Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Veterans Day

Thanks for asking but I have put all that war stuff behind me.
To tell you the truth, at my age I am having problems separating reality from imagination.
George

george1, Please put "all that war stuff" in a journal somewhere to educate future Americans. Don't post it (if you don't want to) but you have a great opportunity to pass on some personal and American history. Especially to your future generations.

Thank you and God bless you george1.

George I respect you very much and all those vets of the greatest generation, and of course all vets. I worked with many friends that were in the WW2 war theaters and I heard mostly funny stories about their experiences like the accidentally machine gunning of a wild pig in the jungle while patrolling for Japanese, and getting fish dinners using hang grenades. Back then everyone of age from 17 to 35 and healthy was in the war. I had one cousin that was a submarine radio operator, one that was a Marine in the pacific and another cousin that was shot down over the North Sea and killed. The WW2 home front for us younger ones, was collecting metal and paper for the war effort.

Then for the Korean area when every one was required to serve, all of my friends mostly joined the Navy, four went to the air force and one in the army. One that made a career of the air force, was in the Vietnam war and shot down near Hanoi, and not found for 30 years later in his crashed jet. His bones were sent home and he was buried in our small home town. At the end of the ceremony while taps were being played, five jets streaked over the cemetery and shot straight up in the air in a star bust. Very moving.

I run into my cousins husband the other day and found out he has leukemia from the agent orange sprayed to defoliate the jungles in Vietnam. What a different world it was then when everyone sacrificed something for the common good.

A rare memory for me doing WW2 was a WW1 vet that had been mustard gassed came up to me and my friend while we played at marching and showed us how to do about face.

HL, there has been so much history written about WW II Marianna Islands operations that a single GI's experience would be insignificant, be it land, air or sea.
There was such a loss of life from American forces as well as civilian casualties that I just put those memories to rest. Think about it .... loss of American lives on Saipan, Guam and Tinian, all preparing for B-29 raids that ended WWII in the Pacific.

Not only loss of lives in the Marianna Islands but also the “Marianna Turkey Shoot” which was the turning point of the war in the Pacific, and the loss of American lives on Iwo Jima, which was required for emergency landing strips for crippled B-29s.

I just won’t go into the loss of civilian lives.

George

George, I second the journal. A single GI's experience would NOT be insignificant, as it would add another viewpoint to what happened from your eyes. All of history is based on what people saw, and then written down, either correctly or incorrectly. The more viewpoints that we have, the clearer the picture becomes.

George, I agree the memories should be remembered so as not to be repeated. I do respect you and your generation. You must be remembered, and the ME generation needs to be taught about sacrifice.

Like I said george1, don't post it if you don't want to. But pass it down to the future generations of your family. I know nothing of my grandfathers or great uncles service. Or even barely of my fathers and my uncles service. Nobody would talk about it. What we know is 2nd and 3rd hand knowledge! Who knows how much the stories were changed.

Please don't waste your opportunity to educate! You have the memory so please use it.

The thing about not sharing memories, (good ones) is they are gone forever when our WW2 vets are no more. I read WW2 history all the time and it struck me a few years ago that I don't know exactly where my WW2 marine cousin served at in the Pacific arena. Everyone has passed away that would know in my extended family.

OK guys, let me blunt about this… it’s not about me ….it’s about 14 of my classmates from a small high school in East Texas that were replacement troops at the Battle of the Bulge and didn’t make it back.
It was my best friend that was shot down over Europe at age 19.
It was my marine friend that survived Tarawa, Guadalcanal and Saipan and walked the streets of our home town mumbling to himself.

I can’t separate reality from what may been only a bad dream.
So be it !

Thanks for being my friends,
George

I have no dog in this hunt, so I have avoided the turn of this thread, but I will say this. George has politely told everyone that he does not wish to do this. So, it should end here.

The good thing is there is a program by PBS on WWII. It has interviews with hundreds of WWII vets which you can watch. But be ready for what you see and hear. Many of these guys even 50 years + and a full life later cannot talk about what happened with out breaking down. We should not inflict that upon those who are still here. If they want to talk then fine but it should come from them.

FIH said it very well. George is one the most loved and respected members of our family, and deserves the latitude to handle this any way he pleases.

folks while I know some of you meant well and my time in the sandbox might not compare to previous generations sacrifices...................Some things just need left alone.

George.........I want to say thanks for the angel flight vid you posted,along with fighting for my country.It's guys like you that made it possible for me to sign that line at the recruiters.


I feel lucky for what i got from serving,Highflyer being a pilot can attest to this as I used the GI bill to pay for a commercial ticket.But like all who served it was at a cost many care not to remember.

While I was luckier then others in this post,I lost 2 lifelong friends.............one of which I convinced to sign up with me,to this day it is still hard to see his wife and kids,but as I am their godfather........................................I can't run from the blessing.

Now the Makers Mark bottle is going to be a bit lower then the wife allows in the morning after this post but so be it.................before the bottle is empty I'm going to sign off

I'll join you in one as a toast.

Thanks George - for everything.

My apologies to you george!!! Sorry I didn't see the "other side of the coin". Thank you for everything you have done for us...Seriously!!!

My humble apologies to you also George if I offended you. I have nothing but the greatest respect for you and the greatest generation.

No apologies needed - it's your caring and concern that is very meaninful.
Thank you for being my freinds.
George