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My Dad and his "buddy" that lives at the other end of their block are the oldest Vets in the little South Texas town that I grew up in, at 84. They stand proudly, each Veterans Day, as the local High School honors the Vets for their service. Over the past few years, the WWII group has gotten smaller and smaller. It's sad to see. But is wonderful to see how proudly they stand and salute our Flag and sing the hymns of their particular branch of the service. Makes me want to cry. They truly are this nation's greatest generation.

Geez..I don't know what I would have done. The raping is awful, in front of kids is pure evil...but to break a babies arm..that choked me up someone could be such scum. I take comfort in knowing he is being taken care of in a firey place.

Salute ya Soldier

Thanks for sharing, great story. I would like to see more history behind some of the older firearms that folks have or that are in museums. It would be very interesting to see photos of the firearms and learn some of it's history. Has anyone seen a book with stories like that?

I was searching on the Walther P38 and came across this old thread. This was a great story and I want to give it a bump so others may read this amazing story. Great account of WWII.

...thanks for sharing it...we're losing them too quickly...love 'em while we can...

Thanks for the bump... Great story.

RoyGBiv wrote:Thanks for the bump... Great story.

And I'd forgotten that Mack is as handy with a keyboard as he used to be with the Hercules Hold and the Atlas Stones. Nicely done.

There are so very few of our Greatest Generation warriors left...

Skiprr wrote:

RoyGBiv wrote:Thanks for the bump... Great story.

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My Father enlisted in the Army in 1956. He was the youngest of 8 and lost his 2 oldest brothers in WWII. His oldest brother, Son, was aboard the SS Stephen Hopkins when attacked by 2 German raiders. He was struck and passed quickly and did not suffer, my Dad was told many years later, by someone who was with Son.
Thank you for all who served.

Great story. Thanks for passing it on.

Thanks for a great story. A lot of WW2 vets never wanted to talk about the things they witnessed and participated in in the "Great War." I am named after my father's oldest bachelor brother who enlisted in December '41. He was a tank driver all across N. Africa, Sicily, and later the Bulge and was wounded the last time crossing into Germany close to the end. He never talked about his experiences, but I knew he had a box of medals and other stuff including a P-38 and a Luger he sent home during the war. He gave me all his military mementos when I was about 13. I used to ride the bus to Arizona and spend time with him. I did know he qualified for 100% disability, but never claimed a dime and refused Veteran's hospital benefits after 1946.
I have always been a history buff, so I went researching his military records. He was hospitalized 4 times and after Sicily for 5 months. He received 3 Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and 2 unit citations. Yet he never shared any of these events with his Mother, siblings or the nephews who asked about his experiences. Just before he died, he was in the hay field cutting hay for me and it rained us out. We were sitting in the truck and he said that he never shared his experiences because they were too painful. It seems he lost all of his crew four times in the war. I had never seen him cry, but he did that day.

They were and are truly America's GREATEST GENERATION. May God Bless all those gone and those remaining.

Great story, glad it got bumped.

RECIT wrote:Great story, glad it got bumped.

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+1

My father was in the Philippines in the 1940s and he didn't really talk about it much when my brother and I were growing up. That's changed some in recent years. For my part, I try to be a good listener when the mood strikes him.