This story brought tears to my eyes. I’m 76 and we will never see men like this ever again. We owe them so very much!

 

Edited February 10, 20251 yr by n4gix
Corrected my math dyslexia regarding my age...

They were indeed The Greatest Generation. 

But we still do see them again.  Men and women who show bravery in the heat of battle.  Our VA hospitals are full of them.  And now we also have brave women who suck it up in the heat of war.  Tammy Duckworth who lost both legs flying a Blackhawk helicopter in Iraq when she was shot down and later became a congresswoman and is now a senator.  A very brave woman.  And in my estimation a genuine hero.

The difference between our WW2 heroes and our war on Terror heroes is that the entire nation was behind WW2 and it was big news from Pearl Harbor to VJ-Day while the War on Terror has been all but forgotten except for those who are going into harms way to fight it and their families.  It's out of sight and out of mind for the vast majority of us.  We don't see news stories of today's war heroes.  But believe me, we still have our heroes even if they are overshadowed by politics and the economy and protests and where are going to spend out next vacation.

Noel

23 hours ago, n4gix said:

 I’m 67 

 

Uh.....How many years ago were you 67, Bill?? 🤔🤨

Truly America's greatest generation.

On 2/8/2025 at 2:02 PM, charliearon said:

Uh.....How many years ago were you 67, Bill?? 🤔🤨

Um, darn this numerical dyslexia! I meant to type 76... <sigh>  🤪

It's okay Father.   Both of my eyes are fixed now and i make mistakes when i type. Getting used to these implants.

On 2/8/2025 at 1:57 PM, birdguy said:

But we still do see them again.  Men and women who show bravery in the heat of battle.  Our VA hospitals are full of them.

I agree wholeheartedly. 

It is true that the USA has engaged in a number of unnecessary and foolish wars and conflicts since WW2, but that does not diminish or negate the sacrifices and bravery that some of our military men and women have made and demonstrated in battle.

Dave

I second that Dave and Noel. It was the men, and women working the defense factories during the war working so hard to supply the cause. Years ago i went to an airshow in Newburgh New York and a woman was standing close to me, and she described working for Chance-Vought in Stratford Connecticut building  the F-4U Corsair. Rosie the riveter, and Sally the screw machine  operator  operating a Brown and Sharpe automatic screw machine making parts for the war effort 24/7. I am choked with emotion as i type this because both military and factory workers went through some holy you know what.

Edited February 12, 20251 yr by Paul Deluca

17 hours ago, Paul Deluca said:

Getting used to these implants.

Great! It won't take all that long to become comfortable with them.  😇

On 2/12/2025 at 10:54 AM, Paul Deluca said:

I am choked with emotion as i type this because both military and factory workers went through some holy you know what.

I grew up during WW2.  I was 8 years old on Pearl Harbor Day.

The entire country was at war.  Even kids like myself collected paper for paper drives and tin cans for scrap metal drives.  We would go up and down the street knocking on doors with our sacks asking for tin cans.  My brother and I would walk a few blocks to the end of Larkin Street where we had a panoramic view from the Golden Gate Bridge to Treasure Island and would sometimes see a battle ship or a carrier come in or go out.

One Thanksgiving Mom called the USO and invited two servicemen to have dinner with us.  They sent us two sailors.  

Houses that had fathers and/or sons in the service had flags in their front windows with a blue star for each member serving.  Or a gold star for one who had been killed in action.

When it was over VJ day was a celebration.  Traffic jams on Market Street in San Francisco and crowds of people, some with tears in their eyes.  We all though that war to end all wars would bring us a lasting peace.  How wrong we were!  When I reflect on that I can't comprehend how much our world has changed in the intervening 80 years   

On the heels of WW2 came Korea.  And that war isn't over yet.  The state of that war still exists.  We just agreed to a cease fire.  And no parades or celebrations when we came home except for our families.

And then came Vietnam, which we lost.  And instead of heroes who came home we had 'baby-killers'.  I recall when I came home from Vietnam and landed at Travis Air Force Base we were warned to change into civilian clothes because if you were going to San Francisco airport to continue your journey you would be called names and even spit upon if you were in uniform.

Next came the MidEast.  Instead of victories we now have withdrawals.  And, of course, casualties.  They are known to few because only a small fraction of us realize there are American men and women still deploying to war zones.

But, at least, today if anyone finds out you served in the military you get a, "Thank you for you service."  And I appreciate that. 

Noel

Well said, and so true Noel. The radio was a big help during the war, and anybody rich enough to own a television set had no news.[broadcasting blackouts in parts of the country and no news casts.   That came postwar] The scrap drives as you mentioned.,womans stocking drives for nylon. tires .No television factory production due to electronics being scarce.

Edited February 14, 20251 yr by Paul Deluca

yep Iam sure  there are more of these types in all countries

On 2/13/2025 at 5:18 PM, birdguy said:

But, at least, today if anyone finds out you served in the military you get a, "Thank you for you service."  And I appreciate that. 

I get that frequently as these days I always wear my "Army Veteran" cap whenever I go out. I've even had kids as young as six-years-old chase me down in the grocery store to say, "thank you sir for your service."

I truly wish I could say in return, "I wish I could say it was my pleasure, but that would be a lie." Instead, I simply reply "Thank you." Oh well, better late than never. When I returned to CONUS I was greeted by angry and sullen comments such as "How many babies did you kill?" The irony being that I spent my time in Korea in a Maintenance Battalion repairing radios. IOW, I stayed in the rear with the gear, except for my squad's bi-weekly sweep of our DMZ guard stations to either repair equipment in place, or else perform a hot-swap from depot repairs.

On 2/13/2025 at 11:18 PM, birdguy said:

I grew up during WW2.  I was 8 years old on Pearl Harbor Day.

The entire country was at war.  Even kids like myself collected paper for paper drives and tin cans for scrap metal drives.  We would go up and down the street knocking on doors with our sacks asking for tin cans.  My brother and I would walk a few blocks to the end of Larkin Street where we had a panoramic view from the Golden Gate Bridge to Treasure Island and would sometimes see a battle ship or a carrier come in or go out.

One Thanksgiving Mom called the USO and invited two servicemen to have dinner with us.  They sent us two sailors.  

Houses that had fathers and/or sons in the service had flags in their front windows with a blue star for each member serving.  Or a gold star for one who had been killed in action.

When it was over VJ day was a celebration.  Traffic jams on Market Street in San Francisco and crowds of people, some with tears in their eyes.  We all though that war to end all wars would bring us a lasting peace.  How wrong we were!  When I reflect on that I can't comprehend how much our world has changed in the intervening 80 years   

On the heels of WW2 came Korea.  And that war isn't over yet.  The state of that war still exists.  We just agreed to a cease fire.  And no parades or celebrations when we came home except for our families.

And then came Vietnam, which we lost.  And instead of heroes who came home we had 'baby-killers'.  I recall when I came home from Vietnam and landed at Travis Air Force Base we were warned to change into civilian clothes because if you were going to San Francisco airport to continue your journey you would be called names and even spit upon if you were in uniform.

Next came the MidEast.  Instead of victories we now have withdrawals.  And, of course, casualties.  They are known to few because only a small fraction of us realize there are American men and women still deploying to war zones.

But, at least, today if anyone finds out you served in the military you get a, "Thank you for you service."  And I appreciate that. 

Noel

Some of what you've written, particularly as a child in WW2 America, invokes that era quite vividly. May I ask if you've ever seen the movie " The Best Years Of Our Lives " ?  I'm British, but its appeal is universal - the story of men returning from the war; men who had been altered physically and mentally, and how they coped with people at home who could not understand what they had been through. The families, parents, and loved ones who did their best ( or didn't even try ) to come to terms with the fact that these were not the same people they had waved off to war, years previously. It is, without doubt, the finest film ever made. Seven Oscars, along with another honorary Oscar to Harold Russell, making him the only actor to ever receive two Oscars for the same role.

  Is the movie on Youtube?  I have witnessed the mental ravages of war from my teen years through my early senior years seeing men come  back from WW-2,   Korea,, Vietnam.  Very well said Paul.   Thanks again.

Edited February 18, 20251 yr by Paul Deluca