- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
0
Posted on 11/28/17 at 10:35 am to Tigeralum2008
My maternal grandfather was in the army in and fought in Sicily and Anzio. He was severely wounded in Anzio by an artillery round and nearly lost his left leg and had shrapnel wounds on his back, arms and legs. He was awarded a Bronze Star also.
When I was a teenager. He was drinking some bourbon and told me some stories. Told me about shooting a German soldier in the face as he popped his head up in a trench they were trying to take. The other 6 soldiers in the trench surrendered. Come to find out, they were "Wops" in German uniforms forced to fight. He didn't really express any remorse and was very matter of fact about it.
He told me another story about them capturing 4 German soldiers. Their Sargent asked for 2 volunteers to bring them to the rear for interrogation and he didn't volunteer because he didn't want to be "shot by a goddamn sniper". The 2 guys that brought them returned about an hour later and told the Sargent that the prisoners tried to attack them and they shot them dead. Later on, one of the soldiers told my grandfather that the other soldier had executed them.
When I was a teenager. He was drinking some bourbon and told me some stories. Told me about shooting a German soldier in the face as he popped his head up in a trench they were trying to take. The other 6 soldiers in the trench surrendered. Come to find out, they were "Wops" in German uniforms forced to fight. He didn't really express any remorse and was very matter of fact about it.
He told me another story about them capturing 4 German soldiers. Their Sargent asked for 2 volunteers to bring them to the rear for interrogation and he didn't volunteer because he didn't want to be "shot by a goddamn sniper". The 2 guys that brought them returned about an hour later and told the Sargent that the prisoners tried to attack them and they shot them dead. Later on, one of the soldiers told my grandfather that the other soldier had executed them.
This post was edited on 11/28/17 at 10:46 am
Posted on 11/28/17 at 10:41 am to bhtigerfan
quote:
My maternal grandfather was in the army in and fought in Sicily and Anzio. He was severely wounded in Anzio by an artillery round and nearly lost his left leg and had shrapnel wounds on his back, arms and legs. He was awarded a Bronze Star also.
When I was a teenager. He was drinking some bourbon and told me some stories. Told me about shooting a German soldier in the face as he popped his head up in a trench they were trying to take. The other 6 soldiers in the trench surrendered. Come to find out, they were "Wops" in German uniforms forced to fight. He didn't really express any remorse and was very matter of fact about it.
He told me another story about them capturing 4 German soldiers. Their Sargent asked for 2 volunteers to bring them to the rear for interrogation
I have an uncle who was in the Army in Vietnam, very few stories. I have a grandfather who was in the Navy during WWII , very few stories.
But a few from each . My uncle was a truck driver in Vietnam. Told me a story once of running over a small child who stepped in front of their convoy when he was the lead truck. Said he never even slowed down, never considered it. because doing so was death for people in his unit, almost guaranteed.
Grandfather was on a firefighting ship in the Pacific. They showed up about 2 hours after the battle of Midway, he once told me that was bar none the most disgusting and saddest thing he saw the entire war. Sharks everywhere, so much blood that the ocean was red for miles. They were rescuing sailors, both American and Japanese as fast they could but .......
I can't even imagine either scenario.
Posted on 11/28/17 at 10:52 am to upgrayedd
quote:
I'd prefer a seasoned vet's opinion
Posted on 11/28/17 at 11:44 am to HeyHeyHogsAllTheWay
quote:
Unless you're a physcopath it would bother you. I've shot two people, both deserved it and were direct threats to my life. One died, the other did not.It bothered me , not because of those fricks but because I'm human.
Was this in combat or in a civilian setting?
Posted on 11/28/17 at 11:46 am to upgrayedd
quote:
Was this in combat or in a civilian setting?
IT was in uniform. I was an MP then a criminal investigator , in the Army.
I served IN combat zones, but never saw combat during my carer.
Posted on 11/28/17 at 11:48 am to HeyHeyHogsAllTheWay
(no message)
This post was edited on 11/28/17 at 11:49 am
Posted on 11/28/17 at 11:52 am to 777Tiger
Have you seen the movie "Good Kill"? It's about drone pilots. I've heard of some drone pilots having issues with processing the fact that they're sitting in a pod killing people 10,000 miles away then grabbing lunch at Taco Bell 15 mins later.
Posted on 11/28/17 at 12:11 pm to upgrayedd
quote:
Have you seen the movie "Good Kill"? It's about drone pilots. I've heard of some drone pilots having issues with processing the fact that they're sitting in a pod killing people 10,000 miles away then grabbing lunch at Taco Bell 15 mins later.
Remote combat stress is big thing in the intel community apparently.
Posted on 11/28/17 at 12:16 pm to StraightCashHomey21
quote:
Remote combat stress is big thing in the intel community apparently.
It's certainly a new condition although not completely new. I suppose bomber crews have felt some version of that although they had a hell of a lot more skin in the game.
Posted on 11/28/17 at 12:17 pm to upgrayedd
quote:
It's certainly a new condition although not completely new. I suppose bomber crews have felt some version of that although they had a hell of a lot more skin in the game.
I'm sure it fricks with some people having to ID targets after blowing them up
Posted on 11/28/17 at 12:29 pm to upgrayedd
quote:
It's certainly a new condition although not completely new. I suppose bomber crews have felt some version of that although they had a hell of a lot more skin in the game.
In some ways it is probably more difficult being a drone pilot then being an old time bomber pilot. I would almost compare them more to snipers given the level of video they have.
Posted on 11/28/17 at 12:33 pm to HeyHeyHogsAllTheWay
quote:
In some ways it is probably more difficult being a drone pilot then being an old time bomber pilot. I would almost compare them more to snipers given the level of video they have.
Perhaps.
But knowingly bombing civilian targets and seeing the aftermath (like Dresden) has to be pretty tough.
Posted on 11/28/17 at 12:33 pm to HeyHeyHogsAllTheWay
well im just glad i never had to fire my weapon
it would be a pretty bad day if Doc needs to fire his weapon downrange and treating our guys.
it would be a pretty bad day if Doc needs to fire his weapon downrange and treating our guys.
Posted on 11/28/17 at 12:35 pm to StraightCashHomey21
quote:
Remote combat stress is big thing in the intel community apparently.
not saying this in a flippant, condescending manner, but I think it has to do with the personnel selected for that mission as much as anything
Posted on 11/28/17 at 12:38 pm to upgrayedd
quote:
Perhaps.
But knowingly bombing civilian targets and seeing the aftermath (like Dresden) has to be pretty tough.
Oh , I agree with that. I'm just saying that the snipers I have known who actually took shots to a man always told me that actually seeing the face of the person you had just killed from a distance made it hard. I imagine the same applies to drone pilots, whereas bombers didn't see their foes face to face.
On the other hand, as you just alluded to , the old time bombers pretty much new they were going to cause collateral damage every time they fired. That had to weigh on a person.
Posted on 11/28/17 at 12:48 pm to upgrayedd
quote:
Have you seen the movie "Good Kill"? It's about drone pilots. I've heard of some drone pilots having issues with processing the fact that they're sitting in a pod killing people 10,000 miles away then grabbing lunch at Taco Bell 15 mins later.
I have a friend who is a UH-60 pilot. He spent most of his time in Iraq stationed at LSA Anaconda (Balad Air Base). It was a reasonably secure area at the time. He told me this story about his experience and related it to drone pilots.
He mostly worked nights, so by dawn, it was about bedtime for his kids nine time zones away. Most mornings, he would try to Skype his family before they went to bed. He said that while great in many ways, in other ways it fricked with his and his wife's head. If he didn't call, she often got nervous that something bad had happened to him. Conversely, if it had been a fricked up day for him it was hard for him to act "normal" in front of his family. But all in all, he was happy Skype was available to them.
On the subject of drone pilots, he said, "Those people have it really hard. I couldn't do it." We all laughed, thinking he was joking. He said, "Seriously! They spent the day zapping people from Nevada or someplace and then go home at 5 o'clock for dinner with their families. That's fricked up."
Posted on 11/28/17 at 12:51 pm to 777Tiger
quote:
not saying this in a flippant, condescending manner, but I think it has to do with the personnel selected for that mission as much as anything
I agree 100%
Intel types are for the most part A type personality
Posted on 11/28/17 at 1:02 pm to StraightCashHomey21
quote:
Remote combat stress is big thing in the intel community apparently.
Cam comfirm. Wife did intel for an RPA unit on active duty. She had a legit tough time dealing with it.
Posted on 11/28/17 at 1:03 pm to HeyHeyHogsAllTheWay
quote:
In some ways it is probably more difficult being a drone pilot then being an old time bomber pilot. I would almost compare them more to snipers given the level of video they have
My father was a B-29 guy. He said that intellectually you knew you were killing people, but to them it was just a place on a map selected by Gen LeMay. It wasn't anything like "being down in the trenches". (He didn't actually think Curtis LeMay picked every target individually. But his stock answer to anyone who asked "What did you do in the Air Force?" was always "I worked for Curtis LeMay." If they followed up with a more specific question like "What did you do for Gen LeMay?, his response was "Whatever he told me to do. He outranked me.")
Page 4 of 5
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News