My step grandfather was a barber from Ohio and a BAR man in the Pacific during WWII and he was a pretty tough old guy and a little mean at times. He said the Japanese would come in a bonzai attack charge and he would shoot them with a guy on each side of him feeding him magazines. The gun would get smoking hot and they would keep coming and coming. He had nightmares about that for many years and hated the Japs until the day he died in the late 1980s.
He Bombed the Nazis. 75 Years Later, the Nightmares Began.
- Thread starter oldbrownhat
- Start date
jcs266
Member
Just ordered the book. Thanks for the tip, I love military history biographies.
Father was Navy...Pacific ...He didn't talk about it except for a couple times. I only saw my father drunk 3 times. the first was when he and my uncles and their close friends got together about 1955 or so...being a kid I listened as well as I could from another room. He told of the Kamikazes diving on ships He manned the guns...fought the fires and helped the wounded. One of my uncles talked of rooting the japanese out of caves etc and they pushed civilians out first before coming out themselves. He had a lot of troubles because of having to kill 'em all...his words...never forget those words. Father in law despised the Germans for what they did to civilians. He fought with the Brits commando groups. Had great respect and admiration for them. 3 1/2 years of that wounded 3 times then he went ashore on D day. between then and Christmas day of Battle of the Bulge He lost a lot of people in his machine gun squad. He was ashamed that he lost all those men and their replacements...He said when he got replacements he told 'em about their job...and didn't want to know their names. Read his records after his passing. He earned 2 bronze stars Sllver star and the only one he told me about The French Croix de Guerre. He said he hated getting that medal...He got kissed on both cheeks by a French General at award ceremonies in front of as he put it...the whole 3rd Army. He heard a statement made to someone else one afternoon when I was talking to a VN vet...I didn't think they could hit me...but I was wrong. FIL piped up saying that is exactly the way he felt. Until they did. The VN vet I was talking to eventually drank himself to death 2 years before father-in-law passed. He went with me to that funeral. I think he understood the emotions. Liked that fellow...wished I coulda gotten rid of his demons...Everybody who sees war... seems to have a few.
My thanks to all of you who are sharing stories about the aftermath of war. War is hell, and for many, the hell never stopped. I respect and admire those who fought for my freedoms. As we approach Memorial Day, let's all reflect on the tremendous gifts they gave us. Never forget them.
