Meeting a WW II Veteran

Just a short story;
In 1975 I joined the guards for something to do(allready had my service time in regular army).We had a open house to show weapons and such and I was one of the greaters.(Had to dress in class As).Well I spotted a older man with a younger couple come to the door and look around sort of lost.I went up and interduced myself and asked what I could do for them.The older man asked if it would be ok if he looked at the machine guns.I took him around and showed him the M 60s and ma dueces.It came out during the afternoon that he was a machine gunner in WW1.I spent about 2 hours talking to this man and listening to some of his stories.I think it was about the best 2 hours I have ever spent.I hope he had a good time too.That afternoon was great.

------------------
beemerb
We have a criminal jury system which is superior to any in the world;
and its efficiency is only marred by the difficulty of finding twelve men
every day who don't know anything and can't read.
-Mark Twain
 
My Dad and most of my uncles (6 of 8) are WWII vets. My late Uncle Lyndal was at Iwo Jima. I once asked him what he contributed to be the major factor as to why he survied when so many around him died. His answer was that while most of the men were using what little heat they had to stay warm or to brew coffee, he used it to clean his gun. Seems between the sand, water and the cold most of their guns jammed.

I also am fortunate to know a gentlman in our gun club who runs the junior shooters program. He to was a vet of Iwo Jima. He like my uncle still hate the japanese.

God bless these men who gave up so much, who even to this day have night mares. We can never thank them enough.



------------------
Richard

The debate is not about guns,
but rather who has the ultimate power to rule,
the People or Government.
RKBA!
 
We should treat all the Vets of this country with the utmost respect that they so richly deserve. Somehow, though, I think that the WWll Vets deserve more. They all gave so much to this country, nothing could ever repay them for their sacrifices. Sadly, they will all be gone in the not to distant future. Appreciate them while they are still with us. Talk to them, buy them a cup of coffee, thank them for what they did for you. If one happens to be a relative, tell them that you love him.

I Love You, Dad.

------------------
Proud,dues paying,member of the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy"
 
My Dad, my hero. He is a hero to me for a lot of things, and being a vet of WW II is one of them. He says the only thing he really remembers is how he knocked an Arab off a camel with a wrench one time. He also related a little about the toughness and fierceness of the French Foreign Legion.
He, along with countless others, is the reason we are able to be here now!

ps-Mom is my hero,too, but for mom type reasons!

------------------
"I learned a thing or two from Charlie,don't you know. You better stay away from Copperhead Road" Steve Earle

[This message has been edited by tatters (edited May 17, 2000).]
 
I was friends with the sons of a man, Mr. Villasenoir, He survived the Batann Death March, He was a large, powerful man and never to my knowledge discussed the war, at least not in my recollection----he absolutely despised the japanese of his generation and wanted absolutely nothing to do with them. He was fine gentleman, who opened his home and his friendship up to my family.....fubsy.
 
If you ever attend an airshow that has World War II planes on display, take a a look around. You'll often see an old man, standing well behind the crowd, looking at, say, a B-17.
Go up to him and say something like "That's quite a sight, seeing a B-17 after all these years." and you'll usually find that the old man flew somthing like 30 missions over Germany.
Those guys were warriors in the best sense of the word. And has been said earlier in this thread, tell them 'Thank you.'

Owen
 
All vets deserve respect and honor, however it is more urgent with the WW2 vets...we lose them everyday.
My Dad died 8 yrs ago...Marine, Pacific. My uncle died last year....USAAF, Europe B-17 pilot.
Over the years I was privileged to meet some of their friends who also served then. They all seemed to have a common personality characteristic....serene confidence.
They all are the cream this earth has ever produced.


Give that old man selling poppies a kiss on the cheek and tell him they are honored and remembered.

------------------
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" RKBA!
 
We should honor veterans of all nations who fought against the Nazis and the Japanese Imperial Army/Navy.

My father served in the Air Force and my family was sent to Oslo, Norway with him. We lived in Bekkestua in a great house, about 1980 or so. Well, behind us on a hill lived Mr. Knadderud. I think Mr. Knadderud was in the Resistance, maybe the Norsk Army. He could only see from one eye, the other was badly scarred. One time we got a tour of his house and he had a TON of military memorabilia. Swords, old guns, a chandelier made of bayonets, and best of all, his own 37mm field gun which was pointed right over our house! Mom got pictures of that.
 
I had a customer in Brookhaven, Mississippi who fought in Patton's Army. I will relate one interesting story.

Whenever they would encounter a concentration camp as they pushed into Germany, Patton would stop the troops and demand that only combat-hardened veterans take part in the initial liberation. Newbies were forced to observe. At this point, Patton gave the instruction to shoot every Nazi in sight surrender or no surrender, armed or not, white flag or no flag.

On one of these ocassions as they enetered the main gate of a camp, an SS officer dressed in Black with white gloves stood in the middle of the road leading to the entrance. The officer gave a salute and his body was immediately cut in half by the machinegunner atop a Sherman tank. No one missed a beat and they quickly went into the death camp shooting first and asking questions later.

What goes around; comes around.
 
I had the pleasure of spending alot of time growing up with my Grandfather. He told me many stories and was my influence for joining the Navy. He always told me about the fun he had and all the places he visited. He rarely spoke of the combat he saw. It was only after his death and when I had grown older that I realized what kind of man he was. I was surfing through a box of old photos my Dad kept. In it I found an old crinkly manilla envelope. It was heavy as if it had a coin in it. I opened it and into my lap fell a Bronze Star.

Annotated:

It is with great pride today June 17th, 1942 that we award this Bronze Star to Seaman First Class James R. Byrd Jr. Whos gallant service above and beyond the call of duty was evident on the morning of December 7th, 1941. Asleep in his quarters he like many was awoken by the surprise attack that has brought us into this dreadfull war. Upon seeing the carnage, Seaman Byrd immediately set out to reach his post. The manner in which he went about it was quite extrordinary. The few cars and buses loaded with men trying to race around the harbour were strafed constantly by the Japanese attackers, seeing this as a fruitless endeavor, Seaman Byrd set out in the next quickest way he knew how. The distance across Pearl Harbor is well over a mile from where he set out. Seaman Byrd swam the entire distance amidst strafing fighters and racing torpedoes. Upon reaching the other side, Seaman Byrd found his ship, the USS Oglala, ablaze and capsized. He immediately took to another ship and began to organize their defense against the attackers. Seaman Byrd's display of bravery, and devotion to duty reflects greatly upon himself and is in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Navy. It is with great pleasure that I present to you, The Bronze Star.
Signed: Chester W. Nimitz

My Grandfather, My Hero.

This same man had 3 destroyers sunk from underneath him, spent 3 hours alone and unarmed on the beach during the invasion of Saipan after his ship was sunk, and he again swam to shore.

Next time you see or speak to a Vet, thank them. And then when they politely shrug, thank them again.


[This message has been edited by DOCSpanky (edited May 19, 2000).]
 
When I was young, I knew a couple of Spanish American Vets; they died long ago.

When I was coming of age I knew a lot of WWI Vets, nearly all of them are gone.

When I was an ensign with new wings, most of my superiors were WWII Vets, they taught me much and now many are gone.

I inventoried personal effects for shipment home.

My wife attended services stateside for over 30 of my squadron mates.

I hope God insures that those who are gone have not died in vain.

"Where have all the flowers gone ?
.The flowers to the graveyards gone."
We sent the weeds to Washington.

------------------
Sam I am, grn egs n packin

Nikita Khrushchev predicted confidently in a speech in Bucharest, Rumania on June 19, 1962 that: " The United States will eventually fly the Communist Red Flag...the American people will hoist it themselves."
 
I am a WW2 buff. I read just about everything I can get my hands on about WW2. I would like to read some stories from 'the other side' as well. A friend of mine from my college days said that his dad was in WW2 and drove tanks--for the other side! What a treat to talk to this man!

When I was too young to realize it, way back in the '60s, my grandfather passed away and was buried in a small town in northern Wisconsin. In the funeral director's office was a small statue of the Iwo Jima flag raising. Years go by. My grandmother died in 1979. She was to be buried in the same small town in Wisconsin. My father made a point of introducing me to the funeral director. His name was John Bradley. He was one of the soldiers that actually raised that flag on Iwo Jima. Mr Bradley was a Navy Corpsman (medic) at that time. I got his autograph twice (once for my excuse slip for work). It is something I treasure to this day.

My godfather, my mother's sisters' husband, was a gunner on a B-17 during WW2. I was told to never ask him about it though. It turns out that he was on leave one day and his plane went down with no survivors.

Back in 1983 I went on a vacation to Harlingen, TX to attend the Confederate Air Force show. There was a B-17 that was painted just like one from my Uncle's squadron. I took many pictures and when asked why I was taking so many pictures of this particular plane I explained about my Uncle Walt. I was allowed to take more pictures inside the plane , showing where his station was (waist gunner) and talked to many of the CAF crew. I got them all to sign a publicity photo of the plane. I took that photo with all of the well-wishes to my uncle, not knowing how I would be recieved. It moved him to tears. He opened up to me like he had to no other person since the war. That is another memory I will always treasure.

[This message has been edited by Cougar (edited May 19, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Cougar (edited May 19, 2000).]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top