[quote]Uncle Gabby wrote:
A good friend of mine was a radio operator on a B-17. His mind is sharp as a tack but his body is failing. When you read about the casualty rates of the 8th Air Force bomber crews you realize it’s a miracle that he made it back without a scratch on him. I read some historians claim that strategic bombing was a waste but they’re idiots.
My grandfather didn’t participate in D-Day, but he did fight I the Battle of the Bulge, and got overrun, and the guys in his unit who surrendered were executed by the SS. No wonder he never talked about it. He was laid to rest 10 years ago.
A friend of my dad’s was a Marine who fought on Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and I don’t know where else, and never got a scratch but I’m sure he carried his scars. One of the nicest guys you could ever meet. But he was laid to rest almost 30 years ago.
Count yourself lucky that you ever knew such men! [/quote]
I had a barber for a while in town who lied about his age and joined the Marines in 1943 at 17. Survived multiple beach landings, including Iwo Jima.
I was lucky to have known him.
[/quote]
I’m always amazed at how many boys lied about their age in WWII. Seems like half the soldiers in the war joined up at only 16 or somethin. That’s how old my grandfather was when he joined the Navy to fight in WWII.
[quote]Uncle Gabby wrote:
A good friend of mine was a radio operator on a B-17. His mind is sharp as a tack but his body is failing. When you read about the casualty rates of the 8th Air Force bomber crews you realize it’s a miracle that he made it back without a scratch on him. I read some historians claim that strategic bombing was a waste but they’re idiots.
My grandfather didn’t participate in D-Day, but he did fight I the Battle of the Bulge, and got overrun, and the guys in his unit who surrendered were executed by the SS. No wonder he never talked about it. He was laid to rest 10 years ago.
A friend of my dad’s was a Marine who fought on Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and I don’t know where else, and never got a scratch but I’m sure he carried his scars. One of the nicest guys you could ever meet. But he was laid to rest almost 30 years ago.
Count yourself lucky that you ever knew such men! [/quote]
I had a barber for a while in town who lied about his age and joined the Marines in 1943 at 17. Survived multiple beach landings, including Iwo Jima.
I was lucky to have known him.
[/quote]
I’m always amazed at how many boys lied about their age in WWII. Seems like half the soldiers in the war joined up at only 16 or somethin. That’s how old my grandfather was when he joined the Navy to fight in WWII.[/quote]
My step-grandpop had just turned 18, but he failed the physical because he only weighed 102 pounds (the requirement was 105 pounds). After being told he failed and wouldn’t be admitted, he told the nurse she had to pass him because his entire family already had a going away party for him. I guess she felt this was as good a reason as any to send him off to war.
[quote]Aggv wrote:
… i cant even begin to comprehend what happen back then, in any theater of combat.[/quote]
I saw these the other day and didn’t have any words. I think it definitely has a stronger impact than things like Saving Private Ryan or any other fake re-creation of what went on.
[quote]csulli wrote:
I’m always amazed at how many boys lied about their age in WWII. [/quote]
I think that speaks volumes about the character of those men (not boys, sorry) and only adds to the heroism of all those who fought. [/quote]
My grandpa and his brothers did the same. He was 17, one of his brothers was 16, and the rest were older.
He told me the main reason he joined was because for the first time in his life he’d be able to eat 3 square meals a day. The Depression hit his family hard, and then they got kicked out of their land when the US appropriated it for internment camps.
One of his brothers had a ship shot out from underneath him in Japan, and was the only survivor. He was never right since then.
my grandfather was a D Day lander, it was always interesting to talk to him about the war. He never talked about D Day, it was always too hard for him as he lost a lot of buddies.
[quote]Uncle Gabby wrote:
A good friend of mine was a radio operator on a B-17. His mind is sharp as a tack but his body is failing. When you read about the casualty rates of the 8th Air Force bomber crews you realize it’s a miracle that he made it back without a scratch on him. I read some historians claim that strategic bombing was a waste but they’re idiots.
My grandfather didn’t participate in D-Day, but he did fight I the Battle of the Bulge, and got overrun, and the guys in his unit who surrendered were executed by the SS. No wonder he never talked about it. He was laid to rest 10 years ago.
A friend of my dad’s was a Marine who fought on Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and I don’t know where else, and never got a scratch but I’m sure he carried his scars. One of the nicest guys you could ever meet. But he was laid to rest almost 30 years ago.
Count yourself lucky that you ever knew such men! [/quote]
My dad was a member of the 15th Air Force during the war. He was behind the scenes taking care of the 461st Bomb Group’s B24 fleet. He passed away just 6 months ago at age 96. He was very proud of his part in the war and wore a WWII hat all the time. People would stop and talk to him when we were out with him.
He would talk about his experiences, but then again he wasn’t flying or on the ground in battle like many were. He was stationed in Morocco and later Italy.
All the guys of that era were as tough as nails. I worked with many guys over the years that were shot down, captured, sole survivors of an event too. Those guys who experienced something like that rarely talked about it.
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
Today is one of those days where you sit back and really appreciate what you have in life, and re-evaluate what is “bad ass” because… You could be storming a beach.[/quote]
The gym I work out at in Ruidosso (Jeff’s) used to have that poster on the wall in front of the squat rack. Written in Sharpie it just said “man up.”
[quote]countingbeans wrote:
Today is one of those days where you sit back and really appreciate what you have in life, and re-evaluate what is “bad ass” because… You could be storming a beach.[/quote]
The gym I work out at in Ruidosso (Jeff’s) used to have that poster on the wall in front of the squat rack. Written in Sharpie it just said “man up.”[/quote]
You have a perspective on what kind of guts it took to get on that boat, let alone get off, that I’ll never understand. Shit, you’ve ridden a horse into battle.
But when it comes down to… I don’t know. I can’t even find the words, really, to describe it.
