I cryed this morning

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walter o

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Maybe it is because i am getting up in age or i am remembering some things from the distant past.Happened to catch a rerun of mail call this morning and as i watched it i started having tears run down my face ot was BOUT THE BATTLE OF iwo jims and what occurred to the the young men who fought and died on this island. Interviewed were some survivors and the more i watched the more the tears flowed.I Now know why they were called
THE Greatest Generation.

"Pie Jesu" Translation in English: Merciful Jesus, merciful Jesus, merciful Jesus, merciful Jesus Father, who takes away the sins of the world Grant them rest, ...
 
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My dad had turned 22 and a Sergeant by the time they got to Okinawa.

My childhood memories...

He never talked about any of it with the exception of defending criticism of General Douglas MacArthur. If anyone spoke negatively about the General, he would fly-hot.

That and he despised anything Made In Japan.

"Daddy, why don't we ever go camping?" I would ask as a child. He replied "Well son, me and a few friends slept on the ground on Guam, the Philippines, Saipan and Okinawa. I've done my share of camping."

Not too many years later, he went camping in a place called Korea.

He never complained.


I miss him everyday.


,
 
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I get that feeling watching some of the Voices of History videos on youtube.

These folks did their duty and would be disgusted by some of the things happening in a country they fought, bled and died for.

I often wonder how we would fare today if the same age group was asked to do the things they did.

Thanks to all who served.
 
When writing the eulogy for my WW II vet Father 5-1/2 years ago, I looked up the survivor stats. Out of 16 million U.S. servicemen in WW II, approximately 400,000 survived to August 2019. Today that number is about 66,000. These numbers are projections and estimates from the VA. Amazingly, the VA projects the last survivor will live into the 2040’s.

RIP all. Lux aeterna. Light eternal.
 
WardenRoss said:
My dad had turned 22 and a Sergeant by the time they got to Okinawa.

My childhood memories...

He never talked about any of it with the exception of defending criticism of General Douglas MacArthur. If anyone spoke negatively about the General, he would fly-hot.

That and he despised anything Made In Japan.

"Daddy, why don't we ever go camping?" I would ask as a child. He replied "Well son, me and a few friends slept on the ground on Guam, the Philippines, Saipan and Okinawa. I've done my share of camping."

Not too many years later, he went camping in a place called Korea.

He never complained.


I miss him everyday.


,
Click to expand...

I had an uncle who was in the assault at Iwo Jima. Just like your Dad he revered General McArthur, and kept a framed photo on his coffee table until the day he died. The only other photo on that table was one of his first grandson, who died of brain cancer at age 5. My uncle disdained anything made in Japan, and for years would hold on to his old Zenith TV, made in America, rather than buy a new one that was invariably made in Japan. He wasn't too keen on things made in Germany as well. RIP.
 
Given the experiences they had, a strong distaste for things Japanese and German is not all that surprising. I grew up in a town with a significant Jewish population and some of my friend's relative were camp survivors. I too had a learned discomfort with Germans. Not really objective, but based on things I learned.
 
Mr. Vito said:
I had an uncle who was in the assault at Iwo Jima. Just like your Dad he revered General McArthur, and kept a framed photo on his coffee table until the day he died. The only other photo on that table was one of his first grandson, who died of brain cancer at age 5. My uncle disdained anything made in Japan, and for years would hold on to his old Zenith TV, made in America, rather than buy a new one that was invariably made in Japan. He wasn't too keen on things made in Germany as well. RIP.
Click to expand...

My dad disliked Germans also with the exception of their weapons and firearms. He had a dislike of our unreliable (his words) 1911's and admired the German autoloaders.

When I bought my first Sig Sauer pistol, he beamed with pride and admiration when he held it. The family treasured our Belgian made Browning shotguns.

When I bought a Miroku Browning I never let him know where it was made. I knew better. LOL


,
 
My father, a WWII vet, was involved in putting up a memorial for those who had paid the ultimate price defending our country. This was shortly after the Vietnam war had lurched to a close.
I was with him when he got his first look at the memorial. It simply said, “These boys gave everything.”
Being a young man, I thought the term “boys” was inappropriate, and mentioned it to my Father.
He had this teary, far away look, put his hand of my shoulder, and said,
“They were all just….boys”
 
llowry61 said:
I get that feeling watching some of the Voices of History videos on youtube.

These folks did their duty and would be disgusted by some of the things happening in a country they fought, bled and died for.

I often wonder how we would fare today if the same age group was asked to do the things they did.

Thanks to all who served.
Click to expand...

I'm around several Marines, veterans of Viet Nam, the Gulf and some newly minted Marines and believe that, if called, they will perform up to the Corps standard.

However, I am concerned with our Government's attitude and its response and responsibility to the world we have today.
 
My recollection is that the average age of service members in WW2 was 26. That was about true of my Dad. (He served in a unit of technicians attached to intel, doing their photo/film development and the like. They were drafted as such, a common practice at the time. I likely would have been drafted as a JAG officer.)

The rate of expansion needed to make everything work was amazing. I found Dad's pay records after mom died. He had a very truncated basic (4 weeks) and then was a corporal. His whole unit was like that. The first sergeant was directly commissioned to Captain and was a Colonel in 3 years. He was riffed to Captain at the end of the war.

The average age during Vietnam was 19, IIRC.
 
Dad and Uncle fought in the So Pacific in WWII. Dad was on the USS Rathburn and saw plenty of action. They took a kamikaze thru the bow and barely made it to port.

Uncle was with the 4th Marines on Tinian, Sai Pan, Roi Namur and Iwo Jima. Wounded during the landing on Iwo. When I was about 13, I asked him how he was able to do what he did. His reply defined the generation for me. He said, "Bobby, I was lucky, it was warm where I was. My buddies in Germany were freezing."

I always say that those of us who weren't called to go are grateful to those of you who did. I graduated HS in 1973 when the guys were coming back from Nam. I had a good job and there was no draft the year I became eligible, so I did not serve.

My son has taken up the flag, two deployments for him, one to East Africa, the other to Iraq.
 
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