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I was just watching the AHC channel's "D-Day in HD" and I don't know if there are any WWII veterans on here but I am sure there are family members of those brave men that post here. I just want to say thank you for all they have done and sacrificed so many years ago to keep this country free. There numbers are dwindling daily and we owe one tremendous debt of gratitude to the "Greatest Generation"

An aging neighbor has been loaning me a number of WWII books recently on both Europe/Africa and the Pacific. One gets a much more detailed picture as opposed to the condensed versions one sees on a single page in a history book.

The number of seriously tough people involved and the logistics overcome back then are absolutely astonishing.

They are/were indeed the greatest.

They were indeed the Greatest.

I seriously doubt we as a nation now could pull off what they did.

not taking away from them, but we could pull it off now.

In the future it would probably be illegal to go to war though...

I pray we could rise to the occasion, but think it would take a direct threat to our nation and people to arouse the ire.

Just finished building a teal blind for WWII vet pretty sure it will be his last season .Decoys are ready also waiting for Sam on Sept 10th.

You would also have to overcome the liberal interference against the war.. Think Viet Nam on steroids!

No argument there. The world will never see their like again.

Dad flew 34 missions as a gunner in B-24's over Europe in late 43 and 44. Rotated back to the states and was transitioning into B-29's when it ended.

Got discharged and worked in the oil and chemical industry till 1982. Got married and had 3 kids along the way. He has spent the last 30+ years whacking deer, ducks, turkeys, golf balls and chunking baits at bass. Had me get a couple more game cameras for the farm for this fall. He'll be 94 in November and plans to deer hunt as much as I can take him. I may be 1/2 again as big as he is but, I'll never be 1/2 the man he was when it counted.

Great story. Thanks for sharing.

My 90 yr. old father-in-law served on an aircraft carrier, hit by kamikazes. He and his 90 yr. old wife are independent, keep up their property, drive to the store, etc.

Good, tough, God fearing folks.

Salt of the earth, a generation that hasn't been duplicated.

DF

Only saw a few minutes of "D-Day in HD" and wish I could see more. I knew several guys who were there. One of whom was my late dad; he was a 19 yr. old radioman aboard a light cruiser shelling German gun positions. From where they were in the channel he said that as far as they could see it was all the invasion force all the way to the horizon. One of his buddies who I knew ever since childhood was also a 19 yr. old radioman on a different ship a few miles away, although at the time they didn't know they were that close to each other. I grew up around WWII vets and all the ones I knew are gone now. I recently saw something that stated that only about 10% of them are still with us. We do owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude.

The WWII generation was just entering retirement age during my formative growing up years. There were no finer folks and I really enjoyed being around them. I much preferred them to the folks my parents age. I really miss them and the backbone that they added to society. I am fortunate to sit in front of a WWII veteran at church each Sunday. We routinely thank him for his service, which he modestly down plays. He was driven to the front three days after Normandy, so he certainly did his part.

there was a pretty big stay out of Europe movement in America prior to Pearl Harbor - led by Republicans. There were more German immigrants in this country than any other nation at one point

Roosevelt's efforts to get us into the war in Europe (to come to the aid of Britain) was actually an impeachable act.

A cousin was a sniper for three years, both in the European and Pacific theaters. Grew up in the woods, hunting and shooting. At boot camp he loved to show out his shooting prowess. As they moved out, a few were left behind. Finally, they got on a train headed West. They'd pick up a few here and there, finally when they got to California, the Col. told them they were snipers. He had a sinking feeling, showing out with his marksmanship...

He's gone, but I do remember some of his stories. Most of those guys weren't too free with a lot of the worst details. But, I remember him telling me he could hit a flying crow with a Garand. Once on a beach, there were piles of wood a few feet from each other. Hogs were hiding in those piles. They torched the piles and he'd shoot those hogs as they darted from pile to pile.

I think this guy would have done pretty well with driven boars like those shot by the young German prince in the video. I'll try to find it if anyone is interested. It's on line.

DF

We lost one of the Greatest Generation last Thursday.

He was the father of one of my buddies and was here visiting his son and doing some shooting and seeing some of his old army friends. His son owns a small truck line and has a garage with a grease pit in the first bay. Thursday was a really bright, sunny day and Fred walked into the dark garage and obviously didn't see the pit. He was 93.

He volunteered the day after Pearl Harbor and was sent to Europe with a MG crew. He fought all across Europe and after Germany surrended he stayed on. His favorite story was about guarding the warehouse, where those who were condemded to die at Nuremberg, were hung. He said it always gave him a sense of fulfillment to see it thru from beginning to end.

The politics of WWII in the European and African theaters was something else with all the countries involved. Day one the French were shooting at us in Africa, and day 2 we're on the same side. Everyone wanted credit for the successes, but few wanted to take on the risks. Eisenhower had some serious A-type personalities to deal with. I cannot imagine the stress and frustrations he had to handle even among our own troops.

If you get the chance, shake their hand. Say thank you. Let them know you remember. They are dying out, upwards of 2,000 a day.

I care for a WWII vet right now. His service years were from 1939 to 1945. He's 95 and not in too good health. I suspect he'll be gone by the end of this year. Too bad, before the Alzheimer's took hold a few years ago he was a wonderful person to be around.

Thank you for doing this, Alzheimer's is a rough ride for all involved.

Sometimes I think it's harder on the caregivers than the patient.

DF

Say hi to your father for me and thank him too!