planeflyer21 Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 Yup!Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unforgiven Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 Great men <thumbsup> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 The Greatest Generation, and Rangers past, kicked these things right in the ass - and went right up them. I can't imagine 18~21 year olds now looking at that, and saying, "I can get right up that..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKSHEEP Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 My grandfather was there (Omaha Beach) on D-Day, he spoke little about the war until the last few years of his life. He was a tough SOB! They don't make many like him anymore,truely the greatest generation! <thumbsup> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planeflyer21 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 I was commenting to a coworker that it would've been cool to see one of those 1,000 bomber formations over Germany. He said "Boy those guys carried their balls in a bushel basket."He then told me his Dad was a USAAF photographer in the Pacific. One of the photo series he had taken was from the tailgunner position in a B-25 Mitchell, first in position doing a skip-bombing run on a Japanese destroyer. Photo by photo you see the bombs dropped by the plane he was in and skip, the plane's load behind them, the plane behind that one, anti-aircraft tracers starting to fly by, ship appearing in the photos as the first bombs SLAM into it, anti-aircraft hitting the 3rd plane back.One of my instructors relayed talking to a salty old Marine, who spoke of running out of ammo on Guadalcanal, switching to his 1911, then running out of ammo, then using the 1911 as an improvised striking club and fighting his way back to more Marines.We owe them untold treasures.Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue109 Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 I was recently using some google-fu to try and figure out a strange number that sent me a text. By some strange accident I came across some PDF copy of an announcement with my grandfathers name on it, his unit and rank, and what ship he was hopping a ride on over to Europe. Really cool. I'm going to print it and frame it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONTANA308 Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 My grandpas 5 brothers went and he staid home to run the ranch. All saw lots of combat they didn't talk about it much but one day at lunch my Great uncle looked at me out of the blue and says " It was like shooting prairie dogs on the farm. They would stick there head up and I would take it off." He also asked one day if I had ever been in a tight spot. As be begins to tell me a story of being pinned down by a jap MG in a mortor hole. The story goes on but I looked at him and I told him No! I've never truly been in a tight spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONTANA308 Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 I thank those men and all the service men that came before and after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magwa Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 My Father a 30 year Navy Chief told me stories about WW2 that curdled my inards he was sunk 3 times, was within 500 miles of the Bismark when she was sunk they were on their way to help ...and when he talked about getting sunk he was like it was no big deal he said that was their duty...I remember him telling me about when he became a chief he was walking up from chow on the CVS-18 Wasp and the CO ask him where his chiefs hat was, Dad said i was confused and told the CO i was not A CHIEF the CO said you are now....advancement in war... my hats off and all gratitude to all those great warriors thank you for what we have now......and save me a place by the fire... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKSHEEP Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 Magwa, that deserves a SALVO ;D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgecrusher Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 My Grandfather was a P.O.W. in Italy by the Mussolini regime in the northern Alps during WWII, for a year before they escaped across the northern border countries, Switzerland, France, Spain, then Portugal where he picked up after an 13 month trek. I was the first one to hear this story in the family, while I took him to the V.A. in Albany NY, for chemo treatment. He told me these stories, and told me he that he didn't want this to happen to me, stay out of the military, which I did. It was the reason our family stop speaking Italian in the house (before I was born), and several other things that nobody else in the family understood until I relayed this info.Looking back, he was the bravest person I ever met, he saved six men along that trip, and that is what I remember now, along with what tyrannical governments do to people, in war. That was the Greatest Generation, Men were Men, Women stepped up and kept this country going, doing jobs they never once had done before, and everybody did their jobs, without looking for handouts and freerides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magwa Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 Men Like your Father were the core that held this country together thinking of others, and risking his life to do his duty they come no finer, I lost My father to cancer in 1995 he was buried in full military Uniform with his chiefs hat on his chest and I know they are all looking out for us now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKSHEEP Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 Damn Greg, that made the hair on my arms stand up and salute! I know my grandfather was also a P.O.W. for awhile and escaped but don't know the details. When the Army came to his funeral and played Taps there was a lump in my throat big enough to choke an elephant! :'( (Speaking of Army funeral details, I found it kind of cheezy that they don't really play the instrument,they just push a button on the fake bugle and the recorded music "Taps" playes) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONTANA308 Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 Taps and the 21 gun salute.No greater sound yet one of the saddest! I got as many of the brass at my great uncles funeral I could find . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasprite Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 My dad was on the USS New Jersey <thumbsup> He loved the navy and his ship and shipmates.This photo is of him putting cosmoline on his 40mm shells. How would you like an AR chambered in these :o He's the one on the far leftMy dads AR <thumbsup>[img width=810 height=826]http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac176/seasprite/Navy%20pics/quadmount40.jpgThis here is the last time he got to set foot on his ship during the decommissioning. I was active duty at the time and both are ships were at the same base so he got to visit with me and see what a small carrier looks like (USS Peleliu LHA 5). Man I miss him. Any Marines here ? I had around a 1000 of you guys on board during deployment. [img width=810 height=540]http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac176/seasprite/Navy%20pics/img003.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unforgiven Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 <thumbsup> God bless him brother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planeflyer21 Posted February 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 I was stationed on the USS John F. Kennedy, docking at Norfolk NOB. At the time, so was the USS Iowa.Those who haven't seen twin-turrets of triple-16" guns don't know what they're missing!I feel empathy for those poor German soldiers that received hours of bombardment as the warm up to the Normandy invasion.For some reason, not so much for the Japanese grunts in island hidey-holes.Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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