Virginia Gibeson, Navy WAVES veteran featured in The Courage of Common Men, passes away

Glynis Gibeson Sakowicz 

I would like to send word to Mr Manning, that my dear mother, Virginia Gibeson, passed away January 22, 2002.

Being in Mr Manning's book, made my mother so very proud, and she was pleased to have met the Mannings, as well as being invited to one of the book signings.

It was her wish, to be interned at Ft Sam Houston cemetery in San Antonio, because she always looked back on her time in the Navy as one of the biggest adventures of her life, outside of motherhood.

She was a wonderful Mom, and an amazing person, who will now, thanks to Mr Manning, be remembered by others, each time that book is read.

Please post my letter, if you think it might encourage others to share their memories.

I have heard that WWII vets are slipping away from us at the rate of 1,200 a day, and each of them has a story that is singular, and as unique as they are. Those memories are a national treasure, as much as any work of art. They are the heart and soul of a free country, that exists because of them, and their sacrifices.

That generation literally saved the world, and all that has come after them, has, in a sense, 'stood on the back of Giants'. In the future, when they are gone, all we will have to understand the past, are their words and deeds. Thank you for your efforts to save a tiny bit of America's soul, by reminding the rest of us, that Freedom isn't free.

Glynis Gibeson Sakowicz