Father and 2 uncles fought in Pacific. One was a marine and 2 were Navy. Father hardly never talked about the experiences. He fixed ships..2 went down that he was on. He had NO use for Sharks and Japanese... especially Kamikazes. He was at Iwo. The marine uncle talked with me a few times. He also never had much regard for Japanese. Ever. His stories were pretty nasty. Told in a detached way. Father in Law was in Europe. 2 Bronze Stars Silver Star French Croix de Guerre. He was also the real deal. His stories were so matter of fact it made you realize he was pretty hard nosed. Took him to see Saving Private Ryan. He liked war movies and watched them quite often. Came out of the theater with tears in his eyes. Never wanted to see that movie again. Something really hit a nerve. He also told me that was about as realistic as any movie he ever watched. Got one BS for capturing a Tiger tank with his partner. He related that story in such detail it made me realize that his war experiences far outstripped mine. People were definitely different then than they are now!
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Instinctive shooting saved his life
- Thread starter sunnyd
- Start date
My best friend's father was a BAR-man in the Army in Europe. He was wounded in Normandy not long after D-Day, recovered, rejoined his unit, and was then shot and nearly killed during the Battle of the Bulge. He was so severely injured, in fact, that his CO wrote to his parents in anticipation of his impending death, speaking of him as if his death was a foregone conclusion. The family still has that letter...
When he recovered he went home, became a mailman, married his sweetheart, and raised five children. The only two things he ever said about the war were that a lot of good men on both sides died; and that after carrying that BAR throughout Europe, his arms were 3" longer...
When he recovered he went home, became a mailman, married his sweetheart, and raised five children. The only two things he ever said about the war were that a lot of good men on both sides died; and that after carrying that BAR throughout Europe, his arms were 3" longer...
Biggfoot44
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My father served overseas with the Navy, but didn't see combat
His brother , my Uncle was BAR man . The only details I heard was regarding his wounding at Battle of the Bulge. Bumped into German at close range. The German was quicker, and put 8mm into his knee, but Uncle emptied BAR into him.
Turned out a good friend's father was also at Bulge, close to same place and time. He told only in general outline about his Silver Star for singlehandedly taking out two interlockng German machinegun nests. He also had a war trophy Red 9 Broomhandle , that he only refered to as " taken from a dead SS Officer" .
My other Uncle, Mom's brother, served on subs in the Pacific. He boat was sunk by the Japanese, and all were presumed lost. He eventually made it to remote Australia in life raft. And spent another week partaking of Austrailian beer and Austrailian women before making his way to a base to report in.
My Father in Law was a USMC MP. He served stateside, but involved in several gunfights with his trusty S&W .38 Spl .
A cpl weeks ago I was playing ( very badly) at an old country music jam session, and it developed that TWO of the other players were WWII Vets. One was quatermaster, who had served in Europe from shortly after D Day landing until German surrender. He then was shifted to New Guinea, where he was preparing for the invasion of Japan when the bomb dropped.
The other was AA Gunner on a Destroyer. He survived the Battle of Okinawa. His comment was " no, I was trying to shoot them down" . He ship was still at Okinawa as the Pacific Fleet was gathering to sail into Tokyo when the Bomb dropped.
And when I was growing up, my dad often took me along to two of his favorite wateringoles.... The VFW and the American Legion, where I was surrounded by WWII and occasional Korean Vetrans. And later on my BSA troop was sponsered by that VFW .
His brother , my Uncle was BAR man . The only details I heard was regarding his wounding at Battle of the Bulge. Bumped into German at close range. The German was quicker, and put 8mm into his knee, but Uncle emptied BAR into him.
Turned out a good friend's father was also at Bulge, close to same place and time. He told only in general outline about his Silver Star for singlehandedly taking out two interlockng German machinegun nests. He also had a war trophy Red 9 Broomhandle , that he only refered to as " taken from a dead SS Officer" .
My other Uncle, Mom's brother, served on subs in the Pacific. He boat was sunk by the Japanese, and all were presumed lost. He eventually made it to remote Australia in life raft. And spent another week partaking of Austrailian beer and Austrailian women before making his way to a base to report in.
My Father in Law was a USMC MP. He served stateside, but involved in several gunfights with his trusty S&W .38 Spl .
A cpl weeks ago I was playing ( very badly) at an old country music jam session, and it developed that TWO of the other players were WWII Vets. One was quatermaster, who had served in Europe from shortly after D Day landing until German surrender. He then was shifted to New Guinea, where he was preparing for the invasion of Japan when the bomb dropped.
The other was AA Gunner on a Destroyer. He survived the Battle of Okinawa. His comment was " no, I was trying to shoot them down" . He ship was still at Okinawa as the Pacific Fleet was gathering to sail into Tokyo when the Bomb dropped.
And when I was growing up, my dad often took me along to two of his favorite wateringoles.... The VFW and the American Legion, where I was surrounded by WWII and occasional Korean Vetrans. And later on my BSA troop was sponsered by that VFW .
the ringo kid
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I read both long ago and bought the dvd sets about 12 years ago. What they couldnt show on tv--was a big eye-opener--especially scenes in concentration camps.
My Dad was at PH when the Japs hit,he fought in the Pacific...my Uncle told me he saw Dad save a pilot in the Phill.in the "Victory at Sea series.Dad talked very little about the war.Mom told me he would wake up from nightmares.Another relitive was on the Battan Death March! Some of his stories were "horrible"! He really never recovered.All are gone now.
Jim
Jim
Comrad
Member
Voices of Freedom | NMAW
I saw this RV taking oral history from veterans at an air show in Greenwood Lake NJ this past summer, great project too bad they only started in 2014, probably a lot of history has already been lost.
I saw this RV taking oral history from veterans at an air show in Greenwood Lake NJ this past summer, great project too bad they only started in 2014, probably a lot of history has already been lost.
Growing up in the 60's nearly every adult male I knew was involved with WWII. Wife's dad joined the Army when he was 15. Made it to No. Italy right at the end, finished his hitch, quit and enlisted in the Marines to go to Korea where he was saved from an enemies bullet by a short round of friendly fire. The shrapnel in the chest blew him off his feet so the bullet coming his way merely removed his kneecap.
His brother's ship berthed at Pearl on 09 Dec.
Another uncle came home from France with his wife.
Dad had a bad eye from when he was a kid but was a Hospital corpsman at MOTBY.
His older brother was killed in the Ardennes.
The men got together a couple times, otherwise none of them would say spit.
I consider myself lucky to have shared company with such men.
His brother's ship berthed at Pearl on 09 Dec.
Another uncle came home from France with his wife.
Dad had a bad eye from when he was a kid but was a Hospital corpsman at MOTBY.
His older brother was killed in the Ardennes.
The men got together a couple times, otherwise none of them would say spit.
I consider myself lucky to have shared company with such men.
If they don't tell somebody....
The story is lost forever. I saw a documentary on old veterans that finally decided to open up about their experiences. It's easy to see how they would try to bury the memories and how painful it is to keep them under. A lot of these guy were sobbing about some of the things that they had to do and I had a hollow feeling in my guts and tears in my eyes listening to them.
The ANGER that they felt toward the enemy that was killing their friends if not killing them was tremendous. And rage took over sometimes.
One vet told how Germans surrendered to them in the push across France and going forward so fast, they had no means to process prisoners so they shot them. And how it made them feel that they could do that themselves with little remorse at the time but having to live with it after the war was over.
I've heard a lot of stories but some stand out.
My friend Bill Polzin was on the Cochino when it sunk in the Barents Sea and gave me a blow by blow account of everthing that happened in vivid detail.
My FIL was in a lot of hellish actions but on the USS Panamint off Okinawa was something else. They dodged several torpedoes, one by swinging the ship on the anchor chain. (I'd hug and kiss that captain). It was nearly hit by a couple of kamikazes but one did hit the ship next to them, the USS S. Hall Young. The plane fell into the hold and started a fire. My FIL was among those that went to fight the fire and clean up the mess from the kamikaze plane.
The story is lost forever. I saw a documentary on old veterans that finally decided to open up about their experiences. It's easy to see how they would try to bury the memories and how painful it is to keep them under. A lot of these guy were sobbing about some of the things that they had to do and I had a hollow feeling in my guts and tears in my eyes listening to them.
The ANGER that they felt toward the enemy that was killing their friends if not killing them was tremendous. And rage took over sometimes.
One vet told how Germans surrendered to them in the push across France and going forward so fast, they had no means to process prisoners so they shot them. And how it made them feel that they could do that themselves with little remorse at the time but having to live with it after the war was over.
I've heard a lot of stories but some stand out.
My friend Bill Polzin was on the Cochino when it sunk in the Barents Sea and gave me a blow by blow account of everthing that happened in vivid detail.
My FIL was in a lot of hellish actions but on the USS Panamint off Okinawa was something else. They dodged several torpedoes, one by swinging the ship on the anchor chain. (I'd hug and kiss that captain). It was nearly hit by a couple of kamikazes but one did hit the ship next to them, the USS S. Hall Young. The plane fell into the hold and started a fire. My FIL was among those that went to fight the fire and clean up the mess from the kamikaze plane.
Good responses on this thread, folks...
If you ever had a friend or relative who just didn't want to talk about what he experienced in World War II, you owe it to yourself to read this book. "If You Survive" is one of the most mesmerizing, stunning accounts of WWII combat I have ever read...
[ame]https://www.amazon.com/If-You-Survive-Normandy-American/dp/0804100039/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482483738&sr=1-1&keywords=if+you+survive[/ame]
If you ever had a friend or relative who just didn't want to talk about what he experienced in World War II, you owe it to yourself to read this book. "If You Survive" is one of the most mesmerizing, stunning accounts of WWII combat I have ever read...
[ame]https://www.amazon.com/If-You-Survive-Normandy-American/dp/0804100039/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482483738&sr=1-1&keywords=if+you+survive[/ame]
I have an uncle that fought in Europe in the army, after he was discharged he joined the Marines and fought the japanese. I remember his funeral around 1970, had honor guards on each side of his casket. His ribbons went to his shoulder. I sure wish I knew his story.
My mom's other brother fought againt Rommel in North Africa. She said one day after the war he walked out the front door of their mothers house and was never seen again. God only knows what he went through.
My mom's other brother fought againt Rommel in North Africa. She said one day after the war he walked out the front door of their mothers house and was never seen again. God only knows what he went through.
Aside from the personal and emotional perspective of combat that this story provided, I was particularly impressed by this veteran's strong endorsement of instinctive shooting. Here is an individual that prevailed in many close quarter shooting incidents in the span of just a couple of years and he is saying that he never used sights. In fact, he descriibed killing his first oponent, while the oponent was trying to line his sights on him. I think there is a lesson here for those of us that practice defensive shooting.
My dad was wounded in Okinawa in 1945. He never talked about it. However after he died in 1992, mom show us kids some small town newspaper articles on his injury. Not a lot of detail but more than he would talk about.
My uncle was a WWII pilot, now deceased. A few years ago, we were sitting in the stands at a LPGA tournament. One of the players was introduced as being from Hamburg, Germany. He remarked, "Huh...I bombed her city in 1943". I have often since wondered what that kind of perspective must be like.
We sang "The White Cliffs of Dover" at his funeral, at his request. These landmarks in England, coming up out of the ocean, meant you were home and safe.
We sang "The White Cliffs of Dover" at his funeral, at his request. These landmarks in England, coming up out of the ocean, meant you were home and safe.
cpt-t
US Veteran
sunnyd: Instinctive Shooting is IMHO very common for Infantry Combat Soldiers. They get so familiar with the weapon that they carry, that the weapon just becomes a part of them. Most of the Infantry Soldiers I served with in Viet Nam, even carried their weapon in such a position so that they could just turn and fire on an enemy soldier at first sight, or return effective fire on the enemy after being fired upon Instinctively. Without ever even thinking about bring their weapon up to their shoulders to fire them. I for one used solid tracers quite often, to make me even faster and more accurate. At effectively engaging the VC or NVA when I was surprised by them. Instinctive Shooting was a skill that you tried to improve on any way you possibly could. For Your life and the guys lives on either side of you could very easily hang in the balance. So you tried to be the best you could possibly be at this.
ken
ken
Keep in mind that you will likely not be hearing from those that used that same technique, unsuccessfully.
eveled
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After reading Flags of our fathers, I kind of lost interest in WWII stuff. I have a great respect and appreciation for all who have served our country. But I no longer find the stories entertaining in any way.
These were real men who had futures a head of them cut short by evil. Some of them died in horrible ways. We can never forget them, but I don't need to have the graffic details in my head, keeping me awake.
I guess the reality of it all was driven home by that book. I can see were some don't want to share their memories.
These were real men who had futures a head of them cut short by evil. Some of them died in horrible ways. We can never forget them, but I don't need to have the graffic details in my head, keeping me awake.
I guess the reality of it all was driven home by that book. I can see were some don't want to share their memories.
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Ed Fowler
Member
Still -- Not a bad skill to work on.
