France after D-Day...

[Boxx]

.He wont talk about it..

I have heard that often....

[minermark]

We had a tiger jump on the side of our PBR one time in Nam, right next to the chief of the boat and I, chief jumped off and I was right behind him, three other guys up front managed to take out the kitty, happened again a month later and this time it was a leopard. about a min before the cat, the chief yelled to arm up, for a seal drop, 9 guys and a seal team locked and loaded, then there was the cat, needless to say...no more cat, shot up the boat pretty good too.

[minermark]

I don't watch many war flicks or go to the zoo much these days.......

[BigStewMan]

My uncle--who has already passed--was at Normandy. When i was young, his stories were so cool and i remember thinking, "i hope there is a war when i grow up." When i hit my teens, his stories changed a bit and i remember thinking, "I hope i never have to go to war."

He did say that they had this Sgt that seemed tough as nails; but, when the landing craft doors opened and the bullets started flying, the guy stood there and cried hysterically. One other time, I asked him "How close did you ever get to the Germans that were actually shooting at you?" He said, "Pretty close. I guess about from here to the other side of the street." The street was a normal residential street width. I couldn't believe being that close to people shooting at me.

Edited February 18, 2014 by BigStewMan

[Boxx]

Several years ago, as I was cleaning out my mother's house, I found in the attic, all of the letters that my father (Lieutenant USMC) sent to his parents during the war (from Guadelcanal, Guam, Iwo Jima, and a hospital ship headed to Hawaii). Oh man, what a new perspective I got on my father when he was living a different life, well before I came along.

[WMcD]

Let me here give a tribute to my dad. He was working for the Navy as a civilian in NYC on Pearl Harbor Day. He had bad eyesight but eventually got into the reserves as an officer a year later, still stationed in NYC. Maybe a "90 Day Wonder." I believe he was elated to do what they'd let him do on the home front.

WMcD

[derrickdj1]

What the soliders went thru on that day was horrific to say the least. Reminds me of this quote from Apocalype Now

Kurtz :I've seen horrors... horrors that you've seen. But you have no right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that... but you have no right to judge me. It's impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means.

Edited February 18, 2014 by derrickdj1

[Taz]

Many, if not most of the ones who saw lots of action decline to talk about their experiences.

I have had the Honor to have worked with many Veterans from Vietnam, some from Korea, a few from WW II, And the latest from Iraq and Afghanistan. I have found that it is common for those that have been through serious combat to not only not want to talk about it, but also don't want to listen to people talk about it.

The ones that talk about it the most are usually Blowing Smoke. Some of who have never been out of the states.

My uncle is in his ninetys,,,,He still has that 1000 yard stare...He wont talk about it..

I've seen that look, and if pressured at the time, then a look of panic as though remembering vividly.

We owe a lot to our Veterans. A lot of them have been wounded in ways that you will never see. But wounded none the less.

I think the Veterans of the all volunteer military have had it bad, as they don't just do 1 or 2 tours. But often more then that. Makes it hard to put behind them knowing that they could be sent back.

Too many of our young people that have come home in body, cannot truly come home. The suicide rate of those that have come back from combat is horrific.

Edited February 18, 2014 by Taz