Wednesday, December 6, 2023

December 7 Changed Everything,

and touched everyone. I've known lots of veterans from WWII, and it's true that most of them didn't talk much about their experiences. Usually you can glean only a little bit at a time, even with those you know well. Today, we really can't fathom the changes to everyone's life, as the entire country became focused on fighting a war, with the iron will to win it.


 How many parents felt their hearts sink when they received one of these?


Men from every corner of the country, all part of a team.  These guys even had a couple of Code Talkers with them.

"This guy got killed on Guam, this guy died on Iwo, this guy got shot all to hell, this guy went nuts.  I got tired of seeing the guy next to me get it." It's a wonder that any vets go to reunions.  The memories need to be kept under control.  Good things and bad come out when your vet opens up and talks a bit.  "Navy guys would trade booze for souvenirs."  "I always picked up the first BAR I could find after landing."  "When you came off, you would fill an ammo box with oil, put your .45 in it, and bury it under your bunk so you would have it next time."  "On Iwo, you would go hole to hole, and you always had either your .45 or your Ka-Bar in your hand when you went into a hole....I sure got tired of sticking that Ka-Bar in Japs."

Re-post from ten years ago.
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2 comments:

  1. skybillDecember 7, 2023 at 2:03 AM

    Hi Dave,
    Then there was "Elmo.".... He would show up at the usual bar's around town and get a drink... then go to the next... he never said much...'just mumbled... I recall one of the bar patron's saying,"He survived the 'Death March on Batan.....or was it Corregador...?"... This was in the early 1960's... I was in High School,,, later... Class of 1963 Hammond High School, Hamond, La.
    Then I remember "Vietnam".....
    "THAT!!!!" is another story......

    skybill

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  2. David aka True Blue SamDecember 7, 2023 at 9:54 PM

    Poor Elmo! I knew a man who was shot up in Europe. I saw him shirtless while haying, and he had many bullet wounds. He was hit in the head and had a plate to fill in missing bone. He lived partly in a fantasy world and would often sing old country songs while he worked. He talked of dead horses and Germans, so I think he was at the Falaise gap. Folks who should have known better around town made fun of him for his peculiarities. We can't fathom what men like him lived through.

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