A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Johnstown's Thunder in the Valley event.
I was driving around downtown Johnstown looking for a parking spot since most are reserved for the bikers. While sitting at a mild jam up, I look to my left and spot an older man on his front porch taking in all the visual scenery of thunder in the valley. I smile and nod, he nods in return and then starts pointing at a parking spot on his property just across the street from the famous Incline Plane. Within a few minutes, I was inside the house of Sergeant Francis Ryan drinking a beer with him as he showed me his medals and talked of stories about Bastonge and the Battle of the Bulge among other campaigns. Francis was with Patton’s 3rd Army group. I of course asked him to just sit there for a minute while I took a few images. What a sharp-smart man. As I left Mr. Ryan’s home, he looked at me with his 94 year old eyes and said ‘I never told anyone those stories before.’ I grinned ear to ear and thanked him for his service. He scoffed and I said ‘No, it was your generation that saved us!’ and we all Thank You Mr. Francis Ryan. To the Greatest Generation.
