Let's not forget that 69 years ago today WWII effectively began with the loss of 2000+ American lives. If you know a WWII vet, shake his/her hand today...right after you give them a quick hug!
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Let's not forget that 69 years ago today WWII effectively began with the loss of 2000+ American lives. If you know a WWII vet, shake his/her hand today...right after you give them a quick hug!
I'm an asshole! What's your excuse?
I'm remembering my Grandfather today, who served in the 5th Artillery in Italy and Africa. He survived a sniper attack on patrol one night where a bullet hit him 1/2" from his heart. God bless our veterans.Originally Posted by CARTEK
To all our brave WW2 vets that are still alive thank you and to those that are not thank you and RIP you are not forgotten. Pearl Harbor we remember!
Have a neighbor who survived the Bataan Death March. He had just turned 17....yes had enlisted at 16 in the Marines and just had his 17th B-day when the Japs attacked the Phillipines and all the surrounding islands. I think the biggest battle was on Corrigador Island (something like that...) thousands of US Marines were taken prisoner and many died in captivity.
He also fought in the Korean War after that. Won some medals, but doesn't like to talk about it.
I see him riding his bike for exercise almost daily...he's like 80+ years old! remarkable fellow...and an American hero.
Grandfather. Served with the 101st and the 82nd Airborne. Landed on Utah beach, fought in the Buldge, Nijmegen bridge, Operation Market Garden, and finished at Hitler's Eagles nest. His only injury was a smashed thumb in a water pump. It blows my mind every time I think of it. Makes me feel I'm here for a reasn. What all those guys went through and are still going through today... Makes you real proud and thankful.
Also had a great uncle that made a living shooting down Japanese fighter pilots in WWII. Big thanks to them all.
My Dad was not at Pearl Harbor when the war started, but he was there when the war ended. He was on a submarine being retrofitted for the attack on Japan that was inevitable until they dropped the two bombs. It was predicted that up to two million Americans could have died occupying Japan.
My Dad's first cousin was shot in the leg by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge, laid on the battlefield playing dead until the Germans left. He had a hole in his right leg that you could put your fist in. Didn't lose his leg, though. My father-in-law was D-Day plus five. He was shot twice trying to get thru the hedge rows on the way to St. Lo. He has two purple hearts and a bronze star, with another handful of medals.
Truly the greatest generation!!
Thank you to all who served in WWII, and all who have served since. Since 9-11, I think many have forgotten about Pearl Harbor.
I agree and always say this when generations or war comes up...no doubt the best generation ever
“Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”
Lou Holtz - Football Coach
"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have." - Thomas Jefferson
"Bring back the rotary phone so we don't have to press 1 for English."
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My dad was.....smart...I like to think. Volunteered to go into communications, learn morse code and how to operate radio equipment. Was stationed in the Solomons, Army Air Corps, but handled radio communication for Navy aircraft and Marine aircraft too....which, if you know your history, meant the Famous (or infamous) Black Sheep Squadron. My dad (corporal) spoke to Major Pappy Boyington daily over the radio.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQCYG0C89uk
Remember this TV show!
My dad also participated (via the radio) in the Great Marianna Turkey Shoot, the day the US Navy carrier based aircraft slaughtered the once-vaunted Jap air force. We shot down something like 750 Jap planes while losing maybe 40. A complete wipe out!
The only "combat" my dad saw was when two Jap snipers, who had been hiding, starting taking pot shots at the US base. My dad was handed a .30 Carbine and was among 100 guys that hunted and killed those two Japs.
He wasn't exactly a big HERO. But, he did do his job.
They were all hero's!
+1.
IMO, anyone who served is/was a HERO.
My Uncle Pat was a C-47 pilot, dropped paratroopers on D Day and for Operation Market Garden (A Bridge too Far).
Uncle Al #1 was a fireman on the Enterprise. Wore those silver, fire-proof suits on deck. The Big E was the flagship and took part in every major engagement.
Uncle Al #2 was a fighter pilot, but was stationed mostly in San Diego...in case the Japs mounted an attack against the Naval base there. They never did.
Uncle Hoagie was in the army, but had just enlisted in 1945 when he turned 18, and never got out of the US. The war ended while he was still in training.
Yeah, they all served. But, ya have to know my dad to fully appreciate why....well, I once asked him if he earned a Purple Heart. He said, they didn't issue PHs for scratches from wrestling with Jap Geisha girls....
What can I say?
My hero's are both my grandads!
My father's dad served in the big red 1 in Europe and fought in the battle of the buldge. He also fought in the Korean War and Vietnam. He was was drafted during WWII and made 1st SGT in Korea and later in the war took a direct commission. He was Lt. Col in Vietnam and retired as full bird. Always thought is was cool he held every rank between private and colonel!
My mother's father fought in the pacific during WWII. After he came back from the war he went to A&M and then UT for law school and then back into the army after the Korean WAR as a jag officer. He completed all this after losing both of his parents before he turned 10. He retired after 20 years as a Lt Col and went to work for the FTC in Washington. After retiring he spent many years helping service widows with legal issues in the DC area. He he is still living in Northern VA.
They were both part of our country's greatest generation!
Myself I served in Desert Storm with company A of the 527th - not much compared to my hero's...
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