Some of you remember Duane Faw. A few years ago when Duane was in his last days, I visited him at a Leisure World assisted living facility in Orange County, CA. He was in a story telling mood and he reminisced about his days in the Marines in WWII flying Dauntless two-man dive bombers in the Battle of Guadalcanal. He spoke of sharing a shanty with two other Marines, one of whom was none other than "Tail-Gunner Joe" (McCarthy). He told me of their poker games wherein Joe exhibited obvious "tells", making him a not particularly good poker player. Fast forward to1954 during the Army-McCarthy hearings, which turned out to be McCarthy's Waterloo. Duane reported that as he watched the hearings on television he recognized Joe's old tells on camera as he self-immolated under the withering and sometimes comic barbs launched by Joseph Welch, attorney for the Army.
I was watching The Rise and Fall of Joe McCarthy, an episode of The American Experience (a documentary program shown on PBS). I was hopeful of seeing some old photos of Joe's time during the war and possibly catching a glimpse of Duane. I was rewarded!
Check out the attached photos. I took them from the television set which accounts for the moiré effects. Only on more careful examination of the pictures did I notice the sign above the entrance to their hut reading "Shyster Shanty", Hizoner McCarthy-Judge; Tex Faw-Prosecutor; Jaco Kidney-victim. (at least Duane and Joe were lawyers).
Note in the first photo Duane is the guy with the helmet.
Kermit Anderson
Hi Kermit,
Thank you so much! Duane was an amazing person. For the many years that I came to LA to do an expo with your wonderful society there, I spent most of my time with Duane and Lucile. He was my constant companion on these excursions. I would stay at their house, first in Malibu and then in Leisure World. We had the most wonderful visits on the way to and home from the expo. He’s simply one of the dearest, funniest, and most interesting people I have ever known.
He told me several stories about his WWII days, in fact, he recounted the whole story on how he enlisted and all the serendipity around his enlistment. He had originally wanted to join the Army but the line was too long, and so he and some friends changed to the Air Force enlistment line at the last minute, because that line had hardly anyone in it.
A favorite story he shared with me was that upon returning from a bombing mission, in which the planes took heavy fire, the fellow assigned to care for the aircraft on board the ship came to him and was looking him over very carefully. The fellow was amazed by the fact that Duane was unharmed. When Duane asked him the reason for his amazement, the fellow bid him come and look at the aircraft. The jet Duane was flying had a glass turret which was just big enough to house the pilot’s head and shoulders. He explained to me that once seated in the air craft there was very little room for the pilot to duck or dodge anything. Yet, the fellow showed him a bullet hole in the turret, right where Duane’s head would have been. The fellow also showed him where the bullet came in on one side and exited on the other. Duane said he told the guy he had no recollection of how that bullet hole got there. I just remember at that point silently thanking Duane’s angels.
I recall that Duane served in WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam and rose to the rank of Brigadier General. He was regularly called in by top brass on very crucial decision. His father and grandfather were both ministers. He was a Texas country boy who went on to serve so valiantly in so many ways, not to mention that he became an attorney and then a law professor at Pepperdine. He is, without a doubt, a remarkable person. I feel so blessed to know him. Thanks for bringing him to mind today, it made my heart swell with fond remembrance of him.
Love….Paula Thompson
