Community Chat

[viva923]

I salute all military members for every war we have ever fought.

My husband is retired military. he did 2 tours in Vietnam, but does not talk about it. he is navy but they had hazardous jobs even aboard ship duty over there. he rarely tells me anything that happened over there.

My husband rang the Peace Bell in Japan while his ship was over there doing whatever on one of his West Pac's. He tells me this was an awesome experience ringing that bell in Hiroshimo ,Japan. He said it an experience he will never ever forget. This bell is at the epicenter of the atom bomb exploding over Hiroshimo.

[emmysmom]

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@IMW wrote:

My father served in the Philippines, the jungle. Most of his platoon were killed.  He was saved because he was doing kp. A box of ammunition fell on his back causing 

18 months in the VA hospital. He considered himself 

lucky.

My uncle was in the Normandy invasion. We never knew until he died that he was awarded 5 bronze stars.

He never said a word,

For the Greatest Generation this was just doing what you had to do. Bless them all RIP.

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Yes, this was the Greatest generation! My dad was in the Phillipines as well...I remember him saying it was so hot there you couldn't touch the sides of the battleship! 

[catter70]

My dad was in the Army Air Corp and was in the Asiatic/Pacific Theater. He passed away in 1994 and I miss him every day. Many thanks to the brave men and women who served then and now.

[vsm]

I lost my WWII vet Dad last month.  He was 96.  I love you Dad, and will miss you and honor you forever.

[wvumountiefan]

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@Witchy Woman wrote:

@wvumountiefan 

I understand, as do many here.  My father was a WWII Merchant Marine.  He was proud of his service.

I have photos of him standing on the deck of a ship with the crew.  Mostly young, many races.  He was young and handsome.

Sadly, we rarely talked about his service.  Today, I wondered what had become of his dogtags and could not remember.  He died in 2001, and rests in peace at Cheltenham Cemetary in Maryland with my mother.

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@Witchy Woman  I have my dad’s dog tags. One of my brothers has his Purple Heart, and my other brother has his discharge papers. I have also kept his Purple Heart license plate. One story our mother shared with us was that my dad spent a couple weeks hiding in a fox hole with nothing to eat. He only had water. A German soldier came upon him while he was hiding and the German soldier actually gave my dad a couple pieces of bacon. My dad was an excellent cook and owned his own restaurant back in the 60’s before he and my mom were married and had 4 kids. He was so afraid of anyone being hungry. When I was in HS and would bring friends home with me, the first thing he would ask them was if they were hungry and he would make them something to eat. My dad only had an 8th grade education, but he was one of the smartest people I have known, Gosh, I really miss him! So much! 😢

[kjae]

I join with all of you in your sentiments.  My dad was with Patton.  It IS the greatest generation.  There seems to be a common thread that runs through all of our stories.  These men, our fathers, were selfless, generous, incrediblly hard working, humble, intelligent, and did not talk about their experiences in the war.  It seems that our daddies were decorated numerous times for their deeds but most of us were unaware.  What truly incredible human beings they are and were.  Papa, I miss you and I love you.  Thank you for all you did for the world.

[nevergivesup]

I am touched by all your stories and am grateful to your dads for their service and sacrifice. My beloved dad died at the age of 93 and I miss him every day.

He served in the army infantry in the South Pacific as a medic and was wounded in the battle of Saipan. I knew he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for valor but he rarely spoke about the war. After my mother died, I was helping to downsize their home and found the letter from the War Department describing the day in June when he was shot in the leg, applied a tourniquet on himself and refused any further care as he crawled around tending to others who were worse off. It said he continued this way til the end of the day when the enemy withdrew and in the process saved several lives.

When I told him how touched I was by his heroism he said, “I was no hero. I did what any decent man would do.” He came home and lived a quiet, humble, hard working life devoted to my mother and his children.