So there I was in the probate court doing paperwork for my conceal and carry license. They've got a no weapons sign, a metal detector, and a deputy hanging out running the metal detector. When I arrived the deputy was a nice happy black man, able bodied and such. He got up, did his job, gave me directions, and went back to entertaining himself with a movie or his phone. I bet that's a dull job. The guy that came in a few minutes later was about 50 years old, missing a leg, and hobbling along best he can. The metal detector went off but nobody cared since he wasn't a terrorist or insane man, and the deputy helped him out as best he could. Didn't bother searching him or anything. The probate court isn't exactly an interesting target, and there were a bunch of other deputies in there anyway. The deputy held open doors, brought the disabled man a chair, helped him get his papers straight and organized, all the nice guy things. He's a good man.

After the shift change, the deputy that took over was seriously old. He was walking, but I don't expect he'll be walking for many more years. It's common in Georgia for people to retire then go work a guard job somewhere or work the weigh station writing tickets to truck drivers as a deputy, as long as they've still got all their body parts and can shoot. So, this man didn't strike me as odd.

I was waiting in line, sitting near him, and we were talking since he didn't entertain himself with computers and cell phones. I told him I recently left the army and this and that about the guys in my squad, funny stories about sergeants, stuff in Iraq. He leaned back in that old man thinking pose and began telling me stories of his time in the army, mentioning France and Germany, sergeants and the guys in his squad. I thought he was stationed there. Turns out he invaded there. Then I figured it out (I'm kinda slow in the head). This man was a world war 2 veteran. He turned 17 and enlisted, he was sent in as a replacement after d-day. He was in the artillery, manning a 75mm gun, and walked across Europe right behind the infantry. His stories were much cooler than mine.

This was the first, and possibly last time, I shook hands with a world war 2 veteran. That man is great

the original point and click interface, by Smith and Wesson

I knew a lot of those guys when I was young,even an uncle.They rarely, if ever,talked about it.It was only after my uncles death that my aunt told me he had been in the 10th mtn.,transferred out and ended up in the South Pacific.

Thank you for sharing. Some day the headline will read.
"Last known WW2 Veteran has died." I hope it's a long,
long time off but who knows. Thank them and honor them
while we can. My Dad and my Uncle served in WW2 and
they are gone.

Glad you had that experience. Chances to meet those guys are dwindling rapidly.

The last one I met was in a restaurant, wearing a "WWII Veteran" fore-and-aft cap. I left the friends I was eating with, walked over to him, and snapped off a salute. He was delighted. So were his granddaughters, and so was I. That was my father's war, and I have memories of it.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Stories from older vets are priceless. Soon, they will all be lost. Thanks for sharing.

It doesn't have to be. You could join your local VFW or American Legion and get to know several, I'd bet.

The herd is thinning fast but they are easiest to spot at their watering holes.

I'd be willing to bet several would enjoy swapping war stories with a recent vet, for comparison to theirs; what's changed, and what hasn't.

Just a thought.

You would be betting wrong.
I'm a Korean vet and belong to both the American Legion and VFW and almost NOBODY, I mean practically nobody talks about their war deeds around either place. What are we going to do, sit around and try to "one-up" each other? It simply don't happen.

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Dick

Thank you for sharing that story.
My Dad is a WWII Veteran who served in the Marines during
the last two years of the war on Guam and Iwo Jima.
He has some amazing stories too which I never tire of listening to.
He just turned 88 this past December.
It is sad to say, that they are leaving us at a rate of about 1,000 a day.
I am was waiting to go pick him up to take him to lunch today,
and saw this post.
I figured I would reply before I left.
God Bless our remaining WWII veterans, and God Bless the
souls of all our Veterans who have passed on.

Stu

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NRA Benefactor/Cert Instructor

I must be getting older faster than I thought. I used to know and work with many world war two vets. Think I had like 9 uncles that were in. When you put it that way I realize I can only claim one close friend right now plus one 96 year old uncle still living. That one friend I tried calling last week is 93 years old. He couldnt understand me on the phone. Life and time march's on past us fast!

Interesting how you guys all relate to World War II.
My father was a medic stationed in France at a field hospital (one of only six such facilities at the time). He was part of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) during World War ONE.
He seldom spoke of what he saw and experienced over there. I do remember him weeping softly in private on a few occasions.

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Armed and Dangerous

The Janitor of my elementary school was a World War 2 vet. I believe he took part in the Normandy invasion and fought his way across Europe. He always told us stories but left the violence or at least any violence he did) out

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Retired Career Security Guard

I think I'll go pay a visit to my 95 year old Grand Father,
U.S. Army WWII.

The ones I know, from most military service, don't tell much about the time in combat. It's about the men with whom they served, the things they did together when not on the front lines, etc. Normal human interaction stuff, with a different setting.

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NHI, 10-8.

My grandfather was in WWI as well, but as an ambulance driver in Archangel, Russia with the Polar Bears. Most Americans don't even know we were there.

I talked to a guy who was in the 2nd wave at Omaha beach. What struck me as odd was that in addition to all of the junk he had to carry, he was tasked with carrying one 105mm round. Now this guy was maybe 135 pounds - dripping wet - and is already carrying his rifle, ammo, and pack. Can you imagine jumping into chest-deep water carrying all that plus a 40-pound HE artillery shell? He said that he dropped it in a crate next to a Howitzer that was already set up, and ran ahead with the rest of the soldiers.

Those guys were better than me, that's all I have to say.

I used to live in Bedford, VA, home of the National D-Day Memorial, when they were still building it. I left shortly after the opening. During that time, I got to meet a lot of WWII vets and had some interesting conversations with them. I met one older fella in the Walmart parking lot. I noticed his hat and jacket and began talking to him while we walked in. He was in town for the memorial opening. On the way in, he stopped and asked me if I wanted to see something interesting. We walked back to his car and he pulled out an old photo album of pictures from there. He was a fighter ace and had a lot of pictures. I could have spent the entire day listening to this guy. It breaks my heart to know that when our current generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines reach that age today's youth will just toss them aside and say that their war was not necessary and wasteful and ignore them.

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Semper Fi

By golly, you're right; don't bother trying, then, Beamanator. Just leave 'em all be.

I used to know eddie alberts brother. He was a janitor when I hired in at lockheed in 1965. One day he pointed out a notch on his ear and told me a bullet nipped it in the war. Most of you probley have read of eddie being in the war. His brother thought a lot of him.

My Dad is a US Navy WW2 Vet. He too joined up right after he turned 17. He drove Higgins boats and LCI's all over the Western Pacific. I've seen the photos, but he doesn't talk about it much.

One of the most rewarding things I ever did for the man was to hand him his Great Grand Children.



I think he's happy and fulfilled.

Drew

ALL vets are hero's in my book. ymmv

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Sure you did

I've been to a few gatherings with veterans, but not many. I've noticed people talk about life, current topics, and normal stuff. They avoid war stories because that wasn't a fun happy time in their life.

The one I met didn't talk about combat. He talked about the army, the weather in France and Germany, how fast and accurate and skill level he and his guys had in operating their 75mm gun and betting they could out-shoot the marines of today... He didn't mention Germans at all. I talked about the books I read on Germans operating their 88mm guns quite effectively and he nodded and switched topics. I took the hint.

Maybe I can find old war vets, but I don't expect stories. I love stories and happily listen to all of them and read the books here and there, but I'm not telling you about my 13 hours of combat and I'm not asking about your 27 months of combat.

the original point and click interface, by Smith and Wesson

I talk to them like they're people. I love the war stories, but I'm not telling you my 13 hours of combat and I'm not asking about their 13 months of combat. If they'll tell me the story I'll happily listen and be the best audience I can be, but I'm definitely not going to be the one that sends their mind back over there and cause an old man to be unhappy.

the original point and click interface, by Smith and Wesson

I worked at an old manufacturing plant for quite a while. My old boss told me about a maintenance man that used to work there. He was a WW2 vet- for the germans. He walked with a limp according to my old boss. I guess my boss asked him about it and he replied that it was an old war wound. Then he would start cussing. "...n Americans" was the phrase I guess that he muttered the most. My boss was a Air Force veteran and he laughed whenever this guy started cussing. Apparently the maintenance man was not very friendly. He was shot by an American sniper according to him. Anyhow this was the story that he told me.

Guys, "swapping war stories" doesn't always mean talking about combat experiences.

I apologize for having been imprecise in my choice of words. I was suggesting that you (or anyone) could still meet WWII vets at those organizations and that some might be interested in hearing or talking about how life in the military - - not necessarily combat memories - - had or hadn't changed since their day.

My father was a WWII (and Korea) vet. He didn't say much about his specific experiences regarding combat but he always enjoyed hearing stories from me while I was in about how military life struck me, and he enjoyed comparing it to his service time. Everything from the prime commandment of military survival ("Thou shalt not piss off the company clerk") on up. And talking about the people he knew.

That's all I meant. If you want the chance to shake their hands, you have to meet them and talk to them, and the common ground of being veterans goes a long way as an introduction.

Jiminy.

I was a member of an American Legion Post for 38 years in Maryland before retiring and transferring down here 17 years ago and I think I maybe was involved in or overheard 5 or 6 conversations about military life in general and scarcely none about combat in all those years. We usually just talk about what all people do, work, politics and everyday life in general or whatever. Between father and son who've both been in the military may be a different situation. However, my father and I didn't, he was Army National Guard and I was active Navy, two different branches. YMMV

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Dick

It makes my day to meet one of those guys. I could listen to them all day. I've never had a stint in the service (4F and no unlimited wars when I was of age). All the same, I'm like a little kid being told about WWII by people who were ACTUALLY there. I've also been privileged know some people who were in "The Great War" and everything since then.

Both of my parents were WWII veterans, Mom was an Army nurse 1st lieutenant, and Dad a Marine corporal. Dad returned to duty for Korea as a Staff Sargent, DI, weapons specialist and instructor. Mostly all they would talk about to us kids were the "amusing stories", though in the last couple years we'd managed to convince Dad to write down more of what happened.

Dad's older brother was a Captain in the Rangers, and the only way Dad found out what my uncle had been involved in on Iwo was when his (surviving) men told him when Dad got there later. My uncle never told any of his family anything about Iwo, though he had spoken about some of the previous incidents. About a year before he died, my uncle and I were talking alone and something made him open up for the first time. As his men had told Dad, he was a hero, and got most of them out of it alive, but "survivor's guilt" had been weighing on him all those years.

That generation is thinning out rapidly now. Dad passed away in August, and in the month between his death and the final funeral and interment a month later, there were nearly 100 more veterans placed in the columbarium at the national cemetery near me in Holly Michigan, and that doesn't include the cremain and coffin burials elsewhere in the cemetery. There were only a very few 'skipped' niches for a surviving veteran spouse, like the one next to Dad for Mom. While this number includes more recent veterans as well, the majority of inscriptions showed service in WWII and Korea.



Dad's brother-in-law was also on Iwo Jima at the same time in another capacity. Uncle Gage passed away in 2010 as the last surviving Chaplain from that campaign. He'd performed the burial services there for about 1800 men. Chance and a MA State Trooper saw to it that he had a uniformed Marine honor guard in attendance in his final days in the hospital. Gage Hotaling

I was privileged to know many WWII veterans in my life, both in my family and professionally.

My Dad was supporting his disabled parents and his little sister when the war started, and was exempted from service. Nonetheless, he served in a Coast Guard Auxiliary unit, and did ship inspections in the Port of Baltimore.

My father-in-law was a Canadian who enlisted in the US Navy...and ended up as a waist gunner on a PBY Catalina amphibian.

My Dad's brother-in-law was a Marine on Okinawa.

My wife's uncle enlisted in the Navy right after high school graduation in June of 1942, and spent the war as a 40mm Bofors gunner on a destroyer in the Pacific.

When I began my career in the Baltimore City Fire Department, in 1974, the Greatest Generation was in charge. These were the guys who'd gone into the BCFD in '46 or '47, after their military service, and had risen through the ranks. They were terrific! Strong leaders, tough, no-nonsense, mission-oriented, gallant, brave, and very demanding. We won't see their kind again...

Certainly one of my heros -
Pops was a radio operator on C47's in the ETO. He flew both operations Market-Garden and Varsity. He's got lots of stories but, not a lot of stories of the flying. I found this photo in the Great Northern Railway Museum in Whitefish, Montana.

My Dad on the left. He'll be 93 this month.

My 95 year old Dad is a WW2 vet. Was Staff Sergeant infantry in Patton's Third Army. Saw combat as a replacement right after the Battle of the Bulge. Almost never wants to talk about it much. I keep trying to coax it out of him and succeed in small doses.