Western Front ,Eastern Front,The Med,Pacific, CBI. No matter where you were there was a chance you would get shot,shelled,bombed,mortared,stabbed,clubbed,contr act a disease,ect.

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

What the Corps wants is people that are motivated to do their job and proud to be Marines. Yes, we have areputation for being gung ho... but as the Greek philosopher said, moderation in all things is key.

Courage is good, while cowardice and foolhardiness are bad. Don't be discouraged by what you've heard guys say here. The point they are trying to make is that many get caught up in the thoughts of glory and grandeur of war - the real work itself is a sickening and exhausting task, and is almost nothing like those great movies, as many who have been there will tell you.

Nonetheless, you have a penchant for getting into the fight - the Marines may be a good place for you. Stay motivated, stay educated, stay dedicated.

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"The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!" Eleanor Roosevelt

Lol, im 16 too, but i get terrified when playing CoD, so i can't even imagine the horrors of ww2.

Probably to get a taste of what the most comfortable day of War was like, i should turn off the heater, open the windows (it's cold outside.) cover myself in mud and blood, and stop eating for 3 days. Then turn on CoD and put the Volume to Max. Oh and hire my sister to try to sneak up on me every hour or so.

In short, i would never want to be in WW2, and wish anything like it will never happen again. I'm thinking that somebody who would want to be there, is either under-educated, or not in full power of his mind.

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“It is well that war is so terrible, or we should get too fond of it.”

Hi Mibo, Glad to read a wise posting from such a young fellow. Cheers.

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Hi Von Rundstedt, I would call the bombing of Dresden and Tokyo terroristic in its intent but I would not describe it as terrorism, in that both the Third Reich and Imperial Japan conducted themselves in such a manner and pursued longer term goals of such a nature, that such extreme actions were legitimized. Furthermore, I would respectfully suggest that you would cut the guy some slack in implying that he might have been thinking that the Holocaust is a good thing,.... since he was thinking of joining the US Marine Corps and the last I heard, it was that US troops that had liberated the inmates from the Nazi concentration camps not put them in there.

Asalam Alaikum
Adrian Wainer

I tell the new guys in our department that everything we do is dangerous and can get you hurt or killed. We can probably can help the the "hurt" part over time, but dead is forever.

I can only surmise that combat is infinitely more dangerous and weighs more heavily on a person's mind. While my "terror" in a burning building usually last only a few minutes, combat grinds on for hours, days or weeks. It cannot be a comfortable or good feeling.

The inability to be in full control of your surroundings is an unnerving experience (for me at least) that I've only had to experience one time, when the interior of a house collapsed on me and partner one night. I couldn't tell my wife about for a long time. I understand how men who've really "seen the elephant" could have difficulties talking about the very real and sustained horrors they witnessed.

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Best Regards,
JW

Well said Jeff,

The elephant comes back for a visit once in a while, but he's always there.

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All the Best
Jack

Actually I think a simulator would be a great idea. Let someone experience the fear,dispair and horror of war. To experience to feeling of your body being violated by bullets and shrapnel, knives, ect. Being burned alive. The feeling of limbs being blown off. Then the feeling of dealing with living with missing limbs and sight. Then the feelings of extreme weather and the pangs of hunger and starvation. The feeling of being beaten. The feelings of the loss of friends,buddies and family. The feelings of marching for miles and constantl being tired. The constant threat of death. The boredom and hopes of going home. Yeah it would be amazing .

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

This war is enough for me. I am not even in it. One of my old friend is. It is unreal to chatt with him when he gets down time in Sadr City, Baghdad on the ADSL of an American FoB. I would say hello. He'd ask how is my day. My response is always incredibly lame, no matter how I twist my unremarkable day arround and where I bend it. Because in five minutes, he'd tell me, in perfect character, "I'm alright. I just got back from a 100 hour mission. I saw a 2,000 lbs of explosives blow. That was impressive." Or he'd reflect on his job: "Sunnis are trying to kill Shi'ites, Shi'ites are returning the favor and whenever we try to help they both try to kill us." Sometimes, he'd even complain about being shot at: "Snipers? No. They pick pot-shots at us. That doesn't worry us much. They are very poor shots." Like their mortar fire, he assures me: they are almost harmless, except that they luck out once in awhile. Just statistics.

Everytime I talked to him, I made a mental promise to buy him a beer. I haven't seen him since he left college for the army. I haven't talked to him since his re-deployment to Sadr City. Now, I think, I owe him four.

Of course it sounds cool to jump out of a C47 or charge the beaches of Normandie, but when I try to think about how it's like to live through true hell, it's not so cool anymore.

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My Grandfathers Uncle: Stanley Halldin, 981st Field Artillery Battalion.

Most US Infantry Divisions lost all of its founding soldiers of Normandy by Fall 1944. The chances for a rifleman to participate the assault on Normandy and survive VE day without becoming a casaulty or captive is practically nil. One in ten would probably be a generous over-estimation...

Not trying to disprove your statement.

I knew a man at my church who was in the 5th ID, who landed across Utah Beach on July 9th, 1944. He was the only man from his weapons platoon still there from the original bunch on May 8th, 1945.

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Best Regards,
JW

let me be abrupt, war is HELL, none of you want anything to do with it, honor is thrown out the window, death is abounding. hats off to the WW 2 vets on this forum.

present day engagements are the same just more high tech and equally easier ways to kill oneself ~ honest to God's truth

every 16 year-old says the same thing.

imagine what a 16 year-old would think of war when dealing with a waffen-ss unit. i read they were ordered to complete their missions regardless of friendly casualties. that's terrifying. a grandfather of mine was a sherman pilot during the raid at dieppe. he survived that and it was a coin flip. apparently there were years of dealing with the realities of even just being in an armoured unit. sure he was sitting in a mini tub of steel but he was forced to run over germans that were still alive and here their bones snap while they yell and pound on the bottom of the tank cause they're still partially alive.sitting on the floor of the tank u feel their hands pounding the tank. on ur ass. that's not something any 16 year-old thinks about ever. they think about playing day of defeat and respawning every 10-15 seconds



i could never live a regular life after more than a year of that stuff.

he never did, he is dead now but i have more respect for him and what he had to go through

almost as a reparation though, he was a great gambler and came back on a liberty ship with a duffle bag full of cash from other vets. lol

Read about what it was really like in thier own words.

A Soldier Strips the Romance Out of Life at War

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

That was... wow.

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My Grandfathers Uncle: Stanley Halldin, 981st Field Artillery Battalion.

Whats a "sherman pilot"? Do you mean a Sherman tank Commander? There were not any Shermans used at Dieppe . Perhaps you meant a Churchill tank commander?

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman.

No you don't. I am 87 years old. I was there with the 29th division. Even to the Normandy Invasion. Steping over your best friends bloody body is no fun. Knowing I was on a suicide mission and pushing onward. Meeting the harsh blue uniforms with guns was the most scary thing in my life. The only way I lived was shooting at the Nazis using a barrier of the bodies around me. I watched my commanding officer die as he threw a grenade into a pill box. His death was not in vain as i later saw an explosion as the grenade and munitions exploded. No, it was not that exciting nor glorious afterwards. Having the sights and sounds still in my head today.

forgive me for not using the proper terminology. i hope i dont go to sarcasm hell