Posted on 06/08/2014 2:56:06 PM PDT by Hojczyk
The last thing his commanders said before he dropped from a plane somewhere near Bastogne was “good luck.”
It was the Battle of the Bulge, and Allied troops were running out of ammunition, food and medicine; they desperately needed radar capabilities because supplies being dropped sporadically were falling into German hands due to thick fog and high winds.
Mike Segal was 21, a self-described Jewish Kentucky boy born with a rifle in his hand. A “Pathfinder” for the 101st Airborne Division, he was the slim hope of surrounded American soldiers.
He sent his men off, two by two, as he laid down covering fire. “I told them to run like hell and to not stop for anything” while he picked off the enemy, one by one. “I was a dead-eye, I never missed. ‘One-shot Segal,' that is what they called me.”
Finally, when his men were 50 yards from their objective and the Germans, “I said, ‘It's time for you to go, Segal,' and I just dropped everything, kept my rifle and kept on running. And I made it across the bridge.”
He saved the lives of every man in his unit.
Segal doesn't consider himself extraordinary. He came from a loving, close-knit family with a strong work ethic, he said, and lived an unremarkable life. He is from a generation that gave its all during World War II, but he believes subsequent generations would have done the same.
Bright, charming, looking 20 years younger than his actual 91, he reminds you of the importance of living in the moment. His actions in battle make today's world seem small — and sitting beside him makes you wonder: If you were called, could you do the same
(Excerpt) Read more at triblive.com ...
Yup leadership fighting war with an eye on their stock portfolios.
I agree.
But I’m not sure that war can be fought like it was during WWII. Too much technology involved.
The bigger thing, to me at least, is the fact that American patriotism has been “dumbed down”. And of course, politics don’t allow a win mentality.
We saw a small taste of patriotism after 9/11. It didn’t last long.
Do you even know anyone under 30?
You are buying into the crap that our country is not still great.
And, you cite “this political” climate. Do you honestly think we would be in a WWII climate with the people in charge?
Anyway, the age of set piece wars ended decades ago.
The EPA wouldn't allow that...
If you are protecting your family from someone in a vehicle your longest shot could easily be one mile or more. Learn now to shoot at those distances.
My dad made it back to England 3 days later..he came down amid a bunch of the 101st..they got him back to the beachhead the next day..His plane was hit about 10 minutes after the stick jumped...the other members of his crew didn't survive..he never found out what happened to them. He often wondered if he'd found the right drop zone..and what happened to that squad.
My uncle was in the 101st, and jumped with them on D-Day. He told my dad that he was on the run, constantly shooting, moving, and shooting again and moving again, for a solid week before he finally got a full night's sleep.
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