WWII topic

[Murph]

I had a lot of relatives who served in WW II.  On my Dad's side there was Uncle Louis was in the Navy in the pacific and had two ships shot out from under him, he would never go to the coast even to go fishing or get on a boat on the lake without a life vest.  Uncle Fred flew the Ploesti raid, crashed on return with him and the tail gunner as the only ones left alive on the plane and after being put back together at Wilford Hall hospital, got sent to B-29 transition training and spent the rest of the war bombing Japan.  He flew the Tokyo raid, and for the rest of his life never went to a BBQ again.  Another uncle took his company across the Rapido, and came back with two others, my dad says he was never the same after that, and died young.  Dad never mentions his name, and gets a little choked up thinking about him.  He told me that his uncle cursed Mark Clark to the day he died.

On my mother's side, I had multiple uncles and cousins who served in the Air Corps, and as Infantry men in Europe.  None of them talked about the war, all of them bore their scars, and trauma with dignity.  At family get togethers, they all sat together, and sometimes passed around the glasses, and had a private toast.  They all died too darn young from various things like cancer, heart disease, or lung disease.  They all smoked like Chimneys.  

So, today on the 79th Anniversary of D-Day, I am lifting a wee dram of 25 year old Scotch to all the brave men, and women who lived, loved, and in some cases gave their all in World War II.  

[sunday]

Very moving, thanks for sharing.

[lucklucky]

🍷

[JWB]

 

[Rick]

Staying with W.W.2, 81 years ago today the Battle of Midway ends. Will have to re-read "Shattered Sword."

[Ivanhoe]

Yesterday (Wednesday) I ran across mention of the USS Texas having participated in D-Day. I then realized that D-Day got past me, and there was no mention of it in the limited news sources I've perused this week (super busy with work). 

Ironically, the mention of D-Day I did see was on FB, because Hall of Fame baseball player Yogi Berra was in the USN fleet supporting the landings. 

One of my students did actually know what was special about 6 June. 

 

 

[Murph]

These were great uncles, but I called them uncle.  Fred always said BBQ's reminded him of Tokyo, apparently he was in one of the last squadrons to fly over and drop his bombs.  

[Markus Becker]

On 6/8/2023 at 1:52 PM, Ivanhoe said:

Yesterday (Wednesday) I ran across mention of the USS Texas having participated in D-Day. I then realized that D-Day got past me, and there was no mention of it in the limited news sources I've perused this week (super busy with work). 

Ironically, the mention of D-Day I did see was on FB, because Hall of Fame baseball player Yogi Berra was in the USN fleet supporting the landings. 

One of my students did actually know what was special about 6 June. 

 

 

Wait until next year. The coverage will be much bigger. 

[RETAC21]

6 oilers, US Navy logistics early in the war:

 

[DB]

BBC News is reporting the funeral for the last known RN veteran of Dunkirk.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-66658596

[Sardaukar]

Eric M. Bergerud (author of excellent books of Fire in the Sky and Touched with Fire, air and ground war in South Pacific respectively) was supposed to make book about naval war and logistics in South Pacific. Oil On The Water: The Naval War In The South Pacific.

Either he died or abandoned the project or being too old.

Edited August 31, 2023 by Sardaukar

[futon]

Not sure exactly how to start this post but only that I cannot leave it unanswered. In the opening post I feel having a real privilege in having been able to read the opening post. Every once in a while, the site still produces a gem. Lots of trash though. A knucklehead like myself joining a forums quite a ways back and some how still coming here to see the sharing of personal life around them related to the war. It's gets rather emotionally complex in how to reflect on it, giving how others at least have seen how I sometimes posts regarding that war. Although its not really as one sided as it may appear. I only get fired up when I see something I not only kust disagree with but looks excused bias. I haven't exchanged words with anyone that served in Imperial Japan forces, or at least not known to me. Although I have with quite a number of the old generation about how the war is viewed, and all sorts of views were shared to me. One person was whom had their house blown to smithereens when a little girl. Sometimes it feels like no difference is made in discussion. But sometimes it does. I guess I guage how responses are and how posts are that follow a discussion are, and it seems to matter. But the big scheme of things with MSM and internet tech companies can make one feel small. They dictate how they want it and that's that. Sometimes I feel heartened by things like the joint-memorial service for Iwo Jima. But I see other things that return back to feeling skeptical and distrusting due to whats stated at other occassions that I watch on youtube or read on where ever. But what's stated actually seems to be used as the very start of a given national interest even, thus already a bias getting inserted from some angles. Every time one of the big dates comes up regarding the Pacific War, I get a little heart ache in oy how it might get recalled. The attack on PH, Midway, Iwo Jima, end of war for Japan, signing on the battleship. I remember a time when I've been more familiar with the European theater, like most everyone else, it's been swapped. The European theater has a more alien feeling to me now. It's so wierd. Lots of things are. I've been to Yasukuni Shrine three times up until now, always quite low key. First time being really tentative sentiment, careful, and explorative. Next time I get the chance to go though, I think I'll be give the proper greetings at the shrine. I know what they did. I know what they didn't do. I know so much now yet still much to know, but sufficiently enough to at least come to a balanced posture of at least paying respects. Don't even try saying otherwise. At least the 4th time for when ever the time of convinence enables it. Then it's done. Then afterwards, I may not care much anymore. Knowing a deeper amount of Japanese WW2 tanks is still a neat niche so I'll probably keep that going on the side. So much terrible stuff going on at that time. Makes me sick how it can continue and how information can get so abused. People are people. They can be really civil, articulate, and humane on one hand but can also be really dishonest, competitive, and beastly on the other. These hells on Earth, Ukraine.. Syria.. Niger going to next? Stuff has been going on in West Africa for some time now actually. Yemen.. still going apparantly. Growing tensions and threats in East Asia is frightful, at least to those that can see how chains of events lead to to such episodes. So even though that is not WW2 related specifically.. it someways it is. What has happened then is an example how various people and states took actions with a timeline of cause and effect with intepretations, fears, desires, ideologies, all mixed in. People in the whole package are still people in that same kind of package it seems. 

[RETAC21]

1 hour ago, futon said:

Not sure exactly how to start this post but only that I cannot leave it unanswered. In the opening post I feel having a real privilege in having been able to read the opening post. Every once in a while, the site still produces a gem. Lots of trash though. A knucklehead like myself joining a forums quite a ways back and some how still coming here to see the sharing of personal life around them related to the war. It's gets rather emotionally complex in how to reflect on it, giving how others at least have seen how I sometimes posts regarding that war. Although its not really as one sided as it may appear. I only get fired up when I see something I not only kust disagree with but looks excused bias. I haven't exchanged words with anyone that served in Imperial Japan forces, or at least not known to me. Although I have with quite a number of the old generation about how the war is viewed, and all sorts of views were shared to me. One person was whom had their house blown to smithereens when a little girl. Sometimes it feels like no difference is made in discussion. But sometimes it does. I guess I guage how responses are and how posts are that follow a discussion are, and it seems to matter. But the big scheme of things with MSM and internet tech companies can make one feel small. They dictate how they want it and that's that. Sometimes I feel heartened by things like the joint-memorial service for Iwo Jima. But I see other things that return back to feeling skeptical and distrusting due to whats stated at other occassions that I watch on youtube or read on where ever. But what's stated actually seems to be used as the very start of a given national interest even, thus already a bias getting inserted from some angles. Every time one of the big dates comes up regarding the Pacific War, I get a little heart ache in oy how it might get recalled. The attack on PH, Midway, Iwo Jima, end of war for Japan, signing on the battleship. I remember a time when I've been more familiar with the European theater, like most everyone else, it's been swapped. The European theater has a more alien feeling to me now. It's so wierd. Lots of things are. I've been to Yasukuni Shrine three times up until now, always quite low key. First time being really tentative sentiment, careful, and explorative. Next time I get the chance to go though, I think I'll be give the proper greetings at the shrine. I know what they did. I know what they didn't do. I know so much now yet still much to know, but sufficiently enough to at least come to a balanced posture of at least paying respects. Don't even try saying otherwise. At least the 4th time for when ever the time of convinence enables it. Then it's done. Then afterwards, I may not care much anymore. Knowing a deeper amount of Japanese WW2 tanks is still a neat niche so I'll probably keep that going on the side. So much terrible stuff going on at that time. Makes me sick how it can continue and how information can get so abused. People are people. They can be really civil, articulate, and humane on one hand but can also be really dishonest, competitive, and beastly on the other. These hells on Earth, Ukraine.. Syria.. Niger going to next? Stuff has been going on in West Africa for some time now actually. Yemen.. still going apparantly. Growing tensions and threats in East Asia is frightful, at least to those that can see how chains of events lead to to such episodes. So even though that is not WW2 related specifically.. it someways it is. What has happened then is an example how various people and states took actions with a timeline of cause and effect with intepretations, fears, desires, ideologies, all mixed in. People in the whole package are still people in that same kind of package it seems. 

"Wars do not usually result from just causes but from pretexts. There probably never was a just cause why men should slaughter each other by wholesale, but there are such things as ambition, selfishness, folly, madness, in communities as in individuals, which become blind and bloodthirsty, not to be appeased save by havoc, and generally by the killing of somebody else than themselves."

Speech to the graduating class of the Michigan Military Academy

William Tecumseh Sherman