badassgixxer05 Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 12 minutes ago, metzelaars_lives said: a) did you serve? b) do you have any idea how many “millennials” have served? Again, i don't want to get into a talk about millenials(I am one btw). My comment was to bolster the point that that generation that stormed the beach was the greatest, toughest bunch of sob's that will probably ever walk this land. RIP all that were lost on that tragic yet triumphant day. 1
vorpma Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 I have angered many through the years with my rants about millennials and probably will do so again and get kicked off TBD for a week or two, now let me say many millennials have served and fought hard honorably, many suffering physical and mental wounds they are still trying to recover from years after the fact. I too remain in awe of the "Greatest Generation" and the sacrifices made for all of us and they indeed need to be honored and never forgotten. But millennials too have sacrificed over the last 19 years; to all those who served thanks for being there for the last 250 years! Never forget! 2
unbillievable Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 After he passed, I discovered medals my dad kept in his desk, from world war II. Doing the math, I realized that he must have been 16 years old when he joined the army. He never mentioned it, but he must have lied to get in... I can't imagine anyone doing that today. 3
Saxum Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 50 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said: Thank you, Professor. While some of us here are versed in WWII theaters of operations, many are not as the decades slip away. A recent poll showed 50% of millennials are unfamiliar with the Nazi war on Jews. We don’t have much choice but to be grateful ANYTHING is being taught about the Greatest Generation. And there are a great number who know about the Nazi war on Jews but not on anyone else. Spoke to a Jewish "scholar" and he said any reports on others hunted by Nazi was "overinflated". They say anyone not like them as subhuman and not just Jews. 1
Tiberius Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 35 minutes ago, badassgixxer05 said: Not to bring this topic into a millennial bashing conversation, but that thought was going through my mind as i was reading some of the posted articles. I really don't think anyone from the generations of today could have the guts to do what these young hero's did back then. Heck I would have to question my self for that matter. Never really know until you are put into that situation, but man running right into that knowing pretty much you were going to die. Hope we never have to make a decision like that again in the history of man.. Not a bad thing if you ask me. The kids of today are mostly brought up shielded from violence and not asked to sacrifice because there is no point to in our world of luxury and conveniences. Those brave men of 1944 probably wouldn't/couldn't have done what the Civil War soldiers did at, say, Cold Harbor. It's really a mark of progress, if you ask me. 1
DaBillsFanSince1973 Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 lost an uncle over there. mia for 3 decades. found and brought home in early '70's. "all gave some; some gave all" 4
Tiberius Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 13 minutes ago, DaBillsFanSince1973 said: lost an uncle over there. mia for 3 decades. found and brought home in early '70's. "all gave some; some gave all" If you don't mind telling, where did they find his remains?
DC Tom Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 30 minutes ago, badassgixxer05 said: Not to bring this topic into a millennial bashing conversation, but that thought was going through my mind as i was reading some of the posted articles. I really don't think anyone from the generations of today could have the guts to do what these young hero's did back then. Heck I would have to question my self for that matter. Never really know until you are put into that situation, but man running right into that knowing pretty much you were going to die. Hope we never have to make a decision like that again in the history of man.. They wouldn't, but not because they're "weaker," but because the social dynamic in the US is vastly different now. For just one example: military service nowadays is considered national and outside of regular society (as a professional vocation, and to some degree above society - "they" protect "us.") . Back in the 30s, service was much more integrated in to society, and much more local - in rural areas, the National Guard post was roughly equal to the church in social impact. There was far less resistance to the idea of service, as it was perceived as service to and with a largely local, cohesive social group. There is virtually no way a modern suburban white son of a professional middle-class father with far greater prospects of geographic and social mobility today has the same attitude towards military service in a national military as a 1930s rural white son of a professional middle-class father who was geographically and socially more constrained had towards militia service in his local National Guard membership. (And yes, the National Guard was present in Normandy - the 29th Infantry Division. Those rural Guardsmen did, in fact, hit the beaches on Normandy. And Salerno, Anzio, south France, Buna-Gona-Sanananda, New Georgia, Bouganville, Saipan, Leyte. Even the 82d Airborne was originally a Guard division. The American GI in WWII was very much a civilian-soldier and product of his local environment, to a degree you never see today.) 6 minutes ago, Tiberius said: If you don't mind telling, where did they find his remains? Under the couch? 4
sherpa Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 Maybe we can just honor what happened there without castigating generations in a no context argument. The guys who did this deserve whatever accolades they get, the event the attention and respect it gets, and it was an incredible event in pure focus of life, planning and machinery. As always, it never turns out the way it's planned, and in this case especially at Omaha Beach. Still, it would never be done that way now, so the "millenials" can't be put into that context, and their behavior projected. June 6, 1944 was an incredible day that a lot of very young men who did not expect what awaited them counted as their last. Can we just honor that? 5
DaBillsFanSince1973 Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 (edited) 45 minutes ago, Tiberius said: If you don't mind telling, where did they find his remains? he received his first purple heart after being wounded following the jump. he would receive another in October 1944 that would cost him his life. his remains were located in Holland. Edited June 6, 2019 by DaBillsFanSince1973 4
RyanC883 Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 another interesting point is that many drown in the water because swimming was not as universally taught in the US as it is today. Many did not know how to swim. Also the Navy and Air Force had a difficult time clearing the German guns from the beach where the landing took place. The Navy actually had a battle of its own: https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2004/june/gallant-destroyers-d-day
MarkyMannn Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 Lost in the Normandy publicity is that the day before, MORE US troops and ships than Normandy left for the Marianas Islands to fight the Japanese. Generally regarded as the battle where Japan knew they lost the war My dad served in the Pacific in an artillery unit. Joined the Army in 1940 and discharged at the end of 1945
Ned Flanders Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 1 hour ago, B-Man said: Would have been nice to have a Canadian veteran observing, but I'm picking nits. 1
NoHuddleKelly12 Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 I have nothing but the utmost respect for those brave enough to do their duty to the last, in the face of likely harm or untimely death, of which there was way too much of around this time. Was a bit hesitant to disclose this given that this thread (rightly so) is honoring those who embarked on D-Day 75 years ago today, but both of my grandfathers served in the German army during the war, one of whom saw action on the Western front (not during D-Day, but starting in September 44 until he became a POW in early April 45), although the bulk of most of their time was spent on the Eastern front fighting the Red Army. Anyway, FWIW, this same grandfather ended up coming to the US in the early 70's, became a US citizen, and eventually counted among his dearest and closest friends, multiple former GI's of his same generation. I will never forget being around them as a youngster, listening in awe as they shared wartime stories/experiences with each other during lunch get-togethers at his house, and seeing the obvious respect each had for the other as fellow former soldiers regardless of uniform, a shared experience that anyone who's never served would not be quite able to understand? The craziest part was that one of his former GI buddies in particular, was able to pinpoint down to the exact sector their respective unit locations around the time of the start of the Battle of the Bulge, and that they would have been facing each other in the same section of the front! The lesson this taught me early on was that underneath our ethnic pasts, are similarities forged through shared experiences that can be the basis for common ground and yes, even so far as to have former sworn enemies becoming the closest of friends 30-40+ years (at that time) later. 3
MarkyMannn Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 (edited) 29 minutes ago, NoHuddleKelly12 said: starting in September 44 until he became a POW in early April 45), although the bulk of most of their time was spent on the Eastern front fighting the Red Army. Lucky for him the Russians were in a POW mood that day. Generally they killed all Germans. I believe it was like 3 million Russian soldiers died as captives of the Germans. I always wondered how US citizens of German descent felt about the war............... Edited June 6, 2019 by MarkyMannn
NoHuddleKelly12 Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 7 minutes ago, MarkyMannn said: Lucky for him the Russians were in a POW mood that day. Generally they killed all Germans. I believe it was like 3 million Russian soldiers died as captives of the Germans. I always wondered how US citizens of German descent felt about the war............... It was US captivity, not Russian. My great-uncle though did die fighting the Russians in the Balkans (Hungary) sector around the same time. Your point is well taken. Usually no quarter asked, and none given, on the Eastern front. 2
sherpa Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 (edited) My Father's family had six boys and one girl. All males served during WWII. The youngest, who would have been my uncle Jim enlisted on the Fourth of July 1944, after his sophomore year at Niagara. He was killed near Florence, Italy on the very day the iconic last film of Hitler was made, the one where he is shown with Parkinson's disease, reviewing the Hitler Youth in Berlin. The sad part, and I didn't find it out until about four years ago when I researched it, was that the German troops he was killed fighting had already surrendered, they just didn't know about it. The only personal effects the family received was a Canisius High School ring, badly mutilated, and a purple heart. Edited June 6, 2019 by sherpa 1
Chandler#81 Posted June 6, 2019 Posted June 6, 2019 2 hours ago, vorpma said: I have angered many through the years with my rants about millennials and probably will do so again and get kicked off TBD for a week or two, now let me say many millennials have served and fought hard honorably, many suffering physical and mental wounds they are still trying to recover from years after the fact. I too remain in awe of the "Greatest Generation" and the sacrifices made for all of us and they indeed need to be honored and never forgotten. But millennials too have sacrificed over the last 19 years; to all those who served thanks for being there for the last 250 years! Never forget! Excellent post. I didn’t mean to infer millennials don’t care or haven’t represented us very well in our Armed Services. The poll I referenced means they likely weren’t taught about or wasn't required to do in depth study of that era of US history in schools. It shows my age that the 1st half of the 20th century was required learning through multiple grades of my school years. Then again, we also had shop, arts & music study, which youngins don’t know about either.. Given the GI’s approximate age then, they’re all well into their 90’s now and very soon will all be gone. I was barely born when the last US Civil War soldiers died in the late ‘50s. It seemed so ancient then, though it was ‘only’ 80ish years prior. Btw, in depth Civil War history was also required learning through multiple years of my schooling.. I remember with great reverence all America’s Greatest Generation, from combat soldiers to the sacrifices and 7 day work weeks on the home front.
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