D Day Remembrance

texshooter

Read another post where a member mentioned his dad, and got to thinking about mine. He passed 15 years ago, and although we were a close family, he would hardly ever mention his military time. He told us many years ago about being drafted in WWII, leaving the farm, and being in the 146th Comabat Engineers: England, France, Belguim, and Germany. He only said that his unit made the D Day invasion, and was in the Battle of the Bulge. We never pressed for details, because we knew it bothered him. After he passed away, my brother and I started rearching his travels. We do live in a town with a Veteran's hospital, and several men there that knew him helped us.
We have some military records now, and Dad did surprise us.
Travels, commendations etc. Sure wish He was still here.
just had to ramble a little, any by the way : THANK ALL THAT SERVED ANYTIME.

FTSLT488

Amen. Thanks to the greatest generation. What's sad is that there's hardly a mention in the media (except for the History Channel). Thank a vet today (and every day).

Old hickory

My dad 1924 - was an Air Force Medic who went in on D-Day plus 3. There was still plenty of action but the equivqlent medics that went in on the first day suffered 90% casualties. He'd been in England for 1 1/2 years so he was disappointed to not go the first day but it definitely saved his life. He got caught in the Bulge on Dec. 28 so he got his share of excitement then. He returned in Nov. of 1945 and farmed here in Illinois from 1946 - 2001.

JBBooks

I had recorded "Band of Brothers" from HBO
several months ago. My wife and I watched
the series back to back over the last two
nights. Most of the time she had tears in
her eyes and repeat the question "who would
do that today?" I will print off the answers
for her if anybody wants to write one.
Thanks,

JBB

I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them.

budmott

My stepson in a Medical Sargent in Special Forces.
Him and other like him would and probably will.

later,
bud

If it weren't for lawyers, I wouldn't need a lawyer.

Gordian Blade

My dad taped Band of Brothers and I watched it, one episode a night, twice. I said to myself and anyone in the family who would listen, "They saved the world."

Would anyone do that today? If the issues were as clear and they felt their country was at stake, I think they would. Enough would, anyway.

royc38

Exactly. Gordian hit it right on thr head. They SAVED the world. Its still pretty awesome (yes it fits for this description) to meet a WW2 vet. As old as they are they still have that spark in their eye. I never turn down a chance to pick their brains when I talk to them. Some people call it story telling. I call it an education. God bless them.

XSF

Veterans are our greatest asset. The WWII guys are dying off now in record numbers due to illness and old age. I too never miss a chance to talk with them and listen to their memories of how they survived the greatest wars of our times. This year marks the 50th. Anniversary of Special Forces, and Colonel Aaron Bank (who is considered the father of SF) is the guest of honor at the Special Forces Association celebration in Fayetteville, NC. He's in his 90's, and was quoted as saying he wanted to live long enough to see the 50th. I sure hope he makes it, I'll be there to join the celebration.

Gordian Blade

OK, from my previous post on the subject, I hope everyone agrees that I hold the WW2 generation in great respect, especially the ones who didn't make it back (like one of my uncles) or were wounded (like another). And I truly believe that they really did save the world from a great evil. But I would also like to say something not so good about that generation.

They came back from war (those who came back) knowing they had accomplished something great as "GIs" = "Government Issue" people. The GI bill helped them buy houses and go to college. The US government was larger and more powerful than it ever had been, and was doing things on a large scale. So that generation got used to thinking two things that went badly sour in the 1960's.

The first thing was that we were supposed to follow the commands of our leaders no matter what. They knew best. If they thought it necessary to draft young men for whatever purpose, then that was the way it should be, and our duty as patriotic citizens was to follow orders. This was the thinking that got us into Vietnam, a tragic waste of life and political will. It took the country a long time to recover from that.

The second wrong idea was that big government programs could solve any problem. This started in the modern era with FDR, but it really got going in a big way with LBJ and his Great Society. LBJ was elected over Goldwater in 1964 by a large margin, giving a popular mandate to that mad idea, with big support from the WW2 generation. No President since then, not even Reagan, has reversed the tide. We haven't recovered from that wrong-headed idea yet and we may never recover from it.