My father has killed many men...

[Dueller]

Thanks, all for your comments. I didn't post to brag or aggradize my dad. I was in a bit of a pensive mood while watching the History Channel "WWII in HD" and seeing the "ordinary" men placed in extraordinary circumstances. as to preserving an oral history, I don't know. For whatever reason he will not even read about war or watch a war documentary/movie. He always just quietly leaves the room if something along those lines comes on tyhe TV. Of late I have noticed him making contact/being contacted by some of his military buddies. They talk about their families, kids/grandkids, etc...never overheard them talking about things military.

As to those suggesting I thank my father, I don't know that it would be appropos as he wpuld likely be embarassed to know I had posted such private details. While he is proud to have had the opportunity to serve his country for 25 years (retiring at age 41...yup, do the math), he has always been somewhat stoic when attention is called to this fact. But thank you on his behalf for your heartfelt sentiments. If I had to guess, I'd bet my father would consider those who made the real sacrifices were those who were drafted or not career military...he made the choice...whereas their lives were interupted to serve.

In the History Channel program I was particularly impressed with one of the featured soldiers who emigrated from Austria and enlisted (Werner was his name IIRC). In his final remarks he dismissed the notion that only the soldiers who saw battle action were heroes... instead observing it was not just the military that made sacrifices and were heroes but a nation that went to war...not just the military combat veterans.

[Oh Haha]

Originally Posted by BGCarrera32

Either way I am in their debt as an American and pray I never have to face the dragon.

Jim, you are most likely correct about him not wanting the attention of a thank you.

Just give an extra handshake/hug next time you meet.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

Not only American . . .

I posted some notes from my father in this thread:

WWII Flying Stories from my father

Now as for my Hungarian father-in-law, I have some stories from the 'other' side. He was drafted into the Hungarian Army & sent to fight the Soviets in the Ukraine. A very different perspective & every bit as heroic & every bit as tragic.

Ian

Same here. My German ex-wife's family had a lot of men there who were in the military. Very few would talk about any of their experiences but then most of them were captured by the Russians after the war. One was a 17 year old kid pressed into service in Berlin who returned from Siberia 9 years later. He was "not normal" for a long time and his hair was pure white from the shock.

Another very good friend who just passed 3 months ago flew FW-190's for the Luftwaffe. He shot down and killed Allied airmen, yet he made several trips to both the UK and America for reunions with former airmen on both sides of the conflict.

War is hell, that is not going to ever change. Hope we never have another one but the "Great War" (WW1) sure did not end wars.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by Zef

My father don't....my friends fathers don't...actually...I don't know a single person who has kill mens....!

You are very fortunate then that total strangers were and are winning to sacrifice so much for you so that you can afford to live a nice, safe, comfortable life without any significant sacrifice or inconvenience. We all are.

IMO Folks who didn't have to make those sacrifices should be the most appreciative, but that's too often not the case. Too many people out there do not understand or appreciate how much has been given and sacrificed by so many and how much we have benefited by it.

You're not FRENCH-Canadian, are you?

[flatbutt]

My father served in France and the PI. Thats all he ever said about it.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

EDIT: just checked the internets, he wasn't in Guam. He was in Tailand and his title was "broadcast specialist".

Not all "broadcast specialist's" were radio jockeys, especially in Thailand. It was a real fluid situation once you crossed the border over there.

There were some Army and Air Force active duty people there but many were covert ops people who had been "sheep dipped" and converted to civie's for legal reasons.

Not saying to cut him some slack but if he was in Thailand it was a world of difference from being in the PI or Guam. A lot depended on where he was based and what he really did.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Not all "broadcast specialist's" were radio jockeys, especially in Thailand. It was a real fluid situation once you crossed the border over there.

There were some Army and Air Force active duty people there but many were covert ops people who had been "sheep dipped" and converted to civie's for legal reasons.

Not saying to cut him some slack but if he was in Thailand it was a world of difference from being in the PI or Guam. A lot depended on where he was based and what he really did.

Your point is taken into consideration and I retracted the harsh post. There's a chance it was covert but I doubt it based on what I was told.

[Joeaksa]

The fact that he was "in country" means a lot more than someone sitting in a office on the PI or Guam. Even if he was running a radio station there its a worlds difference.

[KevinP73]

Ok one more then I'll give it a rest.

[Buckterrier]

My family has been very fortunate. We have been between wars. At least as far back as my grandfather.
A thank you to your father and ALL service men and woman.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by KevinP73

Ok one more then I'll give it a rest.

My father worked at Hercules until I was 13, then he transferred to a division in california where he worked almost exclusively on developing rocket nozzles. At hercules he started on explosives and eventually moved to rockets.

He worked on refining and improving those nike hercules missile engines, as well as the minuteman and he played a big part in the development of the minuteman II and III that delivers the big nukes IIRC.

I remember we used to go park way up on the hill and watch the test firings about once a month. Not sure how far away we were but it was a long ways, and it was still so loud you could feel it.

EDIT he also worked at white sands before he went to work at hercules but he never told me what he did there.

[Phantoms]

My grandfather founght in WWII. I never heard him say a word about any of it.
But when he passed away last February my Dad and I were cleaning out his house and came across some pretty gruesome pictures of the war. We also found his colt pistol he neglected to turn in at the end of the war. After seeing those pictures I don't blame him for never talking about it.

[Joeaksa]

Phantoms (hope you are an F4 guy!)

That Colt, if its a 1911, is worth a good piece of change. Hope you keep it in honor of your Father. If you let it go, make sure you check on what its worth.

I am a 1911 fan and have seen several of them sold for $2-300 by family members who did not know what they had.

Joe A

[masraum]

I asked my Aunt about my grandfather and this is what she said.

He enlisted in the Army in Aug of '44 at Camp Blanding. And was discharged at Camp Shelby, MS May 20, 1946. He was a truck driver and was a Tech 5. I know he was with some of the troops that went into Japan after the bombings. But he also was in Germany and Italy. His only comment was how dirty Italy was, but Ger and Jap was so clean, even in a time of war. But Dad did not talk about the war!!!!

[fxeditor]

My father died in Vietnam just before I was born. I never got a chance to know him. . . You are lucky you have fathers to ask these questions to.

Michael

[azasadny]

Originally Posted by nostatic

My dad was a corpsman in the Navy in WW2 pacific theater. He never talks about the war. Having watched episode 8 of WW2 in HD last night that focused on Iwo Jima, I can only imagine what he saw. Well, I can do more than imagine as that show has a ton of authentic footage and they pull no punches showing dead and dismembered bodies.

The most poignant moment was a soldier recounting being lost in German territory in '44. He was an intel officer and not a shooter. The piece had an actor doing voice over as they showed shots from the region. He talked about being lost and alone, until a single German soldier came towards his hiding place. Knowing he couldn't go back and if he tried to run he'd risk being seen, he snuck up behind the German. The voiceover switched to the actual man, now in his 80's. It showed him sitting in a chair recounting the event. He couldn't look up, his voice wavering. He said he picked up a piece of debris and hit the German soldier over the head, then took his knife and slit his throat. He then went over into a ditch and threw up, forcing his mouth onto the dirt so he couldn't be heard and discovered by other Germans.

Horrific stuff.

Todd, I watched that and it made me cry and I'm not a crying kind of guy. Very sad and tragic... I was a USN Corpsman from '82-'91 and finished my time in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm and the things I experienced will be with me for my entire life. Every day, my challenge is to remember how important life and other people are and to try and make some positive difference with my life. Your father is a special man and you've learned much from him...

[azasadny]

Originally Posted by fxeditor

My father died in Vietnam just before I was born. I never got a chance to know him. . . You are lucky you have fathers to ask these questions to.

Michael

Michael,
I'm sorry your father was taken from you, war is truly tragic on so many levels...

[azasadny]

My experience is that the barstool commandos who talk the most, especially about how easy it is to kill someone have never had the experience. The ones who experienced it talk the least and they know the true horror that killing someone really is.

[Jeff Higgins]

Bob Keeshan joined the Marines too late to ever see combat. He was not with Lee Marvin - Marvin never said any of that to Johnny Carson. Fred Rogers never served in any branch of the military.

[BGCarrera32]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Exactly - two of Americas bravest war heroes were Fred Rogers and Bob Keeshan - Mr Rogers and Captain Kangaroo. These guys came back from their respective nightmares and tried to make the world a kinder place to live.

Fred Rogers never served in the miltary; Bob Keeshan did but only in the Marine Corps Reserve after Japan had surrendered to the US. Spreading urban b.s. around is a discredit to those who fought and gave their lives for our country.