Where would YOU serve in WW2?

In the RAF of course, maybe not as a Spitfire Pilot though. I also like Lancasters and Mosquitos.
Maybe the sheer manoevurability of the Spitfire would be enough though, I do love em.
Luckily enough there is a newly restored one at our local airfield, it took ten yaers to do.

 

Purveyor of fine cigars to the Rt. Hon. Mr. Winston Spenser Churchill.

 

I seem to have touched a nerve here.

So you accuse me of belittling the dead. Far from it; I am trying to help you understand people you clearly do not understand. I assume we're all here because of our desire to increase our knowledge and further our own understanding of warfare and World War II in particular. Now, you will note that I did not state that your position is irrational or immoral. What I note is that your position definitely is one where those of a contrary position are out of their minds. I don't believe so and as I tried pointing out to you, your position has been the minority in most cultures around the world for the vast majority of human history. Do you think all of these other people throughout history, the majority of cultures and civilizations, were completely insane and immoral?

Neither do I. I see this as much more of a fly-on-the-wall kind of experience than an actual desire to be in combat with the risk of encountering very real life-extinguishing injuries. Considering that you are posting here I imagine that you find WWII to be an interesting topic. Wouldn't you like to have a real insider's view of what actually happened? Given your enjoyment of discussing the war with actual veterans I imagine your answer is yes.

I beg to differ. We're not asking to be sent back in time to have a party in the trenches. We are expressing interest in what actually took place. If I didn't respect the veterans for what they went through I wouldn't find what they did interesting and would have no interest in knowing what it was like. My desire to have been present when Carter opened up Tutankhamun's tomb doesn't denigrate his work; it emphasizes just how important his work was. The work of our veterans in the wars is even more important since it wasn't simply the recovery of history; it was the making of history.

To know what it was like, quite obviously. These were some of the most important events in history, when one world was changing into another.

Clearly because I am not simply interested in having a military experience. The particulars of the places we have chosen as our desired places to have been in World War II are what compells us to choose them above a simple general war experience.

And as I pointed out to you, you are only interested in the veterans of one war (or at least apparently only of the 20th century wars). I am telling you that your inability to understand your fellow posters here results from a lack of familiarity with the greater part of human history, when sentiments such as your own were not the most common.

Says the man who suggests a "Pimp my Tiger"! I have enormous respect for ALL veterans, Vince Noir. Not just our guys; not just all veterans from World War II; I respect anyone who is willing to put his life on the line for his family and home and all he holds dear. I am not promoting war as a happy picnic outing. I am an anthropologist and historian (and professionally an archaeologist) and so ancient peoples are the focus of my studies. I find it fascinating how the attitude towards war has changed so dramatically in just the last 100 years. In 1907 most nations had Ministries of War. Today, pretty much all nations have only Ministries of Defence. A lot of this change is the result of the colossal devastation of the two world wars. The modern world is seriously changing the world in which we humans grow up in and so our attitudes are changing to something they weren't in before. War used to be glorious; I don't think it is a surprise that 100 years ago being in the military was a profession respected by all. Today, sadly, you can't say that anymore.

Evolution has made men larger than women in terms of both size and strength. What do you think that size and strength are for, Vince Noir? Like it or not you and I and all the other males posting on this board (or any other modern human males for that matter) are bred for fighting and competition. It is in the very genes that make up your person. Why do you think men are the overwhelming cause of violent crimes? Why are men so drawn to competitive sports? With the decline of warrior as a respectable profession sports star has become the new "heroic" profession for young males. Before there were sports war was the heroic job for males and it is because our warrior ancestors, yours and mine both, through their killing and superior fighting skills, that we are here today. In the past people with the idea that war was stupid and immoral --- they died out pretty quick.

Don't deceive yourself. Your position of revulsion at war is a privileged one that you would never have been able to take without fear of being overwhelmed by a more militaristic society unless our ancestors had both been far more ruthless and in tune with war than ourselves as well as being extremely lucky. My ancestors came over to the Americas and took land that was free for the taking because the original Indian inhabitants had been wiped out by, you guessed it, war and associated ills. Your ancestors got onto Britain, an island that enjoyed a natural defense against foreign invasion that most other cultures did not have. And how did your ancestors come to arrive on the British isles? If you're English, well, we both know what kind of a war-like reputation the Anglo-Saxons had. And even if your family is of British-Celtic stock, even they weren't the original inhabitants of the isles. Celtic warriors were also reknowned throughout Europe. Like it or not you are here because your ancestors did not share your viewpoint. You and I are lucky in that we live in a time when we don't have to fight endless wars that only allow the fittest to survive. You suggest that I have been disrespecting veterans by my comments. I now point out that your own position could be considered disrespectful of not just one century of modern veterans but literally thousands of years of veterans, including our own ancestors way back in the past.

But this is rather off-topic. I have had my say and will no longer address this issue on this thread. Sorry for the (temporary) derailment.

 

Well, as a nationalistic and family pride thing first...2/14 Australian Infantry that fought in the Pacific, Singapore mostly. That was my grandfather's unit, I wouldv'e wanted to have been there with him when he was captured.

But, hypothetically, what unit WOULDN'T I have served in, I'd love to experience war on all fronts in Dubya dubya two

 

ditto, i'd serve anywere aslong as I didn't get shot x|

 

Me ?
I'd have liked to own a brothel in Paris.
Make my money from the Germans for four years then fleece the Yanks afterwards.

 

A jabo pilot in Normandy.

 

I have such a deep insterest in the German struggle at Stalingrad. I often wonder If I was actually there in my previous life as a German Soldier :soldat: and who my friends were and if any are still alive. My previous body is probably bone fragments scattered somewhere in the soil along the Volga:mourn: . I know it sounds a bid looney but you never know!

 

Something tells me that no many Germans in Stalingrad ever saw home again.
But if I was in at Stalingrad I would like to be on the Soviet side ( surprised eh ? ) Just so I can share in the celebration of that glorious victory.

 

Commander in Chief of the German 6th Army in Stalingrad, why? because unlike Paulus i would have ordered the evacuation of the City to meet up with Manstein's recue forces saving my precious men and equipment, and i would have defied Hitler.

 

I definitely feel that if I was single (no kids) during that time I would have volunteered to be a nurse for the US Army. In fact, I have recently gone back to graduate school to complete my doctorate in nurse anesthesia. (Soon I will really be able to knock Otto off his feet .) Here is a link I found recently to an interview with a nurse who served in WW2 :
Interview Transcript: Isabelle V. Cook: Veterans History Project (Library of Congress

This link shows some examples of U.S. nurses' uniforms. Not as sexy as what most men like to imagine today, but I am sure I could have rocked it!
WWII Uniforms

 

Trouble, you are a cheat of the first water. Anesthesia? That's too easy! All you have to do is show up for the patient and he'll be knocked stone cold for many an hour

 

Thanks Za! You just moved up to my #2 favorite Rogue! I have to admit, Otto did have to go to the emergency after passing out from our first date.

 

Sweet.

 

Hehehe, that's Old European charm working Otto, if that's the case, watch it. When I came back from my honeymoon my wife stuck a kitchen knife on me (honest !) :stab:

All right, all right, might as well tell the entire story. I was unpacking some wedding gifts and was handling a kitchen knife set. She came up to the room door unexpectedly and I got startled. With that one very long, heavy and pointy knife came loose and came down tip downwards on my foot! Completely ridiculous! I was literally pinned to the ground with my foot transfixed, it hurt like hell, and guess who fainted? Not damned me!!!

 

As someone with just a little firsthand experience... If I was alive then with the option to work or fight I would have gone to work in aeronautics (serving on the HF) and made it rich!

 

my ideal would be serving in the US Army Air Corps as part of the 8th Air Force, in command of a fighter group of P-51 Mustangs beginning in January 1944

that said, I would also have wanted to do my duty as part of the men of the US Army Philippine division in 1941 and 1942

 

The American 17th Airborne or in the Africa Korps!

 

Welcome aboard Rommel!

Just curious, why the 17th instead of the 101st, 82nd, or 11th?

 

the Waffen SS in Russia
or
the 101 airborne in france
or
the luftwaffe flying bF109's