Posted on 12/07/2010 4:35:03 PM PST by RedMDer
“...When he was much older and near the end of life he started to relive the combat moments. He kept all of those bad memories to himself all of those years....
Yes, God Bless the Greatest Generation....”
Amen, Bro. My dad and his kid brother both enlisted in the USMC after the Pearl Harbor attack. My dad came back but my uncle didn’t. He was a BAR rifleman in the 1st Marine Division (G,2,7), The Old Breed, Guadalcanal, Okinawa then on to China. Like your dad, he never talked about it until later in life. The last two years with him have been like a slice out of a living history book of the Pacific war. He remembers the first time he ever saw a B-29 and could not believe anything that big could fly. He remembers gearing up for the invasion of Japan and hearing about the nukes on Japan and how glad they all were because they knew it was gonna be bad. The nukes stopped the invasion and there is no question in his mind that it was the right thing done. Some of the island combat stuff that they went thru are just unbelievable. We managed to get him down to the WWII Memorial dedication in DC. They had a deal there where you could put in your unit and look up other members of his platoon, company etc. There are no others left that could be found...just him. Yeah, God bless that generation. Semper Fi, Dad...and thanks for teaching me to shoot a rifle by 6 years of age.
Darn right. It saved a lot of lives in that war and every one since.
My 7th grade history teacher was a veteran of Pearl Harbor (USS NEVADA) and was forcibly removed from his gun with severe burns on his body. But with a wink, he said that was after the 2nd wave had finished. Nevada was the ship that tried to leave the harbor only to be ordered to run aground to avoid sinking in the channel. According to him, it received additional Japanese attention for that very reason. (It has been a few years, so hopefully I got the details all correct)
He spent an entire week discussing the battle in great detail. Most fascinating teacher/professor presentation I have ever witnessed. Textbooks could never bring history alive like that.
I also had the benefit of my Father and 7 Uncles who all served during WW2 sharing their stories when I was young. Grandparents spent a lot of hours in the throne room getting them all back safely.
I salute you, in the traditional manner of the military hand salute.
So glad you are still among the living! Even today you are still fulfilling your mission as a living representative of those who gave their all in the conflict, and those who served but have passed on to the great beyond. You represent them well. Carry on, and thanks for your sacrifice, and service in behalf of your fellow countrymen.
Believe me, and others when we say, It was worth it. Perhaps you will not know for sure until the author of our precious liberty, tells you himself praising your selfless service following in the footsteps of His eternal and supernal service in our behalf.
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