My dad, God rest his soul, was in Europe in WW II, he never said much either and now that he is gone it is too late to hear his stories.
“My dad, God rest his soul, was in Europe in WW II.”
Mine, too, never said anything about it. The only thing he said was that he would never go to see fireworks displays. He said he saw enough fireworks on D-Day.
We know what he did though. It was written up in his citation for the Navy Cross, which he received from Pres. Truman. He detonated mines on Omaha Beach, and pulled floundering soldiers out of the water.
My husband’s father was in the Battle of the Bulge. Husband said he NEVER talked about it when he was a kid, and finally opened up when our son discovered that Gpa had a wooden leg and held his socks up with thumbtacks. He thought that was so very cool.
My husband then contacted a man his dad had spoken of, who had carried him off the battlefield. He told many stories of their times there. Husband connected the two and they had a grand reunion.
It just must have been horrific. Plus, men are prone to keeping things inside. Friend’s dad, a Navy pilot, told many stories about his flying adventures tho.