© Joe DiMaggio
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that ALL of my brothers and sisters would like to thank you for your service. Without the heroism of all of the armed forces, we would not be able to live in the greatest and freest country in the history of mankind. I thank you and everyone in the country thanks you. To all the ships at sea, the next time you see a man or woman in uniform, thank them for their service. They will give you back the warmest and kindest smile you’ve ever seen.
Jess & Joyce Weiss © Joe DiMaggio
To All the Ships at Sea
Anyone that follows my blogs knows I’ve only done two blogs since August 5th. One blog was on the birthday of my son Joseph and the second a tribute to a great photographer Bill Eppridge, one of my heroes and a friend. I’ve taken a hiatus for my blogs for a very specific reason which I will announce at the end of next month.
I just received a phone call from my friend’s daughter, Susan. When I saw the name on my phone my heart stopped. She said “Joe,”, ” I said please don’t tell me ,” and “she said yes.” I know Blogs are not meant to be about the dead. They should be about the living and in my case they should be about photography and filmmaking. If it wasn’t for my son Joseph and photographers like Bill Eppridge and visionaries like Jess Weiss my ability to make a photograph or do a film would be hindered to say the least. These are people in my life that have inspired, motivated and helped me understand the meaning of being on this blue marble for a short period of time. Fifteen years ago my phone rang and it was Jess Weiss. He asked me to write his eulogy. I was surprised, horrified, and frightened. Like Jess would always do, he put my mind at ease. He wasn’t sick he just wanted to make sure I’d be prepared for this day. First a short history – Jess was 97 years old the last book he wrote was –
Warrior to Spiritual Warrior the autobiography of Jess E. Weiss, one of the few living combat soldiers who survived the D-day landing on Omaha Beach. His experiences in Europe’s most famous battles were only the beginning of Weiss’ amazing story. He returned home from war to find himself facing a new battle, with the trauma that is known today as PTSD. A debilitating condition unrecognized in WW II, that led him to the most profound and transcendent spiritual journey imaginable.
Warrior to Spiritual Warrior is the post war memoir story of the journey Jess took as he rebuilt and reshaped his life. From the battlefields of WW II to his attempts to build a new spiritual foundation, Jess Weiss’ story is an unvarnished and stark portrait that will horrify, shock, illuminate, and ultimately liberate your faith in the strength of the human heart to heal and transcend the past..
If you follow my blogs you know I use the same expression over and over – you know I’m the luckiest man in the world. I’ve always had people to go to – a go to person for sports, for photography, for filmmaking, for writing and so on. Jess was my Go to Person for spiritual advisement and support. He guided me through some of the darkest days in my life. In a seven year period I lost my mother, father, brother, my son and nine close friends. His guidance, words, and beliefs helped me deal. I was honored to have him use one of my photos at the end of the remake of one of his books “The Vestibule” The photo below was an original tribute to my father’s memory. I think that Jess would be fine with it being repurposed in his memory. He is still with us and will continue to be with me and in my heart forever. Thank you my friend, you are a true American Hero.
© Joe DiMaggio All Rights Reserved
Jess and Joyce Weiss © Joe DiMaggio
© Joe DiMaggio All Rights Reserved
Hi to All the Ships at Sea,
I would like to tell you a story of a young man who was born with a beautiful smile on his face. He was extremely happy, light hearted, and funny. I guess you might even call him the class clown. I don’t think he had a bad bone in his body. One day, he went to Whitehall Street and because of a comment from a wise guy that was sitting very close to him, he wound up being inducted into the armed services. With his non-violent persona he was able to become a medic. He was put into a position where he would save lives and not take them. Denis wound up in a place called Khe Sanh.
The siege at Khe Sanh turned out to be probably the worst battle of that infamous Vietnam War. To this day no one knows what happened, how it happened, or when it happened. What I do know is that my cousin Denis Dermody was awarded the Silver Star. I know they don’t give out Silver Stars to just anybody. If you ever want to know something about a real hero, you can be assured the way to tell that they are real heroes is that they never speak about it and Denis never did. I heard through other people that he saved many lives but had to do certain things he didn’t want to do to save those lives. Like many of our brave, courageous men and women who came back from war, especially that war, they were not welcomed with open arms as heroes. As you know, my expertise is about photography and filmmaking. I will regress for one moment. Three years ago, Denis confided in me that he spent a week in a fox hole with Photographer David Douglas Duncan, who is one of my all time heroes. I have all of his books. The photo you are about to see was taken by David Douglas Duncan. It is double truck spread in his book A War Without Heroes. The day after I spoke with my cousin Denis, I called David, who is living in the South of France and we spoke for about 40 minutes. He recalled many of the things that happened in Khe Sanh. I am pretty sure the abbreviation PTSD did not exist when Denis came back from Vietnam. Like many other brothers and sisters he suffered more when he came back to the United States then he did there. That’s my perception but not fact. Dennis fought through the bullets, the barbed wire, the Napalm, Agent Orange, and God knows what else. He was and is still loved by thousands of people that he’s helped over the years.
In the final analysis he fought the good fight, never lost and just moved on to a different dimension. I genuinely hope and pray that he is looking down with that big smile on his face. I will also remind you, Denis, that you’re half Italian and half Irish and there were only two people in the world who ever called me Joseph – my mother and you cousin Denis.
Rest In Peace I Will Always Love You
Joseph
It’s amazing how much you can miss and it can be staring you right in the face. Photographers are not supposed to do that. Denis’s action just happened to be on March 17th. I wonder if he, at the time, or if anybody else realized that it was on St. Patrick’s Day?
You can now follow me on Twitter @dimaggio_photo
Visual Impressions with Joe DiMaggio, Sponsored by Adorama
www.adorama.com
Adorama Learning Center
Joe DiMaggio 