re: Neat experience...met a WWII veteran at Sam's Club yesterday.

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I'm sorry about your loss.

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Thanks, but the last couple years of his life were miserable: He's doing fine now wherever he is; his earthly remains are scattered over the Atlantic Ocean as he requested, so all's good.

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It just re-affirms my thoughts about the caliber of servicemen/women we had back in the day.

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A true story (one that was told to me by one of my dad's ship mates): once in port, a Negro cook fell off the plank and into the water. My dad jumped in and pulled the guy out of the drink, saved his life. Shortly thereafter, my dad was summoned to the Captain's quarters ... where he was dressed down for "fishing out some n-----." My dad also received a share of "n----- lover" comments from his ship mates, but that was to be expected I'm sure.

As I said, my dad never mentioned a word about this--I heard it from a ship mate of his, a lifelong friend and a helluva good man in his own right,

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There are no living M O H recipients alive

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If you are talking about the medal of honor, there are 79 living recipients.

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There are no living M O H recipients alive

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?

Bob Kerrey is still alive

My grandpaw served in WWII on a destroyer escort. Once, while watching Das Boot over at his house as a kid, he explained to me that his ship was the same kind that the movie showed depth-charging German U-Boats in the Atlantic. He loved that movie because it gave him a look into the other side of what he did during the war and who he hunted. One of my best memories of him was every Fourth of July he'd visit the VFW for a few brews with his buddies and then stop by for our crab boil. He'd always sit on the patio watching us boil the crabs and light up his "victory cigar."

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WWII vets you know to mention and/or their stories to share

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I was friends with a tanker veteran of the 10th Panzer Division. He participated in the 1941 Russian Campaign.

In 1942, his division was re-built and he was out of action until the 10th Panzer Division was transferred to North Africa. He was a tanker with the Tiger tank detachment in North Africa until his capture by US forces in May 1943. He spent the rest of the war as a POW.

A family friend died a few days ago. He was a former state representative and a WWII vet who went in after the atomic bombs were dropped. It's surreal to meet those people and speak with them.

Took care of a WW2 era guy in the ER once. Alzheimer's got him. He was a mess. Cranky old fella. Cussed up one side and down the other. "You mother fu(¥ers are gonna kill me. Go to hell! F-you. F-you!!! I know what murderers look like you sorry mother fricking murderers." And so on.

We were moving him to a room for admission. He started in again on us being killers. I say "OK (forgot name) so who have you killed?" He stopped cold. "Oh I can't talk about any of that. I don't talk about it." Only thing he made that seemed lucid. Might have been a vet, might have been a murderer or mob hit man?

Not a feel good story but still a story.

Get a life, you're the one that will praise all things military blindly, bash our current commander in chief, and forget that FDR was a dem. neat

Thanks for the link, it was a good read.