirondack Gentlemen, Dan Berggren.

The 2017 LEAG outing

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen went on our eighth annual outing from July 25-27 to Newcomb Lake in Essex County. We enjoyed a wonderful tour of the Great Camp Santanoni and transportation aboard Larry Newcombe's horse-drawn wagons both ways. If you are a member of the Adirondack Mountain Club, you will be able to read all about it in next summer's issues of Adirondac magazine. Meanwhile check out the album of images from the outing which you can look at right now by clicking on the "photo gallery" tab. Enjoy!

Thank you Lake Pleasant Public Library!!

The good people of Lake Pleasant showed up for my talk about my latest book and made me feel very welcome! My next talk will be at the Saranac Village at Will Rogers on August 2 at 2 PM, where I wil present a talk entitled "The Country Doctor, Then and Now". Be there! 

The Sands of Iwo Jima

Having met, photographed, inaterviewed and written about several World War II veterans who fought in the battle of Iwo Jima, I have heard all about the unique volcanic black sand that the Marines had to deal with as they struggled ashore under constant bombardment from Japanese machine guns, mortars and artillery. Some likened it to ball bearings since it was impossible to get traction on or to dig a foxhole into. The sand's nature was so notorious that in 1949, John Wayne starred in a classic war movie entitled "The Sands of Iwo Jima".     

On June 10 I was thrilled to participate in the second anniual Cheers for Heroes fundraiser at the Lake George Beer Hub, where I rendezvoused with two WWII vets, 98-year-old George Jensen of the 2nd Marine Division and 93-year-old August Bolton of VMSB454, and two active Marines, Sgts Martin and Vivier, currently stationed at the Armed Forces Recruiting Office in Saratoga Springs. The two generations of Marines really hit it off and many stories were swapped.

As we were leaving, gunnery Sgt. Martin invited me down to his office to give me a small sample of actual Iwo Jima sand, which he was able to collect when he spent a week on the island a few years ago. He is trained as an F-18 mechanic and he was sent there to repair two F-18s that were stranded on Iwo Jima. I accepted his offer, and he spooned out a few ounces for me yesterday which I will pass along to George Jensen. Just looking at the sand gives me the willies!

The experience brings the history of WWII back almost to life. I never thought a handful of sand could have such an emotional impact!

A new review of "We Were There"

I just received a wonderful letter from Michael Douglass of Cortland NY:

Dear Dr. Way

Wow, what a great book! Thank you for making the effort to put those men and women's stories forever in our minds. We Were There was great and made me that much prouder of my dad and being an American. My dad was in the Pacific, island-hopping for 4 months before he got several diseases which took him out of combat and may have saved his life. I feel like a complete wimp compared to what those men and women went through. We all have a great life thanks to them. There doesn't seem to be any way to ever pay our debt of gratitude to them. Thank you so much for getting their stories together and putting them out there for all of us to read and understand a little of what they went through. I hope our paths cross some day so I can shake your hand in thanks. I am an avid hiker, paddler, and lover of the Adirondacks.

Thanks sincerely,

Micharel Douglass

 Thank YOU Mike for your wonderful review- you made my day!!