Posted on 06/06/2002 7:25:18 AM PDT by g'nad
Edited on 06/07/2005 12:19:13 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
When he was promoted to officer rank at eighteen, S. L. A. MARSHALL was the youngest shavetail in the United States Army during World War I. He rejoined the Army in 1942, became a combat historian with the rank of colonel; and the notes he made at the time of the Normandy landing are the source of this heroic reminder. Readers will remember his frank and ennobling book about Korea, THE RIVER AND THE GAUNTLET, which was the result of still a third tour of duty.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
Look around you. They are everywhere, just waiting for leadership. They are just ordinary men who muster the courage to do an extraordinary job.
Of course that is true. When I look at my son and his High School buddies, I think, "How could these kids ever take Omaha"?
But do remember-in 1938, when the blond beasts of the SS were marching into Vienna in triumph, in 1939, when they overran Poland, in 1940, when Paris fell, our Army was tiny. The future heroes of Omaha Beach were schoolkids, grocery clerks, farmhands, and a few college boys. Among them, there were surely more than a few typical American goofballs. No one who could have, by magic, seen the boys of Baker Company together in 1939 at home would have picked them over the Wehrmacht.
America is stronger than you think. It's stronger than I think.
And it's way, way stronger than the Muslim hordes can even effin' imagine.
It's left for us to call them all heroes.
And it's way, way stronger than the Muslim hordes can even effin' imagine.
So true, so true. And when people complain that this country is failing, and will soon fall, I say our best days are ahead. And truly believe that.
GBA.
I'm a doctor, it's been my good fortune over the past 30 years to have a few European Theater vets as patients.
A few years ago, a man was admitted to my service for abdominal pain. No complaints, no calls to the nurses, told every student doctor, "Oh, it's nothing".
When I saw him, he was obviously suffering a lot.
My first question to him, "You were in the Army, weren't you?" Answer: "Yes".
Second question, "Were you in combat in Europe or the Pacific?" Answer: "Europe"
Third question, "Why didn't you tell the nurses or doctors how much pain you were having?" Answer: "Infantrymen only talk to infantrymen."
Damn straight, brother!
When I said "Where do we get such men?", I wasn't bemoaning the current generation... I was marvelling at the resourcefullness, determination, and bravery of the American spirit in times of crisis. I've lead men in combat...men who in other times would have been labeled "goofball" or "loser"...all performed magnificently under fire or when it mattered...I never cease to be amazed at the courage, endurance, and tenacity of the American fighting man...
And it sounds like so many who just would not complain, doesn't it? No whining, no moaning, just quiet suffering.
Thank you! That brings a tear to my eye.
Ah, the eloquence.
My dad (who died three years ago) was in the Pacific Theater on a mine sweeper clearing the approaches to the beaches for "island-hopping".
That is exactly right. The Nazi's fully believed that their Hitler youth would best our Boy Scouts, who were percieved to be soft. But along the way the Everyman defeated the Superman.
A nice summation. I recall another account of the overall effort in the ETO which described the impression of the American soldiers from the German perspective. In prior wars and battles, the Germans had faced the French, who went into battle singing. They had faced the English, who charged into battle cheering as if at a soccer match. The Americans did none of this, they just fought, took their lumps, and won out. The Germans didn't quite know what to make of this grim, silent, determined fighting man, other than to respect him in the end for his determination, in the face of mounting casualities in many battles, to obey his orders and do what was necessary to achieve his aims.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.