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Posted on 8/1/26 at 6:37 pm to bigjoe1
I’m a boomer. My dad was a B17 crewman…engineer and top turret gunner…in the 8th Air Force. And he completed all of his missions. His older brother was a B25 pilot in the Pacific. He did not survive.
Like most WW II vets he would not talk about the war until I got him to attend the grand opening of the WW II Museum. As the grand opening was approaching, I repeatedly suggested that he attend. But, he kept refusing. Finally, I registered him and bought tickets for him and my mom to many of the events. Once all these vets got together, they started talking and opening up. Sometimes very emotional. It was like pulling the plug on a damn. It was a catharsis. He wrote me a couple of weeks after the grand opening saying it was one of the best experiences of his life.
Like most WW II vets he would not talk about the war until I got him to attend the grand opening of the WW II Museum. As the grand opening was approaching, I repeatedly suggested that he attend. But, he kept refusing. Finally, I registered him and bought tickets for him and my mom to many of the events. Once all these vets got together, they started talking and opening up. Sometimes very emotional. It was like pulling the plug on a damn. It was a catharsis. He wrote me a couple of weeks after the grand opening saying it was one of the best experiences of his life.
Posted on 8/1/26 at 6:44 pm to Coach Yo
quote:
Like most WW II vets he would not talk about the war
Like my Dad. He would answer some questions but, he never initiated the conversation. I sure they all went through things they never wanted to remember .
He was very proud of his service. He told Mother years before his death that he didn't want a casket spray. He wanted the flag ceremony.
Posted on 8/1/26 at 7:03 pm to weagle1999
quote:
Am I the only one who gets tired of hearing about WW2?
I’m not sure if anyone has ever informed you, but you’re under no obligation whatsoever to post in, or even open, threads that do not interest you.
Posted on 8/1/26 at 8:08 pm to Darth_Vader
Out mowing and thinking abut this thread.
.
I remembered an old guy that was a stockclerk at a grocery store I worked at when I was a teenager.
He wasn’t very tall,walked with a limp,held one arm kinda funny.Never conversed with anyone Never spoke to anyone unless they spoke to him first ,iike “how are you doing” he would answer “fine,how are you”and keep on walking.He worked all day keeping the shelves stocked .Don’t remember
him ever taking a break.
A woman would drop him off and pick him up.
I really thought he was mildly retarded with physical handicaps.
Years go by and I saw him in the obituaries.Turns out he was highly decorated veteran,Silver Star Bronze,Stars,several,Purple Hearts.
Poor old guy,that explained the limp and the arm,likely had some degree of brain damage due to an artillery blast,something like that.
.
I remembered an old guy that was a stockclerk at a grocery store I worked at when I was a teenager.
He wasn’t very tall,walked with a limp,held one arm kinda funny.Never conversed with anyone Never spoke to anyone unless they spoke to him first ,iike “how are you doing” he would answer “fine,how are you”and keep on walking.He worked all day keeping the shelves stocked .Don’t remember
him ever taking a break.
A woman would drop him off and pick him up.
I really thought he was mildly retarded with physical handicaps.
Years go by and I saw him in the obituaries.Turns out he was highly decorated veteran,Silver Star Bronze,Stars,several,Purple Hearts.
Poor old guy,that explained the limp and the arm,likely had some degree of brain damage due to an artillery blast,something like that.
Posted on 8/1/26 at 8:19 pm to bigjoe1
quote:
My Dad was a NG on a B24 with the 15th Air force in Italy. Ploesti was a high priority target that the Germans defended to the death. It was a relief to the airman when the Russians finally took it in the summer of 1944.
Looking up my wife’s grandfathers name, I found that he was in the 450th bombard group in the 721st squadron.
Found a website that showed all the crew members of the 450th and was able to click his name and see his medals including a Distinguish Flying Cross and AM/30LC (Air Medal w/30 oak leaf clusters) for what appears to be 30 missions.
Edit: he flew B-24s but was not part of the the 8-1-43 raids. From what I read his squadron didn’t ship to Europe until January 1944 and were based in Italy.
Which goes with the water color paintings my wife has on the wall which she said were bought in Italy when he grandfather was station in wwii.
This post was edited on 8/1/26 at 8:23 pm
Posted on 8/1/26 at 9:17 pm to bigjoe1
quote:
Hero's
They died for your right to never learn how to properly use an apostrophe
Posted on 8/1/26 at 9:19 pm to tigeraddict
My Dad was in the 454th Bomb group 737th squadron based in San Giovannina. He arrived in Italy the fall of 1944 and was there until V-E Day.
Posted on 8/1/26 at 9:44 pm to Darth_Vader
quote:
I’m not sure if anyone has ever informed you, but you’re under no obligation whatsoever to post in, or even open, threads that do not interest you.
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