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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: N. Phoenix AZ USA
Posts: 28,977
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One of my best friends years ago was a tail gunner on a B-17. Lost a leg on a mission over Schweinfurt but at least he made it back alive.
The man I got my commercial pilots license training from was a Spitfire pilot in the Battle of Britain. Switched to the USAF in 1942 and was shot down in a P-51 in 1944. Neither would talk about the war much...
I married a German woman in the '80's while living in Germany and after being in the family for years her Grandfather would talk to me a bit about the war, but not a lot. The rest of the family filled in the blanks.
He was a raw recuit and drafted into the Army. Ended up driving a tank in the Stalingrad area and was captured by the Russians. He went in at age 19 and came out age 28 from years in Siberia. Hair turned white and he weighed less than 100 pounds. Do not believe that the Germans will ever attack the Russians again.
They indeed are the "greatest generation" and I am glad to see that we finally have a memorial for them in Washington DC. Also very glad that people like Tom Brokaw brought alot of this to our attention.
JoeA
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2021 Subaru Legacy, 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins (the workhorse), 1992 Jaguar XJ S-3 V-12 VDP (one of only 100 examples made), 1969 Jaguar XJ (been in the family since new), 1985 911 Targa backdated to 1973 RS specs with a 3.6 shoehorned in the back, 1959 Austin Healey Sprite (former SCCA H-Prod), 1995 BMW R1100RSL, 1971 & '72 BMW R75/5 "Toaster," Ural Tourist w/sidecar, 1949 Aeronca Sedan / QB
Last edited by Joeaksa; 12-04-2004 at 08:04 PM..
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